John M. Daniels, the President Director of Bali Discovery Tours and Balidiscovery websitewas recognized recently by the Government of the island of Bali for his dedication and long service to promoting local culture through tourism.

Bali, INDONESIA—John M. Daniels, the President Director of Bali Discovery Tours and Balidiscovery websitewas recognized recently by the Government of the island of Bali for his dedication and long service to promoting local culture through tourism.

At a presentation dinner at the official residence of Bali Governor Made Beratha, Daniels was the sole non-Balinese of 12 recipients of the Karyakarana Pariwsata Award – the highest award for tourism service bestowed on the island of Bali. Honorees were selected by a blue-ribbon panel of Bali community leaders, based on their proven dedication in preserving and promoting Balinese culture and tourism.

Daniels, originally from Michigan (USA) and an honors graduate of Michigan State University, first visited Indonesia in 1973 as part of a semester-abroad program organized by the American University Field Staff. He has been a permanent resident since 1977, holding management positions in airline, hotel and cruise ship industries before establishing Bali Discovery Tours in 2000.

Bali Discovery Tours is a destination management company and professional conference management company. The company also annually publishes Bali’s only comprehensive guide to meetings and conferences distributed to corporate decision makers worldwide; runs one of Indonesia’s most visited travel websites; and publishes the award-winning Internet newsletter Bali Update sent to 15,000 readers every week.

Active in the local community, Daniels has headed a number of fund-raising programs for foundations that provide cranial-facial surgery to Indonesian children, established of an American Studies Center at the University of Indonesia, assisted the Jakarta Zoo in developing its white tiger collection and served as the Chairman for the local Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) chapter. During his tenure as PATA Chairman Daniels earned two chapter awards and launched the successful bid for the PATA Conference held in Bali in April 2004. He is Member of the PATA Indonesia Hall of Fame and a recipient of the PATA Bali Award of Excellence, and twice named by PATA in Indonesia as the “travel personality of the year.” Rotary Indonesia awarded Daniels the “Service Above Self” in recognition of his service to the local community in 1989.

Daniels received the Adikarya Wisata award in 1995, presented by Indonesian President Soeharto, for services to tourism development, and a letter of commendation from the Minister of Tourism, Art and Culture Marzuki Usman in 1999 for “significant contribution to the success of tourism development in Bali.”

The holder of accreditation by the American Hotel and Motel Association as a Certified Hotel Administrator, Daniels is regularly featured as a speaker at international conferences and seminars on tourism and development issues.

Honored with the Karyakarana Pariwisata Award with Daniels were:
* Inspector General of Police Made Mangku Pastika, Bali Chief of Police and Time Magazine Asian Newsmaker of the Year, for his work in investigating the October 2002 Bali terrorist attacks;
* Anak Agung Gede Rai, retired President Director of the Bali Tourism Development Corporation and spokesperson for the Bali Tourism Board;
* the late Professor Dr. Ida Bagus Mantra, Governor of Bali 1978-1988;
* the late I Nyoman Oka, an early pioneer in the tour and guide industry;
* Ida Bagoes Kompyang, founder Segara Village Hotel in Sanur Beach;
* the late Bagus Soedana, a hotel and tour operator who surveyed and organized among the first dive tours to Bali;
* Pande Wayan Suteja Neka, founder of the Neka Museum of Art in Ubud;
* the late Ketut Pater Sursha, an innovator in Balinese cultural attraction development and a visionary tourism leader who championed the “one-million visitor” campaign at a time that tourism was still in its infancy;
* Professor Drs. Ida Bagus Adnyana Manuaba who established a tourism degree program at Udayana University;
* the late Anak Agung Pandji Tisna, a well-known Balinese novelist who established the first guest house in North Bali;
* Drs. I Wayan Geriya, an anthropologist who has lobbied for legislation to protect Bali’s cultural values and to make tourism development economically sustainable.