The most important decision-makers in global travel and tourism attended the World Travel Awards, which was held in partnership with Qatar Tourism Authority (QTA), at Katara Cultural Village to recognize leaders in the world’s hospitality and travel industry.
It was an evening of celebration for Qatar, with Doha being voted “World’s Leading Business Travel Destination”, Qatar Airways named “World’s Leading Airline – Business Class”, and Regency Travel & Tours winning “World’s Leading Travel Agency”.
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In another big win for Qatar, Aspire Zone was named the “World’s Leading Sports Tourism Development Project”, recognizing the country’s superlative sporting credentials, bolstered by the recent Asian Football Cup and other large scale events held at the world class complex.
The evening marked the culmination of a year-long search for the very best travel and tourism brands in the world, and featured the winners from WTA’s five 2011 regional heats competing head to head.
Qatar Tourism Authority Chairman, Mr. Ahmed Al Nuaimi, said: “We are delighted to be honoured as the World’s Leading Business Destination by our peers in the global hospitality industry. This is a great achievement and solidifies Qatar’s premier position as a great place to do business as well as one with first class leisure, sporting and cultural attractions.
“I also congratulate the winners from Qatar – Aspire Zone, Qatar Airways and Regency Travel and tours – all provide the highest level of service and expertise and this has been recognized by their industry peers.”
Hailed as “The Oscars of the Travel Industry” by the Wall Street Journal, WTA is recognized worldwide as the ultimate travel accolade.
Graham Cooke, President and Founder, World Travel Awards, said: “Qatar in particular is playing a decisive role in generating new opportunities in travel and tourism, hence our decision to host our Grand Final in Doha. More than US $100 billion worth of infrastructure is due to be completed before the 2022 Fifa World Cup,” he added.
Established 19 years ago, World Travel Awards is committed to raising the standards of customer service and overall business performance throughout the international tourism industry.
The 2011 WTA nominations featured more than 5,000 companies in 1,000 categories across 162 countries. The winners were selected by more than 210,000 industry professionals and consumers worldwide.