The CTW Awards, recognised as the leading awards programme in its field, organised annually by the China Outbound Tourism Research Institute (COTRI) since 2004 aims to recognise tourism service providers, destination management organisations, national tourism organisations, retailers, marketing and communication companies for their services to the Chinese outbound tourism market.
The CTW Awards winners were selected and judged by a panel of both Chinese and non-Chinese industry experts, evaluating entries from 30 countries globally in Asia, Europe, North America, the Caribbean and Africa.
NMBT’s gold win is built upon numerous years of high level campaigns for the Chinese market, reflecting NMBT’s commitment to high service quality in the tourist market, capable of delivering experiences to capture the interest of even the most intrepid Chinese Free Independent Tourists (FIT), providing world-class experiences with African wildlife, natural sights and adventure activities such as sand boarding.
Nelson Mandela Bay was identified as a destination that is rich in variety and culture by South African Tourism representative, Annie Zhang who received the award on behalf of NMBT and pointed out the great experiences like marine safaris, diving and exploring the sardine run. She further highlighted the Nelson Mandela Pass (a smart access card that gives FITs free entry to various attractions in the area) as one of the most popular introductions to the Chinese FIT market.
Speaking on behalf of the team, NMBT CEO Mandlakazi Skefile said: "This award is very symbolic, as it comes in the year that we celebrate the hundredth year of Nelson Mandela’s birth, the great icon after whom this beautiful city is named. This award will motivate and inspire us to further our efforts to create world-class tourist experiences to visitors, not only from China but from all over the world."
