IPOH: Taiping has been placed third in the "Best of Cities" category, behind Ljubljana, capital of Slovenia, and Vancouver, Canada.
The recognition was given during the 2019 Sustainable Top 100 Destination Awards at the International Tourismus-Börse (ITB) travel trade show in Berlin, Germany, yesterday.
Taiping Municipal Council president Datuk Abd Rahim Md Ariff received the award.
Abd Rahim said he was happy and proud of Taiping’s achievement and this was the first time they had received a prestigious international award.
“This achievement is due to the hard work of the community and all relevant governmental agencies. The council always works hard to make Taiping a popular tourist destination,” he said.
Also present at the ceremony were Perak Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Ahmad Faizal Azumu and state Tourism Committee chairman Tan Kar Hing.
Taiping was also named as one of the 100 Sustainable Cities, the only Malaysian city which made it in the list by Green Destinations last year.
The ‘2018 Sustainable Destinations Top 100’ list, made available at greendestinations.org, was aimed at giving recognition to efforts by the authorities in tourism industry through sustainable environment.
Green Destinations (GD) is a non-profit organisation which focuses on efforts to create sustainable tourism, leading a global cooperation comprising experts, firms and academy institutions in 80 countries.
Taiping has previously been recognised as the Best Destination Manager 2016 by the Tourism Promotion Board for the Asia Pacific; besides having received the Malaysia Tourism Council Gold Award 2017 in Best Heritage and Eco Travel Destination Category and Malaysia Tourism Council Gold Award 2018 for the Best Tourism Promotion Campaign.