Celebrations marking the Corinthia Group's 27 years' presence in Libya and 18 in Turkey were held at the company's Corinthia Bab Africa Hotel in Tripoli and the Corinthia Excelsior Hotel in Antalya.

In ceremonies in both cities, the Corinthia board of directors distributed long service awards to a number of loyal employees who have been working at their respective hotels for between five and 20 years of uninterrupted service.

In Libya, Corinthia Group director Joe Pisani distributed certificates to 19 loyal employees of various nationalities, including Libyans, Filipinos, Tunisians, Moroccans, Sudanese as well as seven Maltese. Among them was Joseph Pisani Jr, who heads the company's offices in Libya.

In Turkey, Corinthia Group chairman Alfred Pisani and Corinthia Excelsior senior partner Vedat Celik presented long service certificates to 10 Turkish nationals from Corinthia's four hotels in the Antalya region and the company's Istanbul office. These included Mr Celik's own daughter, Nilufer, who heads Corinthia's sales office in Istanbul.

Corinthia first started operating in Libya in 1978 when it was contracted to supply catering services at Tripoli International Airport. The company went on to supply catering and ancillary services to a large number of institutions and oilfields throughout the country, until it opened its first hotel there, the superior five-star Corinthia Bab Africa, two years ago.

Corinthia arrived in Turkey in June of 1987, with the operation of the newly-built Corinthia Excelsior Hotel in Side, Antalya. This was soon followed by the acquisition of four other major hotel and resort operations on the Antalya Bodrum coast.

In Malta, Corinthia will be celebrating its 43rd anniversary since its inception on December 6, 1962 at Villa Corinthia in Attard. Today, the company's hotel operating arm, Corinthia Hotels International, operates 20 four- and five-star city and resort hotels in 11 destinations and a network of regional sales offices in the major cities worldwide.

With over 5,300 rooms in Europe and around the Mediterranean, CHI this year features among the top 50 hotel groups in Europe, as reviewed by Hotel Management International, an official publication of the European Hotel Managers Association.