Twenty individuals and organizations have been honoured with TOAB International Tourism Award (TITA) in various categories for their significant contribution to various sectors of tourism.

The award was given by the Tour Operators Association of Bangladesh (TOAB), the trade organization of the country's tourism industry, at a ceremony held at Hotel Sheraton in Dhaka on Wednesday night.

Special awards were also given to TOAB founding members and individuals for their contributions to the establishment and development of TOAB.

Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister Muhammad Faruk Khan handed over the awards at the ceremony.

Ambassador of Nepal in Bangladesh Ghanshyam Bhandari, Secretary to the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism Md. Mokammel Hossain were present at the award ceremony as guest of honor while Chairman of Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation AKM Aftab Hossain Pramanik was present as special guest.

Minister Faruk Khan said, "I believe that the award launched by TOAB today will inspire the people involved in this sector. I hope TOAB will continue the award to show better things in this sector in future. Such recognition increases the speed of work."

Invited guests, high officials from various public and private tourism related organizations, airlines, hotels, resorts, tourism stakeholders, respected advisors, directors and members of TOAB, sponsors and partners of the award ceremony, journalists from print and electronic media and all members of the TITA Organizing Committee were present at the award ceremony.