In a recent award show organized by the Macau Government Tourism Office (MGTO), Kerala tourism was honored with the esteemed Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) award in the ‘Heritage and Culture’ category. Considering the uniqueness, conservational aspect and impactfulness of the Kerala government’s Muziris Heritage Project, PATA announced its winner.

On this, Tourism minister A P Anil Kumar stated,“This award is recognition of the Muziris project, aimed at restoring the historical and cultural significance of the ancient town that stretches across North Paravur in Ernakulam to Kodungalloor in Thrissur.” He further added ”The flagship project of government of Kerala is one of the biggest heritage conservation projects of modern India.”

With a whopping entry figure of 269 from 83 organizations, this year’s turnover has been the highest since 2007. The award ceremony is going to take place on 8 September 2015 at PATA Travel Mart in Bangalore.

 On such a huge turnover, MGTO Director Ms Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes said “The list of PATA Gold Awards 2015 winners unveils once again the very best of Pacific-Asia tourism practices.” She further added, “The excellence and innovation revealed by the works and projects awarded are impressive and can provide inspiration to raise the standards of tourism industry stakeholders in the region.”

While acknowledging Kerala Tourism’s excellence in heritage conservation, Tourism Director P I Sheikh Pareeth said “Nothing that no other tourism department in the country could win this much-admired award this time.”

Kerala Tourism Secretary, G Kamala Vardhana Rao also commented on this as “Being a part of the Spice Route Project, which is supported by UNESCO, the Muziris project already has a key status in the cultural tourism map. The award further highlights its prominence in international heritage tourism.”

Functional since 1951, Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) is an internationally acclaimed not-for-profit organization that works for the development of travel and tourism within the Asia Pacific region.