CNBC AWAAZ Business channel in association with Chhattisgarh Tourism, the presenting sponsor will honour India’s Best in Class Travel Destinations and Tourism Ancillary services at the fifth edition of ‘CNBC AWAAZ Travel Awards 2011’. The aim of these awards is to felicitate patrons of the Indian travel and tourism industry who have time and again proved their vision and expertise on the global tourism platform.

The awards will be presented by Shri. Subodh Kant Sahay, Minister of Tourism, Government of India at the awards ceremony. Supported by Incredible India, the nodal agency for the development and promotion of tourism in India, the awards will be held at the Taj Palace on November 17 in New Delhi.

Tourism is the largest service industry in India, with a contribution of 6.23% to the national GDP and 8.78% of the total employment in India. India witnesses’ more than 5 million annual foreign tourist arrivals and 562 million domestic tourism visits. The tourism industry in India generated about US$100 billion in 2008 and that is expected to increase to US$275.5 billion by 2018 at a 9.4% annual growth rate.

The Ministry of Tourism is the nodal agency for the development and promotion of tourism in India and maintains the "Incredible India" campaign. According to World Travel and Tourism Council, India will be a tourism hotspot until 2018. The rise of Indian Tourism would not have been possible if not for the sheer spirit and determination of its stakeholders. Hence, these awards seek to recognize the stellar organizations and individuals who are championing, driving and supporting the Indian tourism industry.

Speaking on the occasion Shri. Brijmohan Agarwal, Chhattisgarh Tourism Minister said, “Emerging as a leading tourist destination for domestic and international travelers, India still has a number of unexplored destinations making it the potential tourism hub worldwide.

Chhattisgarh, for example, is one such destination which after being carved as a new state in November 2000, has the scope of becoming India’s leading tourist destination and promises a lot of surprises to all those visiting the state. We are proud to associate with the CNBC AWAAZ Travel Awards as it’s an excellent platform to promote and create awareness for tourism in our state and its theme - Chhattisgarh full of surprises.”

CNBC AWAAZ in association with India’s leading research organization, The Nielsen Company conducted an exhaustive consumer response survey with an objective to felicitate the best in the travel and tourism industry, identify India’s travel potential, unveil various consumer’s decision making criteria’s and gain an understanding of the consumer mindset. The sample size of the research study included 2000 respondents comprising of the consumers, adventurous sports enthusiasts, corporates and members of the trade industry across 11 cities within the age group of 20 – 45 years belonging to SEC A / B1, both males and females.

Powered by an esteemed jury panel like Mr. Ashwini Kakkar, Executive Chairman, Mercury Travels, Mr. Amitabh Kant, CEO & MD, DMICDC and Mr. Ashwani Lohani, Former MP tourism these awards put into perspective the emerging trends in India's tourism. These trends across leisure, medical, adventure, heritage tourism are putting India on the world map today.