Best of Greece Honored at ‘Tourism Awards 2015’

Greek tourism’s best practices and the most innovative initiatives launched by the country’s enterprises were rewarded on Thursday, March 12, at the Tourism Awards 2015 ceremony in Athens.

In its second year, the Tourism Awards aimed to promote excellence and innovation in the fields of travel, hospitality and leisure in Greece.

The event took place in the banquet hall of the Megaron Athens Concert Hall and was attended by hundreds of executives of leading Greek tourism enterprises, agencies and organizations.

Tourism award categories

The president of the Tourism Awards 2015 judging committee was Former Tourism Minister Nikos Skoulas.

The 10 main award categories were: Strategy and Innovation, Customer Experience, Specialty Offering, Gastronomy, Facilities & Architecture, Digital & Social Marketing, Travel & Transportation, Branding – Public Relations & People Strategy, Technology and Sustainability & Operations.

Nominations were evaluated by a 16-member judging committee chaired by Former Tourism Minister Nikos Skoulas and consisted of eminent Greek and European university professors and representatives of professional bodies and associations.

The judging committee evaluated projects and practices known throughout the industry for their excellence, innovation, quality, return on investment and strategic importance.

A selection of Tourism Awards 2015 winners

• New Hotel
  Gold Tourism Award for Room Design & Functionalities (Category: Facilities & Architecture)

• Grace Hotels Group
  Gold Tourism Award for Exceptional Quality Experience offered by hotels Grace Santorini & Grace Mykonos (Category: Customer Experience)

• Minoan Lines
  Bronze Tourism Award for Customer Loyalty Program “Bonus Club” (Category: Customer Experience)

• Navigator Travel and Tourist Services
  Silver Tourism Award for Cruises (Category: Specialty Offering)

• Manessis Travel
  Silver Tourism Award for Family Tourism (Category: Specialty Offering)

• Macedonian Hotels
  The Excelsior: Gold Tourism Award for Renovation (Category: Facilities & Architecture)
  The Eagles Palace: Silver Tourism Award for Family Tourism (Category: Specialty Offering) & Silver Tourism Award for Environment Protection Initiatives (Category: Sustainability & Operations)

• Mideast Travel
  Silver Tourism Award for Congress Tourism (Category: Specialty Offering)

• Sani Resort
  Gold Tourism Award for Environment Protection Initiatives (Category: Sustainability & Operations)
  Silver Tourism Award for Innovative Restaurant Concept for “Domata Restaurant” (Category: Gastronomy)

• GLOBO – TUI Hellas
  Bronze Tourism Award for Smartphone and Tablet Apps (Category: Digital & Social Marketing)

• Louis Hotels
  Gold Tourism Award for best Advertising Campaign through Google Adwords in partnership with Panadvert (Category: Branding, Public Relations & People Strategy)
  Bronze Tourism Award for Promoting Local Cuisine (Category: Gastronomy)

• Hilton Athens
  Silver Tourism Award for Environment Protection Initiatives (Category: Sustainability & Operations)

• Peoplecert for Accessibility Pass
  Gold Tourism Award for Accessible Tourism (Category: Specialty Offering)

• Active Media for Navarino Challenge event
  Gold Tourism Award for Strategic Partnership (Category: Strategy & Innovation)
  Gold Tourism Award for Environment Health & Wellness Tourism (Category: Specialty Offering)
  Silver Tourism Award for Promotion in the Media (Category: Branding, Public Relations & People Strategy)

• Communication Lab for Spetses mini Marathon
  Gold Tourism Award for Sports Tourism (Category: Specialty Offering)
  Silver Tourism Award for Promotion in the Media (Category: Branding, Public Relations & People Strategy)
  

• Greek National Tourism Organization – MPASS for Visit Greece Samsung TV Application
  Gold Tourism Award for Innovative Service (Category: Digital & Social Marketing)

• Municipality of Athens for the promotion of the Greek capital
  Gold Tourism Award for Congress Tourism (Category: Specialty Offering) for the launch of the Athens Convention & Visitors Bureau
  Silver Tourism Award for Sales Development (Category: Strategy & Innovation) for the Travel Trade Athens event

• Trip2Taste
  Silver Tourism Award for Gastronomy Tourism (Category: Gastronomy)

• Poseidonion Grand Hotel – Travelworks Communications for Tweed Run Spetses
  Gold Tourism Award for Social Media Use (Category: Digital & Social Marketing)

• Idisti – Greece with a twist
  Silver Tourism Award for Innovative Product (Category: Branding, Public Relations & People Strategy)

• FORTH-CRS for E-ticket service in coastal shipping
  Gold Tourism Award for Innovative Service Model (Category: Strategy & Innovation)

• Nelios.com in Digital & Social Marketing category
  Nelios.com – Keytours: Silver Tourism Award for Search Engine Technique
  Nelios.com – Kinsterna Hotel: Gold Tourism Award for Electronic Presence & Communication
  Nelios.com – Thermae Sylla Wellness Spa Hotel: Silver Tourism Award for Electronic Presence & Communication
  Nelios.com – Elounda Gulf Villas: Bronze Tourism Award for Electronic Presence & Communication

• Region of South Aegean – Louvre Museum
  Silver Tourism Award for Strategic collaboration (Category:  Strategy & Innovation)

• Heraklion Port Authority
  Gold Tourism Award for Recycling/Wastewater and Solid Waste (Category: Sustainability & Operations)
  Silver Tourism Award for Strategic Investment (Category: Strategy & Innovation)

• Municipality of Rethymno for the Rethymno Carnival
  Silver Tourism Award for Initiative to Expand Tourism Season (Category: Strategy & Innovation)

• Thalatta Seaside Hotel – Concierge Communication
  Silver Tourism Award for Experience Innovation (Category: Customer Experience)

• Achaia Chamber of Commerce – Culture & Shopping
  Bronze Tourism Award for Strategic collaboration (Category:  Strategy & Innovation)

• Athens International Airport, Tribal & Marketing Greece
  Silver Tourism Award for Integrated Communications Campaign for “I’m An Aθenian Too” (Category: Branding, Public Relations & People Strategy)

• PATURN Branding Firm
  Silver Tourism Award in the “Branding, Public Relations & People Strategy” category

Honorary Tourism Awards

Honorary awards were given to deserving individuals and institutions for their contribution to the promotion and development of the Greek tourism industry.

• Hellenic Society for Environment and Culture for “Culture Paths” project
  

• Aegean Airlines for the successful handling of the crisis that sparked by the domino effect of a large number of tour operators going bankrupt.

Honorary Tourism Awards were also received by:

– Konstantinos Dekavallas was honored for his contribution to the architecture of Greek Tourism
– Travel writer Rachel Howard was honored for promoting Greece abroad
– Anastasia Psalti and Maya Tsokli were honored for promoting Tinos through TAMA magazine

The Tourism Awards were organized by Boussias Communications and Hotel & Restaurant magazine and held under the auspices of the Greek National Tourism Organization (GNTO).

GTP was among the main communication sponsors of the event.

Photo Source: Boussias Communications/Hotel & Restaurant magazine