Jesmond Borg wins Gozo Tourism Worker of the Year Award 2014

by Gozo News · January 9, 2015

For the seventh consecutive year the Gozo Tourism Association, organised the Gozo Tourism Awards 2014. This year, Awards were bestowed to the Gozitan Tourism Worker of the Year as well as in the Tourism Gozitan Entrepreneurship Award section.

The main aim of these awards is to acknowledge, commend, encourage and thank all the workers and Entrepreneurs who distinguishes themselves in the performance of their duties in the vital touristic industry in Gozo.

The event was held in one of the leading hotels in Gozo, under the patronage of President Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca.

In recognition of his achievements at the ITS in Qala, as a chef and lecturer, Jesmond Borg was named as Best Tourism Worker of the Year Award 2014, whilst the Tourism Entrepreneurship Award was awarded to Mr Alvin Scicluna, Managing Director CVC Media.

Finally the Gozo Tourism Association Council awarded the Lifetime Tourism Achievement Award to the late Mr. Ino Attard and Mr. Lino Cefai for their investments and achievements in the tourism sector during a span of 40 years, which definitely contributed towards job creation and economic growth on Gozo.

President Marie Louise Coleiro Preca, conferred the Gozo Tourism Worker Award to Mr. Jesmond Borg, while the Minister for Gozo Dr Anton Refalo presented the Tourism Entrepreneurship Award to Mr. Alvin Scicluna. The Lifetime Tourism Achievement Award was presented by the Minister for Tourism Dr. Edward Zammit Lewis to Mrs. MaryGrace Attard, the wife of the late Mr. Ino Attard and to Mr. Lino Cefai.

The winners were officially announced by Notary Public Dr. Enzo Dimech LL.D Chairman of the independent adjudicating board which also included, Mr Joseph W Psaila and Mr Joseph Camilleri.

On the occasion of the presentation of Gozo Tourism Awards, the Minister for Tourism, Dr. Edward Zammit Lewis, said that these awards are presented to show our appreciation to a number of individuals who have made a special contribution to the Gozitan tourism industry.

“This is a good opportunity to reflect on the importance of the individual in the tourism industry; an industry where the quality of personal contact with the visitor can make the difference between a positive or negative experience and is a very important consideration in the case of Gozo,” the Minister said.

“When visiting Gozo, the majority of tourists mixed with local people, visited their villages, participated in their festivals and religious and cultural events,” the Minister for Tourism added.

According to the most recent figures, 37% of tourists visiting Gozo were repeat visitors and during the first six months of 2014, tourists in Gozo increased by almost 8% compared to the same period last year. In the same period day trip visitors increased by 9%.

‘While congratulating the winners in each category of the Awards, I wish success to all of the workers and entrepreneurs in the tourism sector in Gozo, as well as all of the Gozitan community,” the Tourism Minister concluded.

The Minister for Gozo, Dr Anton Refalo, congratulated the winners and said that they serve as role models to be emulated by all of the workers and entrepreneurs in this vital sector, which is so important for the Gozitan economy.

The Minister added that 2014 was another year of great success for tourism in Gozo, with substantial increases in both local and international visitors.

“Our goal is primarily to develop a distinctive style of tourism in Gozo and to boost tourism by encouraging particular niches of high quality tourism throughout the year, including cultural tourism, sports tourism, religious tourism, educational tourism, medical tourism, and rural tourism,” the Minister said.

We believe that Gozo should also have appropriate facilities for meetings, conferences and other events, in order to attract other forms of quality tourism to the island of Gozo, the Minister concluded.

The Event was also attended by M.P. Mr. Frederick Azzopardi, Malta Tourism Authority Chief Executive Office, Mr. Paul Bugeja, MTA executives, Gozo Tourism Association council members and other members coming from the various sectors of the Gozitan Tourism industry.