The award was made for his "service to tourism, particularly in relation to industry development, service provision and employment generation, and to the community through medical research, humanitarian relief and social welfare organisations." Amongst the initiatives instigated by Mr Baffsky has been the Indigenous Employment Programme, a pioneering project that will see 100 indigenous Australians given the opportunity to establish a career in hospitality and tourism with Accor. The joint-initiative with the Federal Government will see full and part time jobs created throughout Accor's network

David Baffsky Chairman of Accor  Asia Pacific

Mr Baffsky is also a director on the board of the Aboriginal Land Council and a member of the International Advisory Council for Tourism to the Singapore Tourism Board.

Commenting on the award, Mr Baffsky said that he was thrilled with being nominated for the honour, and that the award was a reflection of Accor's commitment to Australian tourism.

"It is almost 10 years since Accor opened its first hotel in Australia, and thanks to the efforts of the Accor team, we have now grown to some 100 hotels in this country and employ 10,000 people," said Mr Baffsky. 

"The tourism industry deserves recognition for its contribution to employment and foreign income generation, and I'm glad I've been able to make my contribution to the industry over the past decade."

Accor is the worldwide leader in travel, tourism and corporate services, employing 140,000 employees in 140 countries.