Ronda held it’s annual Tourism Awards Evening last week at the Santo Domingo Convent, followed by cocktails and hors d’oeuvres in the patio terrace.

Tourism in Spain accounts for 12% of GDP, and in Ronda is a huge industry drawing millions of visitors every year. Excellence within the tourism industry is therefore encouraged locally, and in recent years has seen a huge increase in support from both the Ayuntamiento and APYMER.

The event was well attended, and an air of excitement prevailed, although I’m sure the award winners must have been feeling quite nervous as they waited for the call to the stage to collect their trophies.<!–more–>The mayor of Ronda Antonio María Marín Lara, the councillor for tourism María Isabel Morales Oballe, and APYMER Tourism Representative Teresa Montero Verdú officiated.

Winners in 2009 for tourism were;
Real Maestranza de Caballería de Ronda for their immeasurable efforts in promoting cultural, tourist, educational, and heritage activities.

CIT (Centre for Rural Tourism) for their long years of promoting tourism in the Serranía.

Restaurant Jerez, for excellence in gastronomy, service, and a long history of actively supporting tourism in Ronda.

Juan Manuel Medina, for tourism innovation, in particular for donating his time in producing a guide to Ronda and the monuments in Braille for blind people.

This year’s award winners are well deserved, and it is believed they will all be positive role models for other tourism providers in Ronda, with the additional hope that 2010 will be tough to decide winners.

A final surprise of the evening saw Bartolomé Nieto González awarded a framed certificate acknowledging his tireless work to promote Ronda.