This year’s World Travel Awards (WTA) Middle East ceremony will be held at Atlantis on The Palm, on Tuesday October 28.

More than 500 Middle East travel and tourism companies and organisations from across the region, representing every industry sector, have been nominated with 26 overall Middle East categories.

Emirates Airline, Etihad Airways, Gulf Air, Kuwait Airways, Middle East Airlines, Qatar Airways, Royal Jordanian Airline and Saudi Arabian Airlines are all up for the title of Middle East Leading Airline.

Nominations for the award for Middle East’s Leading Beach Resort include Al Hamra Fort Hotel and Beach Resort, UAE; Beach Rotana Hotel & Towers and the Danat Resort Jebel Dhanna, both in Abu Dhabi; Intercontinental Al Bustan Palace, Oman; Jebel Ali Golf Resort & Spa, The Jumeirah Beach Hotel and One & Only Royal Mirage, all in Dubai; Jordan Valley Marriott Resort & Spa; Le Meridien Al Aqah Beach Resort , Fujairah; Shangri-La Barr Al Jissah Resort, Oman; and the Sheraton Coral Beach Hotel & Resort, Lebanon.

For the leading travel agency, the nominations are Al Rais Travel,

Alshamel, Dnata, Sharaf Travel (Dubai); Amiral Tours & Travel, Jordan; Regency Travel & Tours, Qatar; Salem Travel Agency, Abu Dhabi; Sharjah National Travel & Tourist Agency (SNTTA).

For the Middle East’s leading tourism development project there are 11 nominations.

“We are seeking inspirational winners who command total respect in everything they do, from customer experience to exceeding business performance,” said Graham Cooke, president and founder of WTA.

“The eyes of the world are undoubtedly on the Middle East because the current expert forecast is that the industry will grow at a significantly faster rate than other competing global destinations.”

Winners are decided by votes received from agents and travel professionals in the Middle East and throughout the world.

Other categories under the title of ‘leading’ are airport, car hire, conference centre, cruise line, destination, hotel, hotel brand and private jet charter.