I-DEST wins international innovation award – presented by the global president of Skål International

For the first time in its history, the Skålité Awards, established in 1998 by Skål International Istanbul, held an international competition this year. A total of 26 nominations were submitted across six categories, with I-DEST emerging as the winner in the Travel Industry Innovation Award category.

The entries were evaluated by a five-member independent international jury representing different regions of the world. Experts from Turkey, Mexico, Germany, Thailand, and the United States scored the nominations based on criteria specific to each category. The results were compiled by the Skål International Secretariat.

At the gala held at the InterContinental Hotel in Istanbul, Andrés O. Hayes, the global president of Skål International, personally presented the award to Júlia Nagy, Managing Director of Innotime Hungary Ltd.

I-DEST is a platform that comprehensively supports the digital management of destinations. It offers tools for tourism area managers, local service providers, and travellers alike, connecting professional background operations with information accessible to visitors.

For destination management, the platform aids planning through data organisation, monitoring, guest feedback analysis, and sustainability tracking. The goal is to ensure that data about the region is utilised in everyday decision-making.

Tourism service providers can integrate into the local offering with multilingual visibility, while self-assessment and feedback options support their development.

Travellers benefit from clear tourism information, itinerary planning, and personalised recommendations. AI-powered features assist with trip planning and processing guest reviews.

I-DEST can be tailored to the needs of a specific destination. The platform can also be used to create a standalone destination website, allowing data and content management to directly support the region's own tourism website.

An additional option is to feature on i-dest.com. Our site showcases the sustainability efforts, concrete actions, and initiatives of various destinations and attractions. This public presentation is just one of the many ways the platform can be utilised.

In I-DEST, sustainability is integrated into evaluation, planning, and tracking progress. Self-assessment and monitoring functions help identify the starting point, outline development tasks, and track progress. Showcasing the steps taken also provides an opportunity for guests to learn about the efforts of regions and service providers.

The Skålité International Award represents international recognition for the team behind the development of I-DEST. It is particularly valuable to us that the award for the tourism innovation category in the first international competition was granted based on the decision of a jury representing professional perspectives from multiple continents.