2011 G! AWARDS

This year's winners were the hotelier Climent Guitart, the Costa Brava International Fireworks Contest – Town of Blanes Trophy, a feature published in REIZ& magazine (a Dutch publication) and an episode of the Dreams Road 2010 series, broadcast on Rai Uno, the Italian channel.

On 15^th December, the Patronat de Turisme Costa Brava Girona held the sixth G! Tourism Awards of the Counties of Girona. More than three hundred people gathered at the Girona Auditorium and Conference Centre, including dignitaries, representatives of the tourism sector and professionals from the general media and from specialised tourism and gastronomy media outlets.

The G! Tourism Awards of the counties of Girona were created by the Patronat as a way of recognising and rewarding the career and good business management of Girona's tourism professionals while raising the external profile of the tourism attractions and resources of the Costa Brava and the Pirineu de Girona.

The annual G! Awards are divided into three categories, one of which is honorary (encompassing the Josep Pujol i Aulí Professional Contribution Award and the Xiquet Sabater Business Project Award), while the tourism communication awards (in the written media category and the audiovisual media category) and the Yvette Barbaza Award for Research have a monetary value.

The 2011 G! Awards were organised by the Patronat de Turisme Costa Brava Girona, with the support of La Caixa, the Girona Auditorium and Conference Centre and Girona City Council. The ceremony featured a performance of havaneres (colonial sea shanties) by Els Cremats de Palafrugell.

Winners of the G!11 TOURISM AWARDS of the counties of Girona.

• The 6^th Josep Pujol i Aulí Professional Contribution Award went to Mr. Climent Guitart i Pascual.
• The 6^th Xiquet Sabater Business Project Award went to the Costa Brava International Fireworks Contest – Town of Blanes Trophy.

Winners of the G!11 Tourism Communication Awards of the Counties of Girona.

The Communication Award in the written media category:

• Hans Avontuur for his magazine feature entitled Costa Brava, terug naar de wild kust (Costa Brava, return to the wild coast) published in REIZ& magazine. The feature focuses on the Costa Brava's footpaths and the destination's scenic, cultural and gastronomic value.

The Communication Award in the audiovisual media category:

• Valeria Cagnoni and Emerson Gattafoni for a programme produced by Gekofilm, entitled Dreams Road 2010, devoted to Catalonia and the Costa Brava, which was broadcast on Radiotelevisione Italiana, Rai Uno. The programme contributes to disseminating the values and attractions of the Girona area among touring and travel enthusiats.

For the 6^th awards for tourism communication of the counties of Girona, 43 pieces of work were submitted from ten different countries (Spain, France, Italy, Germany, the UK, Austria, Belgium, Holland, the USA and Qatar), including articles and features in the written press, travel guides, books, online articles and television productions.

This year, the second Yvette Barbaza G! Award for Research, corresponding to 2011, was declared null and void since the jury felt that the submitted proposals were not mature enough to merit an award of this nature.