NEWS that the government is rolling out new awards to recognize top players in our country’s travel and hospitality industry is understandably of considerable public interest.

It was the Natural Resources and Tourism ministry that broke the news – late last week – on the shores of Engoitokitok Hippo Lake deep inside the world-renowned Ngorongoro Crater in marking the World Tourism Day.

The ministry set December 19 as the date for awarding winning entries from seven categories of the second instalment of Serengeti Awards.

What may have left observers gazing at the stars were remarks that the planned Serengeti Awards will be a grand slam of international standards in the manner of ‘EGOT, that is Emmy, Grammy, Oscars and Tony awards combined, only this time for the country’s tourism sector.

Few agencies can organise such a world-class tourism awards event, while our own awards could indeed pull a good number of star gazers in world tourism, the marvel has its limits. We need to make the best out of it but not climb far too high.

With the number of tourism arrivals said to have increased tremendously in the last two years, it is not surprising to see an awards season being incepted.

Accordingly, there is sense in suggesting that a wider array of keen stakeholders will be seeking to find space in the setting. 

Also, this time around the listed awards could be highly improved on account of featuring top judges and international auditors to ensure that the winners truly deserve merit and credit.

A specific feature of the awards lined up is that at least 60 entries stand to win prizes, while special award nominations will be dedicated to individuals who have played or are still playing great roles in the country’s travel industry.

This could safely be cited as a lifetime achievement, a prime example cited being an award handed posthumously last year to Dr Louis and Mary Leakey.

Connoisseurs have taken special note of the lady, as an online entry says that, despite her lack of formal education, she stands out as one of the premiere archaeologists of the past century.

Although her research is often talked about in conjunction with that of her archaeologist husband and sons, her major finds are more than enough to win her global acknowledgment.

Perhaps there will be memory of Dr Bernhard Grzimek (1908-1967) who in 1945 took over as director of the Frankfurt Zoological Society, an organisation with unflinching dedication to the Serengeti.

There is another couple, Adam and Joy Adamson, who raised a lion cub and followed it up during its entire life, writing books like Born Free, Living Free’ on how it was returned to the bush and it quickly adapted. Of course, those in the thick of conservation have other legends to tell – and not just those of worldwide luminaries.