Patronato de la Alhambra y Generalife awarded Tourist Merit plaque

The Patronato de la Alhambra (PAG) has been awarded the Tourist Merit plaque by the minister for Industry, Tourism and Commerce, Miguel Sebastián “for excellence in management, combining preservation of heritage with the visitor experience in a responsible manner. It is the most visited monument in Spain and the main driving force for culture in Granada and Andalusia”. Sebastián underlined the fact that the site was declared Unesco World Heritage in 1984 and that it receives over 3 million visitors each year.
Patronato de la Alhambra y Generalife (PAG) general director María del Mar Villafranca picked up the award on behalf of the Patronato at the 2011 Tourist Merit award ceremony, held at the CaixaForum Madrid building this morning, and where another seven Tourist Medal medals and two plaques, along with the Foreign and Domestic Trade Medals were awarded.
The Tourist Merit award is given in recognition of the work of persons and institutions in favour of Spanish tourism over the year – this year’s winners included Spanish national football coach, Vicente del Bosque, for Spain’s win at the South Africa World Cup, and Taleb Rifai, secretary general of the World Tourist Organisation (UNWTO), the only United National agency to have headquarters in Spain, in Madrid to be precise, for his constant defence of tourism as a key sector to the creation of employment and wealth.
Another medal went to Juan Molas, chairman of the Spanish Confederation of Hotels and Accommodation (CEHAT), member of the board of the Spanish Confederation of Employers’ Organisations (CEOE) and member of the Tourist Board.
These Tourist Merit awards were created in 1963 to honour the special dedication of persons and institutions to tourism, ensuring that it continues to be, as Sebastián explained, one of the “driving forces for social and economic development in Spain”. The minister added that the awards are “the fruit of hard work and team effort”.