Tourism Board awards presented at glittering gala

THE Fomento del Turismo, the Majorcan Tourism Board, concluded its centenary celebrations last night, with a gala dinner at Son Amar, during which its annual awards were presented.
This year, the awards went to: l Gold medal: Wolfgang Besser, former chairman of Thomas Cook. l Special gold medal: Miguel Alemany, for a lifetime dedicated to the Tourism Board, which he joined at the age of 15. l Gold medal (posthumous): Eak Tai Ahn, for his contribution to classical music in Majorca in the 1950s and 1960s, which led to the founding of the Balearic Symphony Orchestra. l Silver medal: Rafael Ferragut, for his work at the head of the Auditorium in Palma. l Silver medal (posthumous): William Waldren, anthropologist, artist, founder of the Deya Museum and discoverer of the prehistoric myotragus balearicus. l Gold plaque: Caves of Hams, to mark the centenary of their discovery. l Gold plaque: Balearic ministry of the presidency and sports for its work in promoting the image of Majorca through sport. l Gold plaque: Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Navegation of Majorca, Ibiza and Formentera, in recognition of it being the cradle of the Tourist Board. l Silver plaque: Mallorca Tours, a pioneer in the promotion of the new client markets of East Europe. l Silver windmill: Journalists Juan Luis Ruiz Collado, of the Bulletin's stablemate Ultima Hora, and Mario Morales, for their many years covering Majorcan tourism in the daily press. l Diplomas: National Park of Cabrera (environmental initiative); Peter Newman (promoting the restaurant sector); San Carlos Castle (restoration of theheritage); Amadip Esment (helping the disabled find work) and Antoni Vives (historical research).
The gala event, attended by the local authorities and representatives of the tourism world, was the last of the centenary events which have lasted for a year.
In addition to the awards, a book tracing the history of the Tourism Board, by historian Antoni Vives, was presented.
It has a print run of 2'500 copies, most of which will be given to members as a souvenir of the centenary.
Since the Tourism Board was founded, 180 million tourists have visited the island, 34 per cent of them from Britain, 33 per cent from Germany and 12 per cent from Spain.