The Malawi Tourism Council on Tuesday announced the nominee finalists for the 2023 Tourism Industry Awards of Excellence, which has seen musicians Tay Grin and Faith Mussa listed in the category of Destination Promotion Individual Award.
Apart from Faith and Tay Grin, the category also has travel blogger Travel with Mervis and photographer Peter Makwana.
Faith, famed for songs such as ‘Mdidi’ and ‘Desperate’, said Tuesday he was excited to be nominated.
“This nomination means a lot as there are a lot of artists who are doing so much in marketing the country but to be recognised, I feel honoured and it means a lot,” the singer and guitarist, who has toured the world with his music, said.
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Tay Grin, who has just returned from the annual Lusaka July event in Zambia recently, said “it is always a great honour to be recognised by your nation for the work and effort one puts in”.the
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Makwana, who has been on move marketing the country through his lenses, said he was humbled and excited to be nominated.
“I have been doing this for over 15 years and to be recognised is a significant achievement and recognition of my commitment,” he said.
Running under the theme ‘Promoting Competitiveness through Industry Excellence and Resilience’, the awards and gala will be held on September 30 2023 at Bingu International Convention Centre in Lilongwe.
As part of the awards process, organisers of the awards have since invited the public to cast their votes for their favourite nominees.
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The official online voting process opened on Tuesday and will run until September 27 2023.
There are 20 awards in total, which also include Allied Influencers of Destination which has nominees such as William Kamkwamba, ‘I am from Malawi’ Apparel and Song (KBG), filmmaker Shemu Joyah, Madalitso Band, the duo of Yobu Maligwa and Yosefe Kalekeni, currently on a world tour, and Lake of Stars Festival.
The other categories are The Leading Lake Resort, The Leading Lodge Award, The Leading Hotel Award, The Leading National Park /Game Reserve Lodge, The Leading Restaurant Award, The Leading Chef Award and The Leading Airline Award.
The Leading Hotel Award has nominees such as Amaryllis Hotel, Crossroads Hotel Blantyre, President Hotel, Protea Hotel by Marriott and Sunbird Capital.
There is also the Life Achievers Award which has nominees such as Napoleon Dzombe, Prophet Shepherd Bushiri, Annie Fletcher and The 44 Lodge Management.
Coordinator of the awards Dennis Imaan said Tuesday a jury made up of high profile players came up with the list.
“Awards are always tricky but the jury did its job. This is the first time the awards are happening. We needed to start and hope we grow from here,” Imaan said.
Malawi Tourism Council Executive Director Memory Kamthunzi says in a statement that the awards serve as a platform to celebrate and acknowledge outstanding contributions and achievements within the country’s tourism and hospitality sector through different categories of excellence.
