BGTW ANNOUNCE 2008 TOURISM AWARDS

A new national park in Gabon, a theme park with a difference in Norfolk and the extraordinary Ngong Ping 360 in Hong Kong are the winners of the British Guild of Travel Writers’ (BGTW) prestigious 2008 Tourism Awards. They were selected from finalists in three categories, nominated by BGTW members, in recognition of both their strong tourism potential and benefits to the local community and environments. The winners were announced at the BGTW’s Annual Gala Dinner held on the eve of World Travel Market at the Marriott Hotel, Grosvenor Square in London. This year, the dinner was sponsored by Jersey Tourism, Mahindra Homestays, the Marriott Hotel and Holland Art Cities.

Ngong Ping 360 (www.np360.com.hk) won the coveted Globe Award for the best major tourism project worldwide that attracts more than a quarter of a million visitors a year. John Malathronas who nominated the project said: “Ngong Ping 360 combines a 5.7km cable car skyrail (the world's longest without a car change) along with a Chinese cultural village. The Sky Rail offers panoramic views during a staggering 25-minute journey from Tung Chung (end of a metro line) to Lantau island. Once at Ngong Ping Village, one mile away from the Giant Buddha, there are restaurants, shops and theatrical attractions: “Walking with Buddha”, a multimedia experience on the life of Gautama Buddha, in seven languages including English; “Monkey's Tale” an animated children's film inspired by the Buddhist jataka stories; and regular demonstrations of a traditional Chinese tea ceremony.”
The new cable car and village have increased visitor numbers to a projected 2 million this year.
The award for the Best Overseas Tourism Project went to Loanga National Park, Gabon (www.africas-eden.com/destinations/gabon.html). Sarah Monaghan who proposed the project said, “A mosaic of grassland, rivers, forest and mangroves, Loango offers a unique safari experience because the wildlife is so spectacularly varied - with whales, elephants, hippos, leopards, reptiles and primates galore. Visitors are accommodated in the eco-friendly lodge and satellite tented camps and wildlife viewing is small-scale with pirogue trips, forest treks or savannah drives. Five hundred Gabonese live in the area and nearly 100 have gained employment as eco-guides etc. Local farmers sell produce to the lodge. Their children study in a new school built by the park. Loango is a great example of how ecotourism can bring benefit to a community and promote conservation. It is a base for scientific research, funded by tourism. NGOs such as the WWF are studying its whales, elephants and turtles. Primatologists are habituating endangered western lowland gorillas to tourists.”
BeWILDerwood in Norfolk won the Best UK Tourism Award. Nominated by Jane Anderson, this project is a fabulous breakthrough for sustainable family tourism in the UK. Jane Anderson said, “Spread out over 50 acres of woodland and marshland, BeWILDerwood is a magical playground of treehouses, aerial ropewalks and zipwires, reached by boat or boardwalk - all built from sustainable wood. The whole site is pesticide-free so there's no danger of chemicals leaking into the broads. Some 14,000 broad-leaf trees, including oak, sweet chestnut and birch have been planted. The food is locally sourced and mainly organic. Though BeWILDerwood's creator and owner Tom Blofeld said he was partly inspired by 90s computer game Myst, there's nothing modern about the concept. BeWILDerwood harks back to a pre playstation, pre mobile, pre iPod era. On the opening weekend in May 2007 the park received over 6000 visitors from the UK. Year of opening figures where expected to be 80,000 max and were actually 130,000. Projected figures this year are between 130,000 and 150,000.”
Runners-up in the three categories were:
The Globe Award for the best major tourism project worldwide – Musée de Quai Branly, Paris
Dinosaur Gallery, Museum of Natural Sciences, Brussels
The Best Overseas Tourism Project – Highland Paradise, Cook Islands
Palazzo Falson, Malta
The Best UK Tourism Project - International Slavery Museum, Liverpool
Thanet Greeters, Kent

Further information on all the projects is posted on the Guild website, www.bgtw.org.
For further information contact: Anna Selby BGTW Tel: 0207 740 6447