PUBLIC VOTING UNDERWAY FOR 3RD ANNUAL DURBAN TOURISM BUSINESS AWARDS
The second phase of the Durban Tourism Business Awards, which is the public voting process, is underway. The public voting allows people to vote for various tourism products that were entered into the competition. Voting opened on Monday, 11 March and will close on Sunday, 17 March at midnight.
Categories include focus areas of service excellence and subcategories, sustainable development, entrepreneurship, and filmmakers. The awards attracted approximately 144 entries.
The public vote excludes the Exceptional Achievement Award which honours the exceptional tourism impact by businesses and products that are internationally acclaimed, are creating jobs, and attracting investments and visitors to the City.
Following the public voting, the judging process of the nominated products will commence. This will be conducted by independent judges that are experts in the tourism sector to ensure a fair process. This includes physical site inspections of the top five candidates in each category. This is done to thoroughly check the effectiveness of the tourism products.
The public is urged to view the full list of entries and cast their vote online for the Awards.
Follow this link to start voting for excellence in the local tourism industry: https://voting.durbantourismawards.com/
The awards will culminate with a high-profile ceremony at the iconic Inkosi Albert Luthuli International Convention Centre in mid-June. Winners will be awarded with cash and developmental prizes to grow their businesses.
EThekwini Mayor Councillor Mxolisi Kaunda said: “The awards are one of many initiatives by the City aimed at investing in the local tourism industry and recognising the business excellence of various tourism businesses. The awards provide extensive marketing which leads to more opportunities and developmental prizes to grow and sustain their businesses. We urge communities to join the good initiative and vote.”
Meanwhile, Durban Tourism is forging ahead with its mandate of ensuring that Durban is a destination of choice by creating world-class tourism products for local and international markets.
This comes as the winners of the 2023 Durban Tourism Business Award’s Exceptional Achievement categories attended the Internationale Tourismus Borse (ITB) Berlin trade show from 5 to 7 March.
The show was attended by over 20 000 travel and tourism specialists from all over the world, including buyers, sellers, tour operators, cruise liners, major global players in the airline and media sector among others.
This international study tour was fully paid for by Durban Tourism as part of the award winners prizes.
Above: The winners who travelled with a team from Durban Tourism were presented with an array of opportunities and meetings to sell their products to not only the German market, but to other country representatives as well in the hope of fostering collaborations.
The winners included Shakila Maharaj who founded the Inclusive Tourism Forum who won under the Product Owners with Disabilities category. She is the developer of ShazaCin Accessible Media which is a first for the country and continent. The company aims to shift audio description into the digital space. The Living Room Summer Hill Estate won under the Hospitality category while the Fundamentum Property Developers took honours in the Investment category for the leading multibillion-rand Westown Square Mixed-Used development. Isilokazis, nestled in Inanda, is a 4-star events, functions and lodge venue hire that won under the Township and Rural Development category.
For more information on the awards, visit www.durbantourismawards.com or follow @DBNTourism across on all social media platforms.