With two days left to enter, an award created by Hülya Aslantaล in Istanbul is going international — and may be pointing toward a different future for tourism recognition
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ISTANBUL, Türkiye —The SKÅLITE International Awards 2026, an international “Quality in Tourism” initiative of Skål International, are entering their final two days for nominations ahead of the September 28 deadline.
Created in Istanbul in 1998 under then-Skål International Istanbul President Hülya Aslantaล, who later became Skål International World President in 2009, SKÅLITE is now expanding from a respected Turkish tourism tradition into an international recognition program.
Finalists will gather with members of the Skål International Executive Boardat the InterContinental Hotel Istanbulon October 25, 2026, for an international celebration of excellence, innovation, leadership and quality across tourism.
But behind another tourism awards ceremony is a much bigger story.
Somewhere along the way, awards became a business.
Across tourism, hospitality and travel, companies are routinely invited to compete for trophies, badges and recognition. In many award programs, entering the competition itself comes with a price tag. Sponsorships, gala tables and promotional packages have also helped turn recognition into a commercial industry of its own.
There is nothing inherently wrong with that model. Organizing international competitions, professional judging, marketing and award ceremonies costs money.
SKÅLITE is taking a different path.
Its proposition is remarkably simple: What if the most important currency behind an international tourism award were not dollars, euros or sponsorship budgets, but quality?
That idea has particular meaning coming from Skål International, one of tourism’s longest-established international professional organizations, where generations of members have described their relationship not merely as networking, but as “doing business among friends.”
Now those friends are taking an Istanbul idea to the world.
From an Istanbul idea to a global Skål tradition
SKÅLITE was conceived in 1998 to recognize quality and outstanding contributions to tourism.
Its roots run deep. Previous SKÅLITE winners have included some of Türkiye’s best-known tourism companies and hospitality brands, and the awards have at times been described within the Turkish tourism industry as its “Tourism Oscars.” Historical corporate records show SKÅLITE recognition going to companies including TAV Airports and Hillside Beach Club.
Now the concept is changing scale: With the support of Skål International World President Andrés O. Hayes, SKÅLITE is being introduced internationally, with Skål regions invited to identify individuals, companies, destinations, institutions and projects demonstrating exceptional quality.
An international jury of five distinguished members will evaluate nominations.
The seven categories tell their own story about where tourism is heading: the Skål International President’s Award; Travel Storytelling & Digital Impact; Excellence in Guest Experience; Travel Industry Innovation; Destination Leadership; Creative Excellence in Cultural Heritage Protection; and Developing the Next Generation of Tourism Leaders.
It is a notably forward-looking collection. Quality in tourism in 2026 is no longer simply about thread counts, marble lobbies or five-star service.
It is about the visitor experience. It is about technology and innovation. It is about destinations taking responsibility for their development. It is about preserving culture rather than consuming it. It is about storytelling with impact and developing the people who will lead tourism tomorrow.
SKÅLITE appears designed to recognize that broader definition of quality.
And then there is the absence of the dollar sign
This may ultimately be SKÅLITE’s most interesting distinction.
The philosophy presented by its organizers is recognition based on achievement and quality rather than financial contributions attached to winning recognition.
That matters at a time when the awards economy has itself become big business.
Charging an entry fee does not invalidate an award, nor does sponsorship automatically compromise judging. Many respected programs use such revenue to cover the considerable costs involved in administering competitions.
But SKÅLITE offers another model. Here, recognition grows out of a professional association whose culture has been built around what Skål members famously call “doing business among friends.”
The word friends matters.
Skål International traces its international organization to Paris in 1934 and today describes itself as the only professional organization promoting global tourism and friendship while bringing together all sectors of the tourism industry. Its current network numbers roughly 12,000-plus tourism professionals in around 290 clubs across approximately 75 countries, although figures fluctuate as membership changes.
For more than nine decades, that combination of tourism, business and friendship has differentiated Skål from conventional trade associations.
Now SKÅLITE has the opportunity to translate the same philosophy into international recognition.
Could this become a new benchmark?
There is a larger question here for the global tourism industry.
As companies accumulate plaques, trophies, certifications, rankings and “best of” designations, travelers and industry professionals increasingly have to ask what each recognition actually means.
- Who judged it?
- What were the criteria?
- Was winning connected in any way to spending?
- Was the award designed primarily to recognize excellence — or is recognition part of the organizer’s revenue model?
These are healthy questions for any industry that depends on trust.
SKÅLITE’s opportunity is therefore bigger than creating another international awards ceremony.
It can demonstrate that an award backed by one of tourism’s oldest international professional networks can derive its value from credibility, peer recognition and quality itself.
That will require rigorous judging, transparency and consistency as the international program grows. Prestige cannot simply be declared; it has to be earned year after year.
But SKÅLITE starts with something difficult to manufacture: history.
The concept has existed since 1998. Its creator, Hülya Aslantaล, subsequently became a world president of Skål. Turkish tourism companies have competed for and displayed SKÅLITE recognition for decades. And the organization now taking the concept worldwide traces its own international roots back more than 90 years.
Back where it started: Istanbul
There is also something fitting about the international launch coming home to Istanbul.
On October 25, finalists will join the Skål International Executive Board, members of Skål International Istanbul, representatives of the 17 Skål Clubs across Türkiye and the Skål International Türkiye National Board.
Skål International Istanbul will host finalists and international leaders during a special two-day program showcasing the hospitality, culture and energy of the city.
For Hülya Aslantaล, the occasion will also close a remarkable circle.
An idea launched by an Istanbul club president in 1998 to encourage “Quality in Tourism” is, 28 years later, being positioned for the global Skål community. And perhaps that is the most Skål-like element of the entire story.
- No giant commercial awards machinery.
- No attempt to turn a trophy into a product.
- Instead, tourism professionals recognizing other tourism professionals — among friends.
With nominations closing September 28, the immediate question is who will make it onto the finalist list in Istanbul. The more interesting question may take several years to answer:
Can SKÅLITE turn an Istanbul tradition into a worldwide benchmark for tourism recognition in which the most valuable currency isn’t money, but quality?
If it can, Skål International won’t simply have created another global tourism award. It may have reminded the industry what an award was supposed to be in the first place.
Nomination form:
SKÅLITE International Awards 2026
Submission deadline: September 28, 2026
Awards ceremony: October 25, 2026
Venue: InterContinental Hotel Istanbul, Türkiye
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