Kuala Lumpur. 11th March 2011 - The Mayor of Kuala Lumpur, Datuk Seri Ahmad Fuad Bin Ismail today officially launched the inaugural Kuala Lumpur Mayor's Tourism Awards 2011 at a press conference held at the city hall headquarters in Jalan Raja Laut.

The Mayor said this was the first time such awards were presented to recognize and appreciate those in the KL tourism industry who have contributed in many ways to make Kuala Lumpur as an attractive international tourist destination. "Kuala Lumpur has much to offer as a tourist destination now as compared to a decade ago. Now the city has many modern shopping centres, world class tourist attractions, entertainment & dining outlets, multinational chain hotels, MICE, parks, sports, medical and educational centres, more efficient transportation system and multi-cultural centres that have created a distinctive identity and image for the city. Foreign tourists now gain greater experience when visiting Kuala Lumpur and the impressions that are taken back to their countries have further elevated the profile of the city" said Datuk Seri Ahmad Fuad. "The tremendous success of putting KL on top of every travellers mind is done through the contributions, investment, commitments, passion and efforts made by the tourism industry players at all levels. And I believe now is the time for Kuala Lumpur City Hall to recognise and reward their contributions", added Datuk Seri Ahmad Fuad.

He also explained that the objective of having such a recognition programme is to boost the standards of delivery of products and services in the industry and to further give encouragement to all tourism operators to strive for nothing less than excellence.

Also present at the press conference was the chairman of the organizing committee and Kuala Lumpur City Hall - Advisory Board Member, Datuk Seri Michael Yam, who announced that there will be a total of 9 awards and a KL Lifetime Achievement Award to be presented. They are for Accommodation, Restaurant, Nightspot, Shopping Mall, Tourist Attraction, International Tour Operator, International Airline and Media Publication - magazine. There will also be recognition awards, the Front Liner Award, is to recognize industry front liners, who have performed over and above the call of duty in providing an outstanding experience for tourists. These individuals could be from any part of the industry for example hotel reception staff, taxi drivers, waiters, doormen, tour guides, stewardesses, and information counter personnel.

The award for Accommodation will have four categories; for 5 Star, 4 Star, 3 Star and budget accommodation. Each category will have 1 recipient of the Award for Excellence and 1 recipient of the Outstanding Achievement Award. For budget hotel category; 2 Excellence Awards have been allocated.

There will be 4 Awards for Excellence presented in the Restaurant category, 1 Award for Excellence in the International Airlines category, 2 Awards for Excellence in the Print Media-magazine category, and 3 Awards of Recognition for Front Liners. There will be one Outstanding Achievement Award and three Awards for Excellence presented in each of the following categories: Tourist Attraction, Nightspot, Shopping Mall and International Tour Operator.

Nominations are open from 11th March 2011 and the forms can be downloaded from the official awards website at www.klmayortourismawards.com. The closing date for nominations is on 21st April 2011. Nominations can be done in three methods that include self-nomination, third party nominations and by invitation.

The award winners will be determined by points awarded by the panel of judges as well as public on-line voting. The judges' points will count for 95% of the total marks while public voting will count for the remaining 5%. Members of the public can cast their votes online from the 2nd of May 2011 by visiting the official website.

The judging will be conducted by independent panels of judges for each of the categories of awards that will be presented. The members of these judging panels will be made up of experts in the particular fields and senior industry players. Stringent judging criteria have been set by the panels of judges for each award and the judging process will take over a month to complete. The awards are scheduled to be presented to the recipients and announced to the public in mid-June 2011.

Datuk Seri Michael Yam invited tourism industry players to submit nominations for the various categories. He said that the Mayor and City Hall should be applauded for initiating the inaugural Mayor's Tourism Awards for the City of Kuala Lumpur. "I think this competition would complement KL's vision towards achieving the goal of becoming one of the 20 most liveable cities in the world by 2020.

In giving recognition to personalities, attractions, businesses and enterprises that have contributed to the success of KL as a tourist destination, the winners will serve as a benchmark and motivate others to emulate. The outcome of this competition will surely lead to the further promotion of the attraction of KL in particular and greater awareness of Malaysia as a tourist haven. I urge all KL-ites to take ownership and participate actively in the success of this special event".

For more information contact Noraza Yusof, Head of Secretariat, Kuala Lumpur Mayor's Tourism Awards at 03-2617 6273. Email: secretariat@klmayortourismawards.com
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ISSUED BY:
Kuala Lumpur City Hall
Level 14, DBKL 2, Bandar Wawasan,
Jalan Raja Abdullah, 50300 Kuala Lumpur.
Tel: 03-2617 6273
Fax: 03-2698 3819