Sent to: All Members of Skål International

15 October 2022

Skål International is delighted to share all the recognitions and awards presented during the Opening Ceremony of the Skål International World Congress, held on Friday 14 October 2022 in Rijeka, Kvarner Region, Croatia.

Sustainable Tourism Awards

This year, a total of 50 entrants from 23 countries worldwide have met the requirements and competed in the nine available categories.

This highlight event that has gathered over 320 travel executives from all over the world and important authorities of Croatia, the Kvarner region and also Opatija and Rijeka, as well as Skål International, has been honoured with the prestigious presence of Mr. Ion Vilcu, Director of Affiliate Members Department at the U.N. World Tourism Organization (UNWTO).

Mr. Ion Vilcu, Director of the Affiliate Members Department at the U.N. World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), with Skål International President Burcin Turkkan and Interim Vice President Hulya Aslantas.

Skål International Club of the Year Award

In this still challenging year, 14 clubs out of the 21 that met the eligibility criteria, accepted the invitation to participate in this competition.

Congratulations to all the eligible clubs for their great performance despite the complicated situation some of them are still experiencing!

Eligible Clubs worldwide and an Executive Board panel of judges formed by Directors Marja Eela-Kaskinen and Annette Cardenas and CEO Daniela Otero were invited to cast their vote.

• The Skål International club ranked in third place for having received the third highest number of votes is: Skål International Hyderabad, India.
• The Skål International club ranked in second place is Skål International Antalya, Turkey.
• And the Skål International club that has received the highest number of votes and is declared Skål Club of the Year 2021-2022 is Skål International Melbourne, Australia.

From left to right: Juan I Steta, Vice President Skål International, Mohan NSN, President, Skål International Hyderabad; Ivana Patalano, President Skål International Australia, receiving Michael O'Flynn Perpetual Trophy on behalf of Skål International Melbourne, Skål Club of the Year 2021-2022; Burcin Turkkan, President Skål International and Ugursal Ugur, President Skål International Antalya.

Membership Development Campaign Awards

Skål International has maintained 100% of its membership and is on target to reach our forecast of 13,000 members for 2022.

Congratulations to the Top 6 clubs that have achieved the top Membership Growth! There are 2 Awards in each category of Silver, Gold and Platinum, for the top three clubs getting the highest increase:

• Silver Awards: Skål International Kolkata, India (net increase winner), Skål International St. Gallen, Switzerland (percentage increase winner).
• Gold Awards: Skål International Bombay, India (net increase winner), India and Skål International Arkansas, USA (percentage increase winner).
• Platinum Awards: Skål International Côte D’Azur, France (net increase winner) and Skål International Merida, Mexico (percentage increase winner). 

From left to right, Juan I Steta, Senior Vice President Skål International; Carl Vaz, President Skål International India; David Fontanella, President Skål International Switzerland and Denise Scrafton, Membership Director at Skål International.

From left to right, Juan Steta, Senior Vice President Skål International; Carl Vaz, President Skål International India; Karen Trevino, Membership Director at Skål International United States, and Skål International Arkansas; and Denise Scrafton, Membership Director at Skål International.

From left to right, Juan Steta, Nicolle Martin, President Skål International Côte d'Azur; Jane Garcia, President Skål International México; Mireya Camarena, Secretary at Skål International Merida; and Denise Scrafton, Membership Director at Skål International.

Presidential Recognitions and Awards

The following awards and recognitions were presented by President Burcin Turkkan:

Presentation of Trophies to Committees’ Chairmen

Governance:

• Franz Heffeter (Europe)
• Jean-François Côté (Americas)
• Holly Powers (Americas)

Statutes/By-laws:

• Salih Cene (Europe)
• Mok Singh (Americas)

Advocacy & Global Partnership:

• Olukemi Soetan (Africa)
• Steve Richer (Americas)

Training & Education:

• Paul Durand (Americas)
• Lavonne Wittmann (Africa)

Membership Development:

• Trish May (Oceania)
• Denis Smith (Americas)

Technology:

• Enrique Flores (Americas)
• Ugursal Ugur (Europe)

Media & Public Relations

• Jürgen Steinmetz (Europe)
• Frank Legrand (Americas)

Fundraising Committee:

• Anurag Gupta (Asia)
• Deniz Anapa (Europe)

Name Committees’ members

The President of Skål International acknowledged all the members of the 8 working committees set up in January 2022, who had been working tirelessly throughout the year to bring improvements and recommendations to the organisation.

Rising Skål International Leaders

In recognition of their contributions to Skål International Movement as the rising future leaders to take the organization to next levels.

• Altan Demirkaya (Vancouver, Canada)
• Nuria Flores Gonzalez (Puerto Vallarta-Riviera Nayarit, Mexico)
• David Fontanella (Genève, Switzerland)
• Tara Strickland (Melbourne, Australia)
• James Cheng (Taipei, Taiwan)
• Tamara Cerneka (Kvarner, Croatia)
• Tania Imani (Orlando, U.S.A.)
• Maria del Pilar Salas Moreno (Cusco, Peru)
• Johannes Jungwirth (Bonn, Germany)
• Irena Persic-Zivadinov (Kvarner, Croatia)

Skålleague of the Year

In appreciation of his service and efforts in the promotion of Skål International:

• Carl Vaz (Bombay, India)

Carl Vaz, President Skål International India and Skålleague of the Year; and Burcin Turkkan, President of Skål International.

Congratulations to all the awarded and thank you for the attendees to the Opening Ceremony of the Skål International World Congress, both in person and online.

Thank you and best regards,

General Secretariat

Skål International