WORLD Travel Awards (WTA) capped its year-long search for travel and tourism’s finest with its glittering Grand Final 2010 ceremony at London’s Grosvenor House hotel.
After a challenging year for the industry, organisations including American Express, Kuoni, InterContinental Hotels & Resorts, Europcar and Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority all demonstrated their world-class pedigree as they spearheaded the global travel and tourism recovery.
Hailed as ‘The Oscars of the Travel Industry’ by the Wall Street Journal, the World Travel Awards (WTA) is recognised worldwide as the ultimate travel accolade.
London beat off the likes of New York, Cape Town, Rio de Janeiro and Sydney to win World’s Leading Destination in a year that saw tourist arrivals in the UK capital rise to 27 million as the excitement builds ahead of the 2012 Olympics.
Etihad Airways continued its meteoric rise by picking up ‘World’s Leading Airline’ for the second year in succession, following a year that saw the UAE flag carrier launch five new routes and play a leading role in a resurgent year for aviation.
German businesswoman Regine Sixt, president of Sixt, was voted ‘Woman of the Year’ for her pivotal role within the organisation that has navigated its way through the downturn.
In a strong regional showing, the Middle East produced many winners including Le Royal Meridien Beach Resort & Spa, Dubai, which took the title of World’s Leading Beach Resort, Dubai was Leading Cruise Port, Burj Al Arab was the World’s Leading Hotel, Abu Dhabi was the World’s Leading Tourist Board, Emirates Palace was the World’s Leading Meetings and Conference Hotel, The Yas Hotel was the World’s Leading New Hotel and Saudi Arabia’s Al Faisaliah Centre was the World’s Leading Multi-use Complex.
The final marked the climax of a year-long search to find the very best travel companies in the world and follows heats in Dubai, Johannesburg, Antalya, Delhi and Jamaica.
WTA 2010 nominations featured 5,000 companies in 1,000 categories across 162 countries. The winners were selected by thousands of industry professionals and consumers worldwide who have been voting online.
Graham Cooke, president and founder, World Travel Awards, said: “This year, like the last, continues to challenge every strata of travel and tourism. However tonight’s World Travel Awards winners see struggle not as sign of weakness or failure, but as an opportunity for growth and renewal and a chance to put their business model through the ultimate test.
“By combining flair and ambition with savvy business acumen, these organisations are spearheading the worldwide recovery of travel and tourism. In doing so they are also reinforcing our industry’s role as one of the mainstays of the global economy.”