It was a night that saw the who’s who of the travel and hospitality industries come together to honour excellence. Held at the lovely Roseate House in New Delhi, celebrate with the winners of our special Jury Awards as well as the winners of the Readers' Choice Awards.
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00:00 [MUSIC PLAYING]
00:25 The Outlook Traveler magazine is 16 years of its publishing.
00:29 We have gone through the process of evolving our awards
00:36 over the period of time.
00:38 This year, what we have done is that we
00:40 have changed the format to what we
00:42 have been following in the past.
00:44 This year, we have introduced one segment,
00:46 which is the public voting.
00:48 And the other segment is the jury awards.
00:50 So in the process, what we have tried to eliminate
00:54 is try to eliminate the voting, which
00:58 primarily happens because of high popularity
01:04 of a particular destination.
01:06 So therefore, it is much more robust, much more exciting.
01:10 And I'm quite sure that the winners would really
01:12 feel that they are the true winners of the Outlook Traveler
01:15 Awards.
01:16 Thank you.
01:17 Good evening, everyone.
01:18 My name is Tanvi.
01:19 And I'd like to welcome you all to this beautiful evening.
01:22 To travel is to live.
01:23 And tonight, we celebrate that.
01:25 And I'd like to welcome you all to the seventh edition
01:28 of the Urtiga Outlook Travel Awards.
01:31 The awards are an opportunity to showcase
01:33 some of the best and brightest initiatives
01:36 that have caught our eye in the year that went by.
01:39 In the readers categories, readers
01:41 voted to choose the best of the best
01:43 in a transparent online poll on outlooktraveler.com.
01:48 I'd now like to call upon Mr. Indranil Roy, executive director
01:52 Outlook Group, to tell us more about Outlook Traveler
01:55 and, of course, the awards as well.
01:58 Good evening, ladies and gentlemen.
01:59 On behalf of the Outlook Group, I
02:03 would like to thank you all for coming today evening.
02:07 We are here to celebrate success,
02:09 celebrate the joy of your hard work.
02:13 Outlook Traveler is in its 16th year of publishing.
02:17 And in December 2017, we will be completing and coming out
02:22 with the 200th edition of the magazine.
02:25 I once again thank all of you for accepting our award
02:28 and wish the winners of Urtiga Outlook Traveler
02:30 Awards all the very best.
02:31 Thank you very much.
02:33 It was very heartening to see Indranil
02:35 talk about responsible tourism.
02:37 And this evening, I thought I'd share a little bit
02:40 about my views on that.
02:42 It was during a trip to Nepal a couple of years
02:44 ago that I came across the Three Sisters Trekking Company.
02:49 This company trains women from the mountainous region
02:53 of Western Nepal to be trekking guides, thereby
02:57 a beautiful example of not just social enterprise,
03:01 but also contributing back to society
03:03 while promoting tourism.
03:05 [MUSIC PLAYING]
03:08 [NON-ENGLISH SINGING]
03:31 All right.
03:32 So the moment of truth, what we've all been waiting for.
03:35 We'd like to announce the jury awards.
03:37 And I know there's a fair bit of suspense in the air.
03:41 To do the honors, I'd like to request on stage Mr. Amit
03:44 Dixit, editor Outlook Traveler, and Mr. Khush Kapoor,
03:48 area general manager of Rosyette Hotels and Resorts,
03:51 to please come on stage and join me
03:52 for the first set of jury awards.
03:54 Award for the best state for tourism.
03:58 And it goes to Rajasthan.
04:01 The colorful desert state is perhaps
04:03 among the most hospitable destinations in the world.
04:07 I'd like to call Ms. Gunjeet Kaur, additional director
04:11 Rajasthan Tourism, to please come on stage
04:13 and receive the award.
04:14 The second award for the best city for tourism goes to--
04:30 Udaipur.
04:30 [NON-ENGLISH SPEECH]
04:35 Well, once again, I'd like to call Ms. Gunjeet Kaur
04:38 to please come and receive this award for the state.
04:41 [APPLAUSE]
04:44 [MUSIC PLAYING]
04:47 See, Rajasthan is a beautiful state.
05:01 It retains its ethnicity, its own typical culture,
05:06 as well as its modern.
05:08 It's keeping pace with modernity with the world.
05:10 And it has retained its own roots.
05:13 So that's the beauty of Rajasthan.
05:14 That's what the tourist comes there for.
05:17 Our next jury award for the best new tourism initiative
05:22 goes to the Ministry of Tourism's 24/7 toll-free
05:26 multilingual tourist helpline.
05:28 And to receive the award, I'd like
05:30 to call from the Ministry of Tourism Mr. Kalyan Sen Gupta,
05:34 Assistant Director General, and Mr. D. Venkatesan,
05:36 Assistant Director General, and Ms. Ashima Mehrotra, Director,
05:40 to please come on stage and receive this prestigious award.
05:43 [APPLAUSE]
05:46 Whether it's a foreign tourist or domestic tourist,
05:53 they look for a sense of safety and security.
05:56 And they want the information which is reliable.
06:00 So Ministry of Tourism, considering all these facts,
06:04 in February 2016, had launched an innovative initiative
06:11 in 12 different languages, which is one of a kind
06:15 all over the world.
06:17 And this is 24/7.
06:20 And here, the tourists can call and get all the information
06:24 and can receive help from the concerned agencies.
06:29 Well, this award is for the best national park.
06:34 And it goes to Karnataka National Park in Madhya Pradesh.
06:38 I'd like to invite Mr. Anil Saxena, who's on stage,
06:42 marketing head, to receive the award.
06:46 [NON-ENGLISH SPEECH]
06:49 You must have listened that.
06:51 [NON-ENGLISH SPEECH]
06:54 I must say, MP has everything.
06:57 MP has a Florida Funeral, its heritage, culture, monuments.
07:02 It has-- and our USP is, of course, our wildlife.
07:06 And we have won the prize in the wildlife also,
07:09 the best destination, Kanna.
07:11 So if you talk about Madhya Pradesh, minus snow,
07:15 we have got everything in Madhya Pradesh.
07:18 Our next award is for the best birding destination.
07:23 It goes to Doyang Lake, Nagaland.
07:25 Mr. Jamil, the parliamentary secretary,
07:27 tourism, to come on stage and receive the award
07:30 for the best birding sanctuary.
07:31 [MUSIC PLAYING]
07:35 Good evening, ladies and gentlemen.
07:42 I'm very happy that the jurists have selected Nagaland.
07:46 And Nagaland has also been declared Amur Falcon
07:50 capital of the world.
07:54 We have this migratory birds, the Amur Falcon,
07:59 which flies all the way from Siberia and China
08:02 and through India to South Africa.
08:05 Well, it's a symbol of progress in one way
08:10 for tourism in Nagaland and also a major boost for ecotourism.
08:16 I'm sure the bird watchers as well as the wildlife
08:21 photographers will have a feast of coming and experiencing
08:27 the wildness or the birds, especially during this time.
08:35 Well, I would like to also thank,
08:37 on behalf of the government of Nagaland--
08:40 Next jury award for the best adventure tourism destination
08:44 is again from the northeast of India, and it goes to Meghalaya.
08:48 [MUSIC PLAYING]
08:51 I'd like to call upon Mr. Shravan Gupta and designer
09:12 Leena Singh of Ashima Leena to present a few awards.
09:14 [MUSIC PLAYING]
09:18 So now here's our next jury award for the best adventure
09:24 tour operator, and it goes to White Magic Adventure Travel
09:29 Private Limited.
09:30 [MUSIC PLAYING]
09:33 [APPLAUSE]
09:37 So Himalayas, as you know, is the biggest mountain change.
09:44 It is very different from the rest of India.
09:46 We, as a company, are offering trips all across Himalayas.
09:51 And yeah, I mean, it's a great destination for adventure.
09:54 Our next award is for the best luxury tour operator,
09:59 and it goes to Greaves India.
10:01 [MUSIC PLAYING]
10:05 Our next award for the best outbound tour operator
10:20 goes to--
10:21 well, they're veterans.
10:23 It goes to Cox and Kings.
10:24 [MUSIC PLAYING]
10:28 [APPLAUSE]
10:31 No, we are indeed honored and privileged
10:38 to be voted as the best outbound tour operator in India.
10:42 It just demonstrates our passion and commitment
10:45 to provide the best services to our customers.
10:49 Our next guest, who I'd like to invite on stage to give away
10:52 the next set of awards, is Tikkarani Shailja
10:55 Katoch of Lambagaon, Kangra.
10:57 Along with her, I'd like to request Princess Nandini
11:00 Singh of Jabua to please join me on stage to give away
11:03 the next set of awards.
11:04 Well, the award that we like to give away next
11:08 is for the best luxury hill resort,
11:11 and it goes to the Lalit Grand Palace, Srinagar.
11:15 [MUSIC PLAYING]
11:18 [APPLAUSE]
11:22 This award is absolutely need of an hour
11:31 for the entire team who's there back in Valley,
11:36 fighting against all the odds which is happening at the moment
11:40 and standing very strong and tall,
11:45 being very courageous for last one year.
11:47 So thank you, Outlook, for this.
11:49 The next award is for the best luxury beach resort,
11:53 and it goes to W Goa.
11:56 Mr. Arjun Verma, director of marketing and communications,
11:59 and Mr. Mohan Prasad, director of sales,
12:01 have come on the stage to receive the award.
12:03 [MUSIC PLAYING]
12:07 It is a very high worthy destination,
12:10 not in terms of domestic or the national level,
12:13 but at the international level.
12:15 And that's one of the reasons why
12:16 Goa is seen completely different from all other states in India.
12:20 You know, honestly, as we in the world of W
12:23 say it's a state of mind, when you come to Goa,
12:26 you forget the rest of your life,
12:28 and you literally want to unwind yourself
12:31 when you come to that state.
12:33 It's got everything, right from nightlife to culture
12:37 to history to the best beaches.
12:40 So we're more than happy to receive this award
12:43 on behalf of the state, and obviously the first W
12:46 to open up in India.
12:47 Our next jury award is for the best heritage hotel,
12:51 and it goes to Sujan Rajmahal Palace, Jaipur.
12:55 Thank you, jury, for judging us worthy of this award.
13:08 I'd just like to thank all the people responsible for Rajmahal.
13:11 Of course, Her Highness the Rajmahal Padmini Devi,
13:14 Princess Diya Kumari, and His Highness the Maharaja
13:17 of Jaipur, Padmanabh Singh.
13:18 It's them who actually envisaged to give Rajmahal
13:22 its new avatar as a luxury palace hotel.
13:25 And of course, our team at Sujan Luxury Hotels, Anjali Singh,
13:31 who happens to be my wife, but also Yusuf Ansari,
13:35 Vice President, Arshish Rai, Vice President,
13:38 all the managers and the staff who have actually
13:41 made it what it is.
13:42 Because without people, no hotel is anything.
13:48 And of course, the designer, Adil Ahmed,
13:49 who did a fantastic job of designing the hotel.
13:52 Thank you, everyone.
13:52 Thank you, Outlook.
13:53 Well, the next award is for the best city hotel,
13:57 and it goes to the Four Seasons Hotel, Mumbai.
14:00 [MUSIC PLAYING]
14:03 And our next award is for the best luxury wildlife lodge,
14:14 and it goes to Orange County, Kabini.
14:17 [MUSIC PLAYING]
14:20 See, usually what happens is wildlife lodges, normally,
14:29 you know, they're not very luxurious in the sense
14:32 it's very remote.
14:33 So to make it luxury, it's quite difficult.
14:36 So that's where we have taken that extra effort
14:39 or walked that extra mile to make it luxurious.
14:43 At the same time, give the wildlife a feel.
14:45 Coming up next is the Editor's Choice Award
14:48 for Outstanding Contribution to Travel.
14:51 And this award goes to Mr. Joe's Dominic, MD and CEO,
14:57 CGH Earth Group.
14:58 [MUSIC PLAYING]
15:01 A very big thank you to Outlook Traveler
15:09 for having chosen me as a recipient of this very
15:14 nice award.
15:16 I'm glad I was able to say that I must congratulate Outlook
15:20 Traveler for more than the award for recognizing
15:24 responsible tourism.
15:26 So now we move on to our eagerly awaited Reader's Choice
15:31 category.
15:32 And the first Urtiga Outlook Traveler Award
15:35 is for the best festival.
15:37 And it goes to the one and only Jaipur Literature Festival.
15:41 [MUSIC PLAYING]
15:44 I know the evening is young, and we have a lot more awards
15:56 to go.
15:57 But I'd like to take a moment here and maybe ask all of you
16:01 what you feel about travel.
16:03 My personal experience in terms of traveling
16:06 has been that it's not really about the place,
16:09 the destination.
16:10 But I made so many friends along the way.
16:13 So when I started out, there were so many inhibitions.
16:16 Would I connect?
16:17 And I'm a solo traveler.
16:18 Is it safe?
16:19 How would it be, the place?
16:21 And then you make so many friends,
16:23 and then it's really easy.
16:25 Once you set out to a certain terrain, it's a lot of fun.
16:29 First of all, Peru is not only Machu Picchu.
16:32 That's it.
16:33 You have to go there.
16:34 If you want to eat the best food worldwide,
16:36 you have to be in Peru.
16:38 That's it.
16:39 Yeah, my ceviche and everything is amazing.
16:42 But we have something in common.
16:44 We always talk about food.
16:47 And that's it.
16:48 Yeah, it's the best.
16:50 I think whenever all of us travel,
16:52 there's like a million stories to share.
16:55 And I've had my share of stories, literally in every place,
16:59 from being stranded up in Ladakh
17:01 and going off to look for a Yeti,
17:03 because I thought this was the moment that God had chosen.
17:07 Because we were up in the pass,
17:08 and it was middle of the night,
17:10 and there was a full moon, and we were stranded.
17:12 So I went off looking for a Yeti, but I didn't find one.
17:15 But really, like he said, food is really what I love.
17:21 I choose a country
17:23 to where to set up a festival based on the food,
17:29 whether it's Israel or Egypt or South Africa
17:33 or Boulder, Colorado, or Hong Kong,
17:36 which has to be the foodie capital,
17:39 or Fun Shuk down in South Africa.
17:40 So I think food moves us all,
17:43 so that's the most incredible thing.
17:44 So yeah, and travel is the most exciting.
17:47 (crowd cheering)
17:50 (singing in foreign language)
17:54 (drums beating)
17:57 (singing in foreign language)
18:02 (drums beating)
18:05 (singing in foreign language)
18:09 (singing in foreign language)
18:25 (crowd cheering)
18:28 (singing in foreign language)
18:51 - I'd like to call Mr. Indranil Roy
18:56 and Mr. Sanjay Dalmia,
18:57 who's a well-known industrialist and philanthropist,
18:59 and Mr. Joe Dominic to come on stage
19:02 to give away the next set of awards we're celebrating today.
19:06 I'd like to announce the next award,
19:08 and it's for the best beach destination,
19:12 and it goes to Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
19:16 I'd like to call Mr. Amit Anand,
19:17 director, Tourism, to receive the award.
19:20 (crowd cheering)
19:23 Our next award is for the best drive,
19:39 and it goes to Srinagar to Leh, Jammu and Kashmir.
19:43 I'd like to call upon Ms. Zahida Bano,
19:46 CEO, Leh Development Authority, to receive the award.
19:50 (crowd cheering)
19:53 Our next award is for the best wellness
20:01 and spirituality destination,
20:04 and it goes to, really no guesses for that one,
20:06 it goes to Kerala.
20:08 Mr. Balakiran, director, Kerala Tourism,
20:12 is receiving the award on behalf of Kerala.
20:18 (crowd cheering)
20:21 - Ladies and gentlemen, firstly,
20:24 I thank the jury of Outlook Traveler
20:29 for selecting Kerala as the best destination
20:31 for wellness and spirituality.
20:34 As you know, wellness has become
20:37 one of the main driving forces of tourism sector.
20:41 We are promoting Ayurveda, wellness,
20:45 and panchkarma and everything.
20:47 I'm so happy to receive from Mr. Joe Dominic,
20:51 I think he's one of the pioneers in doing that.
20:54 - Our next award is for the best international destination,
20:58 and it goes to Singapore.
21:01 I'd like to request Ms. Yumin Leemisra,
21:04 area director, North East India and Bangladesh
21:07 for Singapore Tourism Board to please receive the award.
21:10 (crowd cheering)
21:17 - Thanks again for this lovely award.
21:20 Singapore is a beautiful country,
21:24 and we are very, very honored
21:27 that you have graced us with this honor.
21:30 I'd like to say that we do feel the warmth of India,
21:36 and when we get the Indians coming down,
21:40 we welcome you all with our diverse cultures,
21:45 our diverse food, and of course,
21:48 our world class attractions like zoos and gardens.
21:51 - Well, the next award for best international
21:54 wildlife destination, and it goes to South Africa.
21:59 We have with us Ms. Haneri.
22:03 - Thank you, visible to outlook and to all the readers.
22:10 You know, we listened earlier today
22:12 to people talking about responsible tourism,
22:15 and that it's so changed over the world,
22:17 that people, the community, and the environment matters.
22:21 And I think there's one thing
22:22 that we've learned in South Africa
22:24 that has come through the wildlife experience
22:26 that we've had such a great buy-in from our Indian travelers.
22:30 - The award for best international wedding destination
22:34 goes to Seychelles.
22:39 I'd like to call Ms. Ashwini Krishna,
22:41 manager marketing India,
22:42 Seychelles tourism, please come here.
22:44 (upbeat music)
22:47 - An amazing feeling, especially to be awarded
22:56 by a prestigious brand like Outlook Traveler.
22:59 So it really shows that all the efforts
23:01 in the past five years have really been successful.
23:04 So that's a great feeling to be recognized.
23:07 - Our next award is for the best
23:09 international island destination.
23:12 And the award goes to Maldives.
23:15 I'd like to call Ms. Shikha Mishra,
23:17 country manager India,
23:19 Maldives marketing and public relations corporation
23:22 to receive the award.
23:23 (upbeat music)
23:26 - I'd like to thank Outlook Traveler.
23:32 Thank you so much for recognizing the unique
23:34 one island, one resort concept which Maldives has.
23:38 I think it's still unparalleled in the world.
23:41 And enjoy your evening.
23:43 And I hope to see you guys in Maldives soon.
23:45 Thank you so much.
23:46 - Our next award is for the best
23:49 international adventure destination.
23:52 And it's really not a surprise
23:55 that the award goes to New Zealand.
23:57 So I'd like to call upon Ms. Kanika Arora,
24:00 market development manager India
24:02 for tourism New Zealand to receive the award.
24:04 (upbeat music)
24:07 (applause)
24:09 - Our next award is for the best travel blogger.
24:18 And it goes to Savi and Ved of Bruised Passports.
24:23 (applause)
24:25 - It's great and we love sharing our experiences
24:32 on Bruised Passports with the millions of readers
24:34 that we get and yeah, it's good to finally be recognized
24:39 for something that we love doing.
24:42 - The next category of awards is for the best hill station.
24:47 And the award goes to Ladakh.
24:51 I'd like to request Ms. Rupali Mahajan,
24:54 assistant director J&K tourism to receive the award.
24:57 (upbeat music)
25:00 - It obviously feels enthralling
25:03 because we have been naturally blessed.
25:06 And more than that, we have worked it out.
25:07 Despite the political instability,
25:09 we are still able to fetch a lot of population over there.
25:12 And we're looking forward to more of you
25:14 to come over there, explore the destinations
25:15 which have been so far very virgin
25:18 and make the world look in a new light altogether.
25:21 - Well, congratulations once again to all the winners.
25:25 Thank you to our guests for doing the honors.
25:28 And that ladies and gentlemen brings us
25:29 to the end of the award ceremony.
25:32 We'd like to thank Maruti Suzuki Ertega,
25:34 our presenting sponsor.
25:36 We'd like to thank Rosie at house for this wonderful evening.
25:39 Thank you for making this event successful
25:41 and being such a wonderful and patient audience.
25:44 I'd like to invite you all to join us
25:46 for cocktails and dinner and have a fabulous evening
25:49 and travel the world because I promise you,
25:52 if you don't travel, you don't live.