On Friday night, 24th September 2010, Africa Albida Tourism (AAT) management walked out of the highly respected annual Association of Zimbabwe Travel Agents (AZTA) awards event with their arms full of awards and their smiles even fuller!
AAT offers the cream of Southern African tourism products operating three divisions, namely hospitality, restaurants and parks. Ross Kennedy, Chief Executive of AAT, was thrilled with the outcome and acknowledged each and every person's role within the AAT family and at the individual properties for their contribution, which had clearly paid off.
Victoria Falls Safari Lodge (VFSL) started the ball rolling with the award for "Best Safari Lodge" for the 15th consecutive year since its opening; and Bumi Hills Safari Lodge closely followed suit winning first runner-up in the same category, after only one year of operation having re-opened in 2009; topped off with The Hide Safari Camp claiming the "Best Tented Camp" award for the 11th time, proving that its recent refurbishment did not go unnoticed.
And if that wasn't enough, AAT also won the African Sun Green Award for their conservation contribution and awareness for their revolutionary Starvation Island feeding programme at Bumi Hills Safari Lodge. The feeding project was successfully undertaken by AAT and Bumi Hills Safari Lodge's staff after massive flooding of Lake Kariba earlier this year saw all the grazing areas around the lake completely submerged, leaving over 200 animals in immediate danger of starvation.
Meanwhile, the staff at award-winning Victoria Falls Safari Lodge were doing an excellent job at keeping their guests well fed! In recognition of their outstanding efforts in the food department the establishment's in-house restaurant, Makuwa-Kuwa, won the "Best Resort Restaurant" award at the AZTA awards evening and the famous Boma - Place of Eating walked away with the award for "Best Ethnic Restaurant".
And as the accolades kept coming Kennedy's smile got brighter and brighter and was soon followed by him remarking that it was a very rewarding feeling to have AAT receive awards for each and every one of the properties within their portfolio and it's all thanks to the hard and dedicated work from the properties' owners, shareholders and staff across the board. Kennedy exclaimed, "It's a proud day for us and I genuinely want to extend a hearty well done and big thank you to each and every person in the individual teams who contributed to these successes." Rennie, one of the part owners of AAT marketed property The Hide Safari Camp, added his sentiments on the awards haul saying, "Congratulations to all from Bumi Hills and VFSL. We are very proud to be associated with you all."
To win an award at this prestigious event, which was inaugurated in 1992, is a real achievement that all Zimbabwean travel and tour operators aspire to. AZTA awards are based on the country's travel agents' annual votes across various categories from ‘Best Regional Airline' to ‘Best Travel Agent'.
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