Bangkok--11 Mar--C9 Hotelworks Phuket - Leading Phuket hotel consultancy C9 Hotelworks has announced its annual "Gekko Awards" for excellence in the Greater Phuket property and hospitality industries at a gala ceremony on the island. In line with Phuket's idyllic lifestyle, the Gekkos represent a serious, yet lighter side of life through the categories on offer, such as Get Your Ya Yas Out and Let's Get Physical. The Gekko Awards areamong the most sought-after trophies in Asia. C9's Managing Director Bill Barnett said the awards are for top level personalities in the Phuket property and hospitality industries, but were also meant to be in good fun as all winners are presented with a foot-long sculptured Gekko. C9 Hotelworks made a significant investment in the awards ceremony and they can be viewed at www.c9hotelworks.com/gekko/ "Phuket has firmly established its position as Asia's leading resort destination with over 5.4 million tourist arrivals in 2007," Mr Barnett said. "These much-coveted awards recognise leading tourism personalities and establishments which embody innovation and achievement in the island's property and hospitality industries." The awards originated from the gecko's symbolic importance in the tropics and influenced by Gordon Gekko's character (played by Michael Douglas) immortalised in the award-winning movie Wall Street where greed ruled and taking financial advantage of others was accepted practice. Reportedly, Gekko was released from a US minimum-security prison following the junk bond crises of the 1980s, and Barnett hoped, with his tongue firmly in cheek, that Gekko was able to reinvent himself as a developer of luxury lifestyle real estate in a warm and tropical climate.