the SUNDAY TIMES

Five Sri Lankan hotels picked up awards at the World Travel Awards 2009 held in London last weekend in diverse categories. The awards endeavour to encourage world-class competition, stimulate innovation and creativity as well as ensure that travellers receive exceptional value. Lighthouse Hotel and Spa in Galle was feted as Sri Lanka's leading boutique hotel while the Hilton Colombo took the honours for being the country's leading business hotel.

The Taj Samudra in Colombo was awarded Sri Lanka's leading hotel while the Taj Exotica Bentota became the island's leading resort.. The prize for Sri Lanka's leading spa resort was given to Ayurveda Pavilions, according to a statement from the organisers.

The World Travel Awards burst onto the international travel and tourism scene 16 years ago and according to the organization, the awards have been making a steady and significant, long term impact. The awards website states that it has taken a global lead on one of the most important aspects of travel and tourism - the quality customer experience, which is a key dimension governing the overall success of companies and organizations.

The website further states that companies who are presented with one of the awards are coming to regard this considerable achievement as its most influential, helping to reassure travelers and effectively assist sales and marketing performance. According to the website, excellent customer experience is the one last differentiator that can lever true commercial advantage. It is for this reason that World Travel Awards have become renowned and coveted. Many companies believe that they deliver superior customer experience, but sadly, this is often not matched by the perceptions of their customers.

The overall winners from all the regions including Asia, Africa, North America, Europe, the Caribbean and Australasia included hotels, beach resorts, airlines, boutique hotels, cruise lines, leading green destinations and even luxury car rentals from all parts of the world. Etihad Airways came away with the prize for the world?s leading airline while Dubai International Airport came away with top honours for airports. The world's leading boutique hotel was given to Saxon Boutique Hotel and Spa in South Africa while the world's leading resort was Italy's Forte Village Resort. The world's leading destination at the 2009 Awards was London, England.

Meanwhile, tourist arrivals to Sri Lanka were up 7% year on year in October 2009 according to the latest statistics released by the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority. Last month, 37,575 tourists entered the island whereas 35,103 tourists visited in October 2008.