An inaugural edition of the award was recently held at the Shangri-La Hotel Kuala Lumpur and the gala dinner celebration, was graced by the Right Honourable, Prime Minister of Malaysia, Dato’ Sri Mohd Najib Bin Tun Hj Abdul Razak. Among the VIP guests were the country’s fourth Prime Minister, Tun Dr Mahathir Bin Mohamad, Minister of Federal Territories & Urban Wellbeing and Minister of Tourism.

The awards were introduced by the Kuala Lumpur City Hall to recognise the high standard of practices of tourism industry players in the city, and for making Kuala Lumpur an international tourist destination.
Each category of the award was judged by a panel of senior industry professionals who were led by a head judge. There were a total of 10 judging panels that took between six to nine weeks to conduct a thorough judging process. It included site visits by the panel of judges and interviews of the nominees.

Nine categories with 32 awards were contended in this inaugural edition. The categories of awards are for Accommodation, Restaurants, Tourist Attractions, Nightspots, Shopping Malls, Foreign Airlines, International Tour Operators, Print Media (Magazines) and Front Liners. There were three classes of awards presented and they are for Outstanding Achievement (highest class), Excellence and the Mayor’s Recognition.
Leading the award recipients was the former Prime Minister of Malaysia, Tun Dr Mahathir Bin Mohamad, who was presented with the ‘Lifetime Achievement Award’ for his many contributions that have shaped the Kuala Lumpur tourism industry over the last three decades such as, the KL International Airport, the Sepang Formula One Circuit, KL Tower and the city’s most recognisable icon, the Petronas Twin Towers.

The award recipients were presented with silver plaques exclusive crafted by the renowned French brand of silverware, Christofle. While the special trophy for the ‘Lifetime Achievement Award’ was created by Mouawad.

Tan Sri Ahmad Fuad Ismail, Mayor of Kuala Lumpur mentioned, “The response to the inaugural Kuala Lumpur Mayor’s Tourism Awards has been so enthusiastic, not just within the industry but also from the general public. The number of nominations received is overwhelming, and the public voting has been very successful.”