The awards were received by Gehan M. Perera, Managing Director of Aitken Spence Travels and Ace Travels & Conventions and Dharni Soza, Director, from Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickramanayake at the Presidential Secretariat in the presence of Minister of Tourism Milinda Morogoda, Deputy Minister of Tourism Faizer Mustapha, Member of Parliament and Tourism Ambassador Arjuna Ranatunga, Secretary to the President Lalith Weeratunge, Acting Secretary, Ministry of Tourism George Michael, Chairman - Tourism Authority Renton de Alwis and a large gathering of distinguished guests from the tourism industry.

Aitken Spence Travels is the largest tour operator in the country representing over 200 international tour operators and is the only Sri Lankan Destination Management company equipped with the ISO 9001:2000 certification.

Its subsidiary, Ace Travels and Conventions, is the leading Professional Conference and Exhibition Management Company in Sri Lanka having coordinated many of the international events to be held in the country such as the International Congress on Aids in Asia Pacific (ICAAP), the South Asia Broadband Conference and the launch of Microsoft Vista.

Aitken Spence Travels, a joint venture between conglomerate Aitken Spence Plc and the world’s largest integrated tourism company, TUI Travel Plc, has in its existence of over three decades actively contributed towards uplifting the industry. It has participated in the establishment of the new Tourism Law which enables private sector participation in promoting Sri Lanka effectively.

The company has also shared its proprietary IT system iTOS which manages tour operations in a professional manner by linking customers with suppliers and services.

Gehan M. Perera, Managing Director of Aitken Spence Travels and Ace Travels & Conventions upon receiving the awards said, "This is a great honour and tribute to our dedicated staff who work round the clock to make holidays very special for our guests and meticulously organize conferences and exhibitions. Our investment in technology, training and development of staff is a testament to this award. Our team has been innovative and has confidently handled the past years when tourism took a downturn; rising above the situation opening new markets and stimulating different channels in existing markets to keep the Sri Lanka Tourism flag flying high.

"I must also emphasize the award won by Ravindra Palagolla for the Best Chauffer Guide. He is part of our excellent team and in fact one of the frontline ambassadors for tourism in Sri Lanka working with us 24x7 to make this all possible. Credit must also go to our international principals and local partners who have been an integral part of our success."

The Presidential Awards for Travel and Tourism Excellence was inaugurated by the Ministry of Tourism to foster competitiveness and uplift the standards of the local tourism and travel industry.