11 Rotary Club of Manila tourism awardees named

MANILA, Philippines - Eleven outstanding stakeholders in the tourism industry led by businessmen Fernando Zobel de Ayala and Henry Sy Sr. are in the list of this year’s recipients of the prestigious Rotary Club of Manila Tourism Awards 2014.

RCM director Robert Lim Joseph, chairman of the Tourism Awards, said, “Now on its 10th year, this annual event is a celebration of the excellence and commitment exemplified by these industry people in helping our country as a world-class destination in Asia.”

The event will be on June 5 at the New World Hotel in Makati City.

Zobel de Ayala, president and CEO of Ayala Corp., will receive the award for the Resorts Tourism category, while Sy, chairman of the board of SM, will get the award in the Meetings, Incentives, Conventions and Exhibitions (MICE) Tourism category.

The other awardees are Gilles Garachon, ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary of France for the Tourism Diplomacy category; Bohol Gov. Edgar Chatto, Local Government Tourism category; Dominador Ramon Enerio III, chief operating officer of the Philippine Tourism Board, Tourism category; Abdallah Okasha, country manager of Qatar Airways, Airlines Tourism category; Arthur Lopez, owner/principal of AML Hotel Consultancy, Hotel Tourism category;

Antonio Meloto, chairman of Gawad Kalinga global headquarters, Social Tourism category; Joanne Rae Ramirez, Philippine STAR section editor/columnist and editor-in-chief of PeopleAsia Magazine, Lifestyle Tourism category; Felipe Gozon, president and CEO of GMA Network Inc., Television Tourism category; and Rosalie Montenegro, president and CEO of Makati Medical Center, Medical Tourism category.

Aside from Joseph, the other members of the Tourism Awards committee are RCM president Rudy Bediones, District Gov. nominee Roberto Pagdanganan, RCM director Amading Valdez, and RCM president-elect Frank Evaristo.