Veteran hotelier and writer Andrew Wood was awarded a certificate of merit at the recent Skål International Congress hosted for the first time on a cruise liner, in New York.
Andrew, who is a long-time resident of Thailand and a former president of Skål International Bangkok, is the 85 recipient of the award, in the 81 year history of an Association with 18,000 members worldwide.
He is the second Thailand resident to be recognised after the late Malai Sakolviphak, who was a founding member of Skål in Thailand.
Andrew keeps the travel industry up-to-date with an informative and entertaining blog in addition to keeping tabs on the hotel industry, his first passion. He also has a stake in a recently established destination management company headquartered in Bangkok.
There were other awards presented to Thailand-based organizations during the congress at sea. They included:
Two ecotourism (Sustainable Development in Tourism) awards. The first in the category of educational programs and media:
1. The code of conduct for the protection of children from sexual exploitation in travel and tourism. Submitted by The Code Organisation, supported by Skål International Bangkok. www.thecode.org
2. Electric Boats (Thailand) – in the transportation category. Submitted by Mermaid Cruises & Shipping Company, supported by Skål International Hua Hin & Cha Am. www.huahincruises.com
Skål International Phuket won the Development Award for increasing membership (Chiang Mai won this award last year).
Andrew Wood (left), National President of Skål Thailand, shown here with Tony Malhotra, President of Skål Pattaya and the Eastern Seaboard, won a certificate of merit at the recent Skål International Congress in New York.
In other related news, the Rembrandt Hotel and the Bangkok club won the bid (beating Germany) to host the Mid-Term International Skål Council meeting in April/May 2014.
Andrew Wood is currently National President of Skål Thailand and overseas Skål clubs in Chiang Mai, Bangkok, Hua Hin, Pattaya, Samui and Phuket.
