Below is the announcement and the reason for which they say I have been granted the award. In total, there were four categories, three of them were industry-related (Experiences, Digitalization and Sustainability) and one was research-related (Research). For the industry-related categories this is the 36th edition; for the research category this is the very 1st edition.

Dr. Juan Luis Nicolau, professor in the Virginia Tech Howard Feiertag Dept of Hospitality and Tourism Management, won the CETT Alimara Award of Research in Tourism of the Barcelona School of Tourism, Hospitality and Gastronomy of the University of Barcelona. The Alimara award is an international award that recognizes top tourism and hospitality researchers around the world. Professor Juan Luis Nicolau was awarded this prize for his projects focused on expanding the theoretical and practical knowledge of the behavioral patterns that tourists follow in their purchase decision process, which is of great relevance to the agents of the industry especially in the current context.