Coveted Phuket 2008 Gekko Awards Announced At Glittering Ceremony

Leading Phuket hotel consultancy C9 Hotelworks has announced its annual "Gekko Awards" for excellence in the Greater Phuket property and hospitality industries at a gala ceremony on the island.

In line with Phuket's idyllic lifestyle, the Gekkos represent a serious, yet lighter side of life through the categories on offer, such as Get Your Ya Yas Out and Let's Get Physical. The Gekko Awards areamong the most sought-after trophies in Asia.

C9's Managing Director Bill Barnett said the awards are for top level personalities in the Phuket property and hospitality industries, but were also meant to be in good fun as all winners are presented with a foot-long sculptured Gekko.

"Phuket has firmly established its position as Asia's leading resort destination with over 5.4 million tourist arrivals in 2007," Mr. Barnett said.

"These much-coveted awards recognise leading tourism personalities and establishments which embody innovation and achievement in the island's property and hospitality industries."

Awarded comes from the gecko in symbolic importance in the tropics, and under the influence of Gordon Gekko character (played by Michael Douglas) immortalised in the award-winning movie "Wall Street, where rules of greed, and taking financial advantage of others, it was common practice".

Reportedly, Gekko was released from the United States, the minimum-security prison after junk bonds crises in the 1980s, and Barnett hope with his tongue firmly in cheek, that Gekko was able to reinvent itself as a real estate developer of luxury life in warm and tropical climates.