This evening will take you back to 30th of March 2016. When April is nearing an end, I am still stuck on March. Well, it suggests two things. Firstly, April has been about non-stop travel for me and second it also means that some days and events have long-lasting impressions. And this day was about one such event. It saw an inspiring gathering of India’s top travelers, luminaries from India’s tourism fraternity & dignitaries from various walks of life. It was a lovely evening in Taj Mahal Hotel in New Delhi when HolidayIQ held its first ever annual tourism awards night to celebrate holidays in a better way.
When this invitation popped in the inbox, the first thing that really caught my attention was the term- ‘BETTER HOLIDAYS’. It sounded fresh and pleasing. ‘Holidays’ have always had a beautiful appeal about themselves and with the addition of ‘better’ in front of them, they sounded all the more glorious. When I read it further, I realized it was an awards night to celebrate the best in travel and tourism. For me as a blogger who loves traveling and reviewing, nothing could have been better to receive a personal invitation to the glittering evening. The last line multiplied the excitement manifold – ‘We also invite you to present the Award to one of the Top 30 Winners, at this impressive ceremony in New Delhi.’
In my opinion, the ‘best’ in any field must be awarded. It should have an upper hand over ‘better’ and ‘better’ should stand out differently from the rest. Until there is a healthy competition, none will strive to make a difference. So its very important to recognize those who have been putting up a great show. It also challenges the others to work towards improvement. Thus, Better Holiday Awards served two purposes. Firstly, they gave a lovely list to travelers to plan their holidays better and secondly, they also fueled other players to strive to be better.
I reached the venue on time and the event kicked off soon. Shri Suresh Prabhu, Hon’ble Union Minister for Railways was supposed to grace the occasion but due to last minute engagement, he could not make it there. Nevertheless, there were others who also play a significant role in making India a better tourist destination, like Dr. Jitendra Singh, Union Minister of State (IC) and Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region, Sunira Bassi, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Railways, H.K Jaggi, General Manager, Northeast Frontier Railway Contraction as chief guests.
To start with, Mr. Hari Nair, Founder & CEO, HolidayIQ greeted everyone warmly. He talked about Holiday IQ and introduced the awards calling them most credible in Indian tourism because they were chosen by the Indian travelers and reviewers. The ratings & reviews shared by millions of Indian travelers on HolidayIQ had been the criteria for choosing the winners. Later he took us through a 3 minutes slideshow where he presented some eye-opening stats about Indian Tourism and its needs.
These six points will interest everyone who is associated with traveling
It was a packed house inside Diwan-I-am. There were two rounds tables in the center which were most excited about the awards to begin. We were the travelers and the reviewers gang who not only had a voice in the selections but also we were soon going to give away awards too. But before that there was an interactive session with the dignitaries where some very relevant questions were raised. One of our friends Parminder, who is a handicap traveler but a very enthusiastic and inspiring lady asked everyone that why railways had no designated provision to put wheelchairs or why places in India were yet not prepared to cater to the handicap travelers. Yes, these questions arise from personal experiences and they tell us all that much is yet to be done in India. Next, followed a healthy discussion around what is being done by the authorities and what is the need of the hour. This did not last for long but in future we do need such sessions where the authentic travelers should be given a chance to talk about their experiences, services standards, issues and put across the reviews and satisfaction level to the authorities. Roads- Rails are as important to Travel Industry as Dal-Chawal to Food Industry.
Without a break, the winners were announced soon! Here is the list. Do tell me in the comments section below, where all have you been to and what was your experience?
Top 10 holiday accommodations in India
|
India’s favourite houseboat- Moonvalley Houseboat, Srinagar
|
|
|
India’s favourite homestay- Dhangiri Homestay, Vythri
|
|
|
India’s favourite holiday cottage- Tree Hill Cottage, Manali
|
|
|
India’s favourite boutique hotel- Old Harbour Hotel, Kochi
|
|
|
India‘s favourite holiday camp- Winds Desert Camp, Jaisalmer
|
|
|
India’s favourite farm stay- Jungle Retreat, Wayanad
|
|
|
India’s favourite heritage hotel- Oberoi Cecil, Shimla
|
|
|
India’s favourite city hotel-Taj Mahal Palace, Mumbai
|
|
|
India’s favourite resort- Mayfair Gangtok resort and spa, Gangtok
|
|
|
India’s favourite apartment hotel- Oakwood Premier, Pune
|
Top Tourism Attractions in India
|
India’s favourite adventure attraction- Nathula Pass, Gangtok
|
|
India’s favourite beach- Radhanagar beach, Havelock Island
|
|
India’s favourite urban attraction- Ramoji Film City, Hyderabad
|
|
India’s favourite hill attraction- Triund, Mcleodganj
|
|
India’s favourite historical attraction- Mehrangarh fort, Jodhpur
|
|
India’s favourite natural attraction- Ranthambore National Park, Ranthambore
|
|
India’s favourite spiritual attraction- Somnath temple, Somnath
|
|
India’s favourite waterfall- Dhuandhar falls, Jabalpur
|
Top Tourism Destinations in India
|
India’s favourite destination for Adventure Sports- Auli, Uttarakhand
|
|
India’s favourite Sea-side Destination- Tarkali, Maharashtra
|
|
India’s favourite City- Chandigarh, Chandigarh
|
|
India’s favourite Hill Station- Shillong, Meghalaya
|
|
India’s favourite Heritage Destination- Khajuraho, Madhya Pradesh
|
|
India’s favourite Wildlife Destination- Dandeli, Karnataka
|
|
India’s favourite Pilgrimage Destination- Vaishno Devi, Kashmir
|
|
India’s favourite Waterfront Destination- Alappuzha, Kerala
|
India’s Favourite Airlines for Holidays
|
India’s favourite Full Service Airline for Holidays– Jet Airways
|
|
India’s favourite Budget Airline for Holidays-Indigo
|
Other Favourites
|
India’s Favourite Bus Service for Holidays
|
|
Orange travels
|
|
India’s Favourite Railway Station for Holidays
|
|
New Jalpaiguri
|
|
India’s Emerging State for Tourism
|
|
Orissa
|
|
India’s Best State for Tourism
|
|
Jammu & Kashmir
|
|
India’s Most Popular State for Holidays
|
|
Maharashtra
|
|
India’s Favourite Airport for Holidays
|
|
New Delhi
|
Wishing Better Holidays to you!!!
Pictures courtesy: http://www.travelmail.in/better-holiday-awards-by-holidayiq/
This is awesome feel while giving award to someone.
Love the list of the best properties & travel destinations … We have stayed in Oberoi Cecil Shimla, it was such a beautiful property , we were upgraded to the luxury suite which was like a 2bhk flat 🙂
Have been to all the places mentioned except Rajasthan 🙂
Nice to see you going places, Manjulika! The journey has just begun:)