The presentation event was held on October 17, 2022, in Opatija, Kvarner Region, Croatia.

Skal Order of Merit

• Steve Richer, New Orleans (USA)

• Olukemi Soetan, Lagos (Nigeria)

• Jean-François Côté, Quebec (Canada)

• Mayumi Hu, Taipei (Taiwan)

Skal International Ambassador

• Holly Powers, Boston (USA)

• Heike Garcon-Suiheran, Chiangmai & North Thailand (Thailand)

• Jane Garcia, Isla Mujeres-Puerto Morelos (Mexico)

• Jürgen Steinmetz, Düsseldorf (Germany)

• Nicolle Martin, Côte d’Azur (France)

• Katarina Hauptfeld, Kvarner (Croatia)

Skal International Lifetime Achievement

• Hülya Aslantas, Istanbul (Turkey)

Certificate of Appreciation

President Burcin Turkkan presented the Local Organizing Committee members with a Certificate of Appreciation in recognition of their dedication and efforts in the success of the Congress.

The General Secretariat was also recognized by President Burcin Turkkan with a plaque of appreciation for its work, which was collected by Esther Romero and Ana María Vera on behalf of the team.

2022 Sustainable Tourism Awards

Skal International following the United Nations declaration of 2002 as the Year of Ecotourism and the Mountains, launched these awards, which have received strong ongoing support and attracted high level of participation from all over the world, and certainly helped the tourism world to better understand the importance of sustainability in tourism.

In its 20th anniversary the award ceremony was conducted by Interim Vice President Hulya Aslantas and awards presented by Skal International World President Burcin Turkkan.

Skal International is an Affiliate Member of the U.N. World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) since 1984 and have joined forces to give a greater dimension to the Sustainable Tourism Awards.

And, for fourth consecutive year, it keeps the partnership with the Responsible Tourism Institute and Biosphere Tourism, who have enhanced its support and have granted the Skal Biosphere Sustainable Special Award to each winner, consisting of a one-year free subscription to the Biosphere Sustainable platform, where the winner will be able to create their own personalized Sustainability Plan.

COMMUNITY AND GOVERNMENT PROJECTS

Secretary of Tourism of Santiago de Cali, Colombia

Supported by Skal International Bogotá

COUNTRYSIDE AND BIODIVERSITY

Panthera Africa Big Cat Sanctuary, South Africa

Supported by Skal International South Africa

EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS PROGRAMS AND MEDIA

Mankind Digital, Australia

Supported by Skal International Melbourne

MAJOR TOURIST ATTRACTIONS

The CapTA Group, Australia

Supported by Skal International Cairns

MARINE AND COASTAL

Six Senses Laamu,The Maldives

Supported by Skal International Roma

RURAL ACCOMMODATION

CGH Earth, India

Supported by Skal International Kochi

TOUR OPERATORS – TRAVEL AGENTS

Travel with a Cause, Australia

Supported by Skal International Hobart

TOURISTS TRANSPORTATION

East by West Ferries, New Zealand

Supported by Skal International Wellington

URBAN ACCOMMODATION

Legacy Vacation Resorts, United States

Supported by Skal International Tampa Bay

Skal 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.

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 Skal International club ranked in third place for having received the third highest number of votes is Skal International Hyderabad, India.

The Skal International club ranked in second place is Skal International Antalya, Turkey.

And the Skal International club that has received the highest number of votes and is declared Skal Club of the Year 2021-2022 is Skal International Melbourne, Australia.

Membership Development Campaign Awards

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

Six clubs 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: Skal International Kolkata, India (net increase winner), Skal International St. Gallen, Switzerland (percentage increase winner).

Gold Awards: Skal International Bombay, India (net increase winner), India and Skal International Arkansas, USA (percentage increase winner).

Platinum Awards: Skal International Côte D’Azur, France (net increase winner) and Skal International Merida, Mexico (percentage increase winner).

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 Skal 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 organization.

Rising Skal International Leaders

In recognition of their contributions to Skal 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)