MEDIA RELEASE: Immediate. 21 March 2007 (Mossel Bay Tourism) FOUR MOSSEL BAY TOURISM MEMBERS ON AA ACCOMMODATION AWARDS SEMI-FINALISTS LIST The AA Accommodation Awards Semi-finalists for this year have been announced - and the names of four members of Mossel Bay Tourism appear on the list.“The AA Accommodation Awards are significant because they’re voted for by the guests themselves,” said Mossel Bay Tourism’s marketing director, Louis Harris. “Getting into the semi-finals is a sure indication that you’re giving your visitors what they want.”Any accredited member of the AA Travel Guides programme may enter the Awards. Guests are provided with questionnaires - which are drawn up by the organisers - and encouraged to complete and submit them by post. Entries are then processed by an independent bureau using a custom-designed system created by Markinor, a well-known market research company.Preliminary scores are checked and potential semi finalists are identified and announced in March, whilst the names of the finalists are announced in April and the winners receive their awards at a banquet during the Tourism Indaba in May. The organisers have announced the names of 134 semi-finalists in 34 categories in this, the 14th year of the programme’s existence. “The fact that fifteen of the finalists are Garden Route properties attests to the importance of this region as a tourism destination,” said Mr. Harris. “And we’re very proud that four of the fifteen are members of Mossel Bay Tourism.”The Protea Hotel Mossel Bay has been selected as one of five semi-finalists in the category Small Hotel / Inn; Botlierskop Private Game Reserve is one of eight semi-finalists in the category Game and / or Nature Reserves; African Oceans Manor on the Beach is one of seven in the category B&B / Guest House with Self-catering (Small); and Dibiki Holiday Resort is one of three in the category Caravan and / or Camp Sites.“This is further proof that Mossel Bay is definitely taking its place amongst the preferred destinations in South Africa,” said Mr. Harris.Referring to the feedback he’d received from last week’s media tour of journalists to the town, he added that “it’s interesting that these properties were included in the journalists’ list of highlights.“The board of Mossel Bay Tourism congratulates the Mossel Bay Protea Hotel, Botlierskop, Dibiki Holiday Resort and African Oceans Manor on the Beach on achieving this recognition,” he said.   

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MORE INFORMATION:Marcia Holm - Operations Manager, Mossel Bay Tourismadmin@visitmosselbay.co.za  |  Telephone: +27(0)44 691 2202  www.visitmosselbay.co.za PO Box 1556 Mossel Bay, 6500 Republic of South Africa 

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