The Arabian Travel Market 2006 will once again see the unveiling of the annual MENA Travel Awards on May 4, 2006, at the Al Bustan Hotel in Dubai.
In its third year, the distinctive black-tie event will start with the reception, followed by dinner and the awards ceremony.
Created to celebrate the skill, creativity, ingenuity and success of the Middle East and North Africa’s growing travel industry, there will be over 54 winners in this especially devised third annual awards programme. “It is very important to recognise real talent and superior service in our industry to stimulate even higher standards and to applaud the effort made by so many,” said Dr Sam Saker president of Consultants of Hospitality Administrators (CHA), the organisers of the annual awards. “That is why we have very carefully designed the MENA Travel Awards to follow very specific procedures to ensure they are first class and have real merit.”
As usual, key to the judging criteria will be the (150) voting electronic card that each entrant submits. These are completed equally by the entrant’s selected end users, guests, customers and trade professionals, who are requested to state their preference along preset criteria/ categories and score them accordingly in a 75 days voting period.
Successful entrants in each of the categories will be acknowledged as finalists and will be considered one of the best in their category/ industry sector. Adjudicators will then reveal the top three outright winners, Platinum, Gold and Silver, for each of the 18 categories, at the special gala dinner. All entrants will be carefully judged by their end users, and then the over all voting outcome will be edited/ diagnosed by Pricewater Cooper to ensure integrity. Entrants will also have the right to inspect, at any time, the final results of selected finalists and award winners.
“What makes these awards so important is that they cover all key travel and hospitality industry sectors,” added Saker. “This also acknowledges the tremendous breadth the whole industry offers today and its continued strive for excellence.”