Lavasa gets PATWA award for ‘Emerging Destination’

Secretary-General Taleb Rifai presented the award to Lavasa Corporation's Senior Vice President (Tourism, Hospitality and Leisure) Rajiv Duggal
Secretary-General Taleb Rifai presented the award to Lavasa Corporation’s Senior Vice President (Tourism, Hospitality and Leisure) Rajiv Duggal

MUMBAI: Lavasa, the hill station near Pune, has received the International Council of Pacific Area Travel Writers Association’s (PATWA) award for ‘Emerging Destination in India’ at the annual Internationale Tourismus-Borse (ITB) Convention held in Berlin recently.

Represented by members from 70 countries, PATWA is the world’s biggest travel writers’ organization, which organizes international awards every year at ITB Berlin, which is the world’s biggest travel fair.

United Nation’s World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) Secretary-General Taleb Rifai presented the award to Lavasa Corporation’s Senior Vice President (Tourism, Hospitality and Leisure) Rajiv Duggal, a release issued said.

“This will create a new chapter in Lavasa’s history. We have earlier been recognized for design and development, but this is the first time that Lavasa has received an international recognition for tourism. The award is an extremely important milestone,” Duggal said.

“The recognition by an international body will place Lavasa on the international tourism map and give an opportunity to foreign tourists to experience it.

“A 100-acre medicity coming up in the second town, Mugaon, will help showcase Lavasa as a Medical Tourism destination for the Middle East and European markets. Also, recognition has now opened doors for international tie-ups and investments. We are looking at participating at ITB Berlin next year with our partner Apollo Hospitals,” he said. -PTI