Nordic Choice Hotels wins three awards at first-ever HSMAI European Travel Marketer Awards

HSMAI Europe is delighted to announce the twelve category winners from last night’s HSMAI European Travel Marketer Awards 2011 at the prestigious Hilton Park Lane . With the awards in its first year, the HSMAI European Travel Marketer Awards 2011 recognises both leading experts and industry professionals for their exemplary work within the hospitality sector and the up-and-coming talents of the young professionals bringing an innovative and fresh approach to an fast-growing industry.

HSMAI European Travel Marketer Awards – 2011 Winners

Top Ten Extraordinary Minds in the Hospitality and Travel Industry
Bjørn Kjos, CEO, Norwegian Air Shuttle Gerard Greene, CEO, Yotel Grace Leo, President, GLA Hotels José A. Tazón, Chairman, Amadeus Kurt Ritter, President, The Rezidor Group Tamara Heber-Percy, CTO, Mr. & Mrs. Smith Michael Levie, Founding Partner and CEO, citizenM hotels Petter Stordalen, Chairman and Owner, Nordic Choice Hotels Richard Branson, Chairman, Virgin Group Stelios Haji-Ioannou, Founder, EasyJet
Young European Travel Industry Leader Wilhelm Konrad Weber, Swiss Hospitality Solutions	Young European Hotelier of the Year Aimone dal Pozzo, Castello dal Pozzo
TV Advert of the Year Visit Iceland	Environment Award Ritz-Carlton, Powerscourt
PR Campaign of the Year Discover Ireland	Printed Advert of the Year Hurtigruten
Event of the Year Nordic Choice Hotels	Educator of the Year Prof. Peter O’Connor,  ESSEC Business School
High Achieving Performance Enhancer of the Year Young N. Nguyen,  d2o	High Achieving Hotelier of the Year Christophe Mendjel, Hotel Secret de Paris
HSMAI European Travel Marketer of the Year Nordic Choice Hotels

The Young European Travel Industry Leader award went to Wilhelm Konrad Weber, Partner in Swiss Hospitality Solutions for his continued dedication and innovation to ensure he remains at the top of the hospitality industry. With his reputation as a dynamic developer of the revenue management discipline, Wilhelm will be able to attend a special business course that the London Business School.  Likewise, the award for Young European Hotelier of the Year was given to Aimone dal Pozzo, Owner & CEO of Castello dal Pozzo who will be sent to study on a course at the Cornell School of Hotel Administration in New York for his achievement in developing his family business from a location for weddings and gala dinners to a five star luxury hotel.

Nordic Choice Hotels celebrated wins in the Travel Marketer of the Year and Event of the Year categories, whilst Petter Stordalen, Chairman and Owner of Nordic Choice Hotels was honoured for his vision and dedication despite his humble beginnings as a strawberry picker, to become one of the prestigious Top Ten Extraordinary Minds in the Hospitality and Travel Industry.

Ingunn Hofseth, President and CEO of HSMAI Europe, commented:

“Our first ever HSMAI European Travel Marketer Awards was a fantastic success. All the talented nominees and winners from last night are proof of what an exciting industry the hotel and travel sector is to work in, and we congratulate them all on the innovative work they are doing.”

Cape Town named best destination

TripAdvisor®, the world’s largest travel site, announced the winners of its 2011 Travelers’ Choice® Destinations awards this week.  In its third year of the awards, TripAdvisor has honoured 337 outstanding destinations across the globe. In addition to the top 25 in the world overall, top 25 lists have been named for the United States, Europe, the Caribbean & Mexico, Central & South America, Asia, India, South Pacific, Canada, Africa, United Kingdom, France, Italy, Germany and Spain.

Travelers’ Choice Destinations awards honour top travel spots worldwide based on millions of real and unbiased opinions from TripAdvisor travelers.  Award winners were determined based on a combination of travelers’ favourite places and overall destination popularity.

“Millions of TripAdvisor travelers around the globe have helped identify the world’s top travel spots,” said Barbara Messing, chief marketing officer for TripAdvisor. “The Travelers’ Choice Destinations awards not only recognise some of the most beloved travel destinations worldwide, but serve as inspiration for millions of travelers looking to plan their next trip.”

2011 Travelers’ Choice World Destinations:

1. Cape Town, South Africa
2. Sydney, Australia
3. Machu Picchu, Peru
4. Paris, France
5. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
6. New York City, United States
7. Rome, Italy
8. London, United Kingdom
9. Barcelona, Spain
10. Hong Kong, China

For the complete 2011 Travelers’ Choice Destinations lists, sponsored by Audi, go to www.tripadvisor.com/TCDestinations.

Photo: Cape Town. Photographer: PRNewsFoto/TripAdvisor