07 March 2014
The Hospitality Committee at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI) introduced hospitality awards for the first time in the Kingdom under the patronage of Jeddah Gov. Prince Mishaal bin Majed and announced the six winners on Tuesday at the JCCI headquarters. The six winners for best restaurant were awarded by Prince Abdullah bin Saud, president of the Tourism Committee at the JCCI, in the presence of several businessmen and women. Prince Abdullah bin Saud told Arab News that this award would definitely help in the development of domestic tourism and would encourage employees working in hospitality management to improve the sector.
Prince Abdullah also said that he is very optimistic that more hotels and restaurants would participate in this contest in the future in a major boost to domestic tourism and economic development. Khalid Al-Harthi, director of the Hospitality Committee at the JCCI, told Arab News that they organized this award with the aim of promoting and enhancing fair competition between restaurants and cafes to improve services to customers. He further said that the idea of launching such an award would definitely boost the sector's performance and support domestic tourism sector, directly impacting the national economy. Judges assessed hotels and restaurants in Jeddah, a major tourist hub for pilgrims, in six categories.
These were best fine dining, best casual dining, best fast food, best traditional restaurant, best cafe and best franchise. Members of the committee included Mohammed Amari, director-general of tourism in Makkah, Bashir Abu Najm, director-general of license control at the Jeddah Municipality, Ibrahim Sini, dean of the Faculty of Tourism at King Abdulaziz University, Ahmed Murshedi, an expert in innovation and development, and Loay Hakeem, an expert in architecture. Al-Harthi also said that more than 400 restaurants and hotels participated in the contest, from which they chose 30 finalists that they then narrowed down to 15, and finally, six winners.
"We hope to continue this award annually and increase the value of the prize. Next year, we will announce a new award category for the best restaurant opened by an entrepreneur to encourage emerging youth," he said. Reem Al-Bawadi won the award for fine dining, Papaya restaurant won the award for casual dining and Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf won the award for best cafe, while Bukhari won the award for best traditional food, Peruvi won the award for fast food and Mado won the award for best franchise.
The Hospitality Committee at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI) introduced hospitality awards for the first time in the Kingdom under the patronage of Jeddah Gov. Prince Mishaal bin Majed and announced the six winners on Tuesday at the JCCI headquarters. The six winners for best restaurant were awarded by Prince Abdullah bin Saud, president of the Tourism Committee at the JCCI, in the presence of several businessmen and women. Prince Abdullah bin Saud told Arab News that this award would definitely help in the development of domestic tourism and would encourage employees working in hospitality management to improve the sector.
Prince Abdullah also said that he is very optimistic that more hotels and restaurants would participate in this contest in the future in a major boost to domestic tourism and economic development. Khalid Al-Harthi, director of the Hospitality Committee at the JCCI, told Arab News that they organized this award with the aim of promoting and enhancing fair competition between restaurants and cafes to improve services to customers. He further said that the idea of launching such an award would definitely boost the sector's performance and support domestic tourism sector, directly impacting the national economy. Judges assessed hotels and restaurants in Jeddah, a major tourist hub for pilgrims, in six categories.
These were best fine dining, best casual dining, best fast food, best traditional restaurant, best cafe and best franchise. Members of the committee included Mohammed Amari, director-general of tourism in Makkah, Bashir Abu Najm, director-general of license control at the Jeddah Municipality, Ibrahim Sini, dean of the Faculty of Tourism at King Abdulaziz University, Ahmed Murshedi, an expert in innovation and development, and Loay Hakeem, an expert in architecture. Al-Harthi also said that more than 400 restaurants and hotels participated in the contest, from which they chose 30 finalists that they then narrowed down to 15, and finally, six winners.
"We hope to continue this award annually and increase the value of the prize. Next year, we will announce a new award category for the best restaurant opened by an entrepreneur to encourage emerging youth," he said. Reem Al-Bawadi won the award for fine dining, Papaya restaurant won the award for casual dining and Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf won the award for best cafe, while Bukhari won the award for best traditional food, Peruvi won the award for fast food and Mado won the award for best franchise.
© Arab News 2014
