Benny Thomas (second from right), Editor and Publisher of Ayurveda
& Health Tourism receives the award from Chief Minister Pinarai Vijayan as
Tourism Minister Kadakampally Surendran, Excise and Labour Minister T P
Ramakrishnan and other dignitaries look on

Ayurveda & Health Tourism, premium publication on
Ayurveda and health tourism from FM Media Technologies Private Limited, Cochin,
has been adjudged the best tourism magazine for the year 2014-15 by the Tourism
Department of Government of Kerala. The magazine is published in seven
languages– English, Hindi, German, Spanish, Russian, Arabic and Italian.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan presented the
prestigious award to Benny Thomas, editor and publisher of Ayurveda &
Health Tourism at a function organized in Kozhikode on December 18.

ourism Minister Kadakampally Surendran presided over
the event and Excise and Labour Minister T P Ramakrishnan delivered the keynote
address. K Dasan MLA delivered the welcome address. Kerala Tourism Principal
Secretary Dr Venu V and Tourism Director U V Jose were among the host of
dignitaries at the event.

A high-power committee under the chairmanship of
Tourism Principal Secretary Dr Venu V picked the 27 winners under three
categories for the awards.

Other awards in the media category went to Dr K C
Krishnakumar, Chief Sub Editor, Mathrubhumi for best tourism related report and
Arun Sreedhar, Chief Photographer, Malayala Manorama  for best tourism photography.

Award winners in different categories include:

1. Marvel Tours for best in-bound tour operator
2.  
3. Crowne Plaza, Kochi, for the best five-star deluxe
   hotel
4.  
5. Uday Samudra Leisure Beach Hotel and Spa for the best
   five star hotel
6.  
7. Spice Village in Thekkady for best four-star hotel
8.  
9. Marari Beach in Alappuzha for top three-star hotel
10.  
11. Coconut Lagoon, Kumarakom   for the best heritage hotel,
12.  
13. Somatheeram Research Institute and Ayurveda Hospital
    won the award for the best Ayurveda Centre
14.  
15. Coconut Creek Farm and Homestay at Kumarakom for the
    best homestay
16.  
17. Teak Town, Malappuram for the best serviced villa
18.  
19. Jaya Chitra of Somatheeram Ayurveda Resort and Sanjay
    Kaushik of Crowne Plaza for the best hotel manager
20.  
21. Munnar Catering College for the best tourism
    management institute
22.  
23. Joseph K of Malappuram for special recognition for
    new initiatives in tourism for this year for his ‘Adventure on Wheels,
24.  
25. Somatheeram Ayurveda Group and The Travel Planners
    from Thiruvananthapuram for the best use of IT in Tourism
26.  
27. Kalypso Adventures for The Best Adventure Tourism
28.  
29. Sanal Kumar A G 
    for  the best tourism police
30.  
31. Mahesan C for best tourism lifeguard
32.  
33. Sargaalaya Kerala Arts and Crafts Village, Iringal
    for the best tourism destination
34.  
35. St Xavier’s College for Women, Aluva, was adjudged
    for the best tourism club award.

FM Media Technologies Private Limited is a fast
growing publishing group based in Kochi, Kerala, which publishes Sanghamam, a
popular tabloid in Malayalam, from New York, Chicago, Texas and Toronto,
Ayurveda& Health Tourism, an authoritative magazine on India’s ancient
medical practices and Medical Tourism, a trusted source of information  on medical tourism.