Local tour company Kuvona Cultural Tours, in partnership with Shiluvari Lakeside Lodge and the Ribolla Tourism Association, walked away from the International Tourism Bourse (ITB), the biggest tourism fair in the world held in Berlin Germany in March 2006, with two international awards.

The first award was from the “Studienkreis fuer Tourismus und Entwicklung” (Agency for Tourism and Development). This award, an internationally highly appreciated prize, was for contributing to socially responsible tourism development. In total 28 tourism development projects from all around the world had applied for this award and the finalists were visited by a panel of judges from Germany.

The final top prize was shared by our local Elim Tourism project - Kuvona Cultural Tours, Shiluvari Lakeside Lodge and Ribolla Tourism Association - together with an emerging project in Peru South America.

This is the first time a tourism player in South Africa has won this award. Accepting the award were Abel Baloyi (Shagaan) and Angelika Girardin of Kuvona.

In partnership with the German travel agency Studien Kontakt Reisen in Bonn Germany, Kuvona also won a second award on this ITB Berlin. The prize came from the publication “Geo Saison” (monthly magazine, Germany’s “National Geographic”) and is called “Golden Palm”.

Together with Studien Kontakt Reisen and the German Gospel Singer Ya’ Beppo, Kuvona received the Golden Palm for “new and innovative tourism concepts”, in the category “Exploring Journeys” for their joined venture of Gospel tours whereby visitors from Germany visit Elim for two weeks, interacting, singing and exchanging cultures with local communities.

Kuvona has been operating for seven years, bringing tourists from Germany, Holland, Switzerland and Great Britain into the region. The awarding of the prizes was in recognition of Kuvona’s and Shiluvari’s commitment to develop through tourism.

For more information log on to www.kuvona.com or contact them via email at [email protected]