Low-cost airline Vietjet Air has become the first-ever Vietnamese winner of the Gold Award, a reputable tourism prize granted by the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA).

The Vietnamese carrier has outperformed 269 entries from 83 travel and tourism organizations worldwide to win the PATA Gold Award 2015 in the Marketing Campaign category, it said in a press release on Wednesday.

The annual award, handed over in India on Tuesday, highlights the airline’s innovative and meaningful campaigns, which massively inspire and contribute to tourism development in the Asia-Pacific region, according to Vietjet.

“We are very proud to be the first airline in Vietnam to win this reputable award,” Vietjet’s vice director of commerce Jay L Lingeswara said.

“During recent years, Vietjet has implemented many meaningful campaigns which offered millions of economical flying opportunities for Vietnamese and many other foreigners.”

Since its foundation in 1951, the non-profit PATA has carried out important researches and hosted many impressive events and meetings for its members, including 87 governmental agencies, 24 international carriers, airports and sea-freighters, and 59 educational institutions in the Asia-Pacific region.

Every year the PATA will present up to four Grand Awards for best of show entries in the main categories, including Environment, Education and Training, Heritage and Culture and Marketing Campaign, among its 36 Gold Awards.