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World Travel Awards – the leading authority that recognises and rewards excellence in travel and tourism – has unveiled the 2021 winners of its World categories.
Dubai, currently flourishing in the spotlight as host of Expo 2020, was voted ‘World’s Leading Business Travel Destination’ with Dubai World Trade Centre claiming ‘World’s Leading Meetings & Conference Centre’. Mina Rashid was acknowledged as ‘World’s Leading Cruise Port’, and The Palm Jumeirah – Nakheel took ‘World’s Leading Tourism Development Project’.
Russia’s imperial splendour was recognised with both Moscow and Saint Petersburg winning top honours. Moscow was voted ‘World’s Leading City Break Destination’ and ‘World’s Leading Heritage City Destination’, whilst Saint Petersburg collected ‘World’s Leading Cultural City Destination’, ‘World’s Leading Cultural City Destination’ and ‘World’s Leading Marketing Campaign’.
The ancient citadel of Machu Picchu was hailed ‘World’s Leading Tourist Attraction’, with Peru also collecting ‘World’s Leading Cultural Destination’.
In the hospitality sector, Armani Hotel Dubai fended off a tough field to emerge as ‘World’s Leading Hotel’, whilst Sardinia’s Forte Village Resort took ‘World’s Leading Resort’. The blissfully remote Amanpulo, Philippines was named ‘World’s Leading Dive Resort’, whilst its Aman Resorts stablemate Amandari, Indonesia picked up ‘World’s Leading Boutique All Suite Hotel’. Dubai’s Burj al Arab was voted ‘World’s Leading Luxury All Suite Hotel’ and Four Seasons Resort Dubai at Jumeirah Beach voted ‘World’s Leading Luxury Resort’.
In the newcomer categories, The St. Regis Dubai, The Palm secured ‘World’s Leading New Hotel’, whilst the barefoot chic paradise Raffles The Palm Dubai picked up ‘World’s Leading New Resort’.
Brand winners include InterContinental Hotels & Resorts (‘World’s Leading Hotel Brand’), Sandals (‘World’s Leading All-Inclusive Company’), Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts (‘World’s Leading Resort Brand’), and The Ascott Limited Hospitality (‘World’s Leading Serviced Apartment Brand’).
In the aviation sector, Emirates lifted ‘World’s Leading Airline’ and ‘World’s Leading Airline – First Class’, whilst ‘World’s Leading Airport’ went to Dubai International Airport. Etihad Airways was voted ‘World’s Leading Airline – Business Class’, with Singapore Airlines named ‘World’s Leading Airline – Economy Class’. Aeroflot – Russian Airlines was voted ‘World’s Leading Airline Brand’, whilst Star Alliance took ‘World’s Leading Airline Alliance’.
The results follow a year-long search for the world’s top travel, tourism and hospitality brands. Votes were cast by travel industry professionals and the public, with the nominee gaining the most votes in a category named as the winner.
Graham Cooke, Founder, World Travel Awards, says: “Our World winners represent the best in global travel and tourism and my congratulations to each of them. They are all playing starring roles in leading the global travel and tourism recovery.”
Jamaica enjoyed a hat trick of destination awards (‘World’s Leading Cruise Destination’, ‘World’s Leading Family Destination’ and ‘World’s Leading Wedding Destination’).
The fast-growing aviation company Jetex took ‘World’s Leading FBO Brand’ and ‘World’s Leading Private Jet Travel Experience’, with Jetex Singapore named ‘World’s Leading FBO Terminal’.
Other winners include Madrid (‘World’s Leading Meetings & Conference Destination’); Royal Caribbean International (‘World’s Leading Cruise Brand’);
Atlantis, The Palm (‘World’s Leading Landmark Resort’); Aquaventure Waterpark at Atlantis The Palm, Dubai (‘World’s Leading Water Park’); Royal Penthouse @ Mandarin Oriental Jumeira, Dubai (‘World’s Leading Hotel Penthouse’).
For a full list of winners visit here.
For more information about World Travel Awards, visit worldtravelawards.com.
WTA was established in 1993 to acknowledge, reward and celebrate excellence across all sectors of the tourism industry. Today, the WTA brand is recognised globally as the ultimate hallmark of quality, with winners setting the benchmark to which all others aspire. Each year, WTA covers the globe with a series of regional gala ceremonies staged to recognise and celebrate individual and collective success within each key geographical region. WTA gala ceremonies are widely regarded as the best networking opportunities in the travel industry, attended by government and industry leaders, luminaries and international print and broadcast media. For more information about WTA visit worldtravelawards.com
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Angkor Wat has emerged as “the most famous temple in Asia” as per the US-based website Touropia Travel Guides, which tourism players say will add to Cambodia’s allure and intrigue, and motivate more holidaymakers to experience the “Kingdom of Wonder”.
Following the crown jewel of Siem Reap province’s Angkor Archaeological Park, Indonesia’s Borobudur and Lebanon’s Baalbek ranked second and third, respectively.
Numbers four through seven were Harimandir Sahib or Golden Temple (India); Kinkaku-ji or Golden Pavilion (Japan); Tiantan or Temple of Heaven (China); and Wat Phra Kaew or Temple of the Emerald Buddha (Thailand).
And rounding out the top 10 were Paro Taktsang or Tiger’s Nest (Bhutan); Chaturmukha Dharana Vihara or Ranakpur Jain Temple (India); and Kamal Mandir or Lotus Temple (India).
Pacific Asia Travel Association (Pata) Cambodia chapter chairman Thourn Sinan told The Post on December 14 that Touropia’s latest top 10 list would provide would-be tourists and the public some insight into the temples of Cambodia’s Angkor park.
He underlined that Angkor Wat is not only a World Heritage Site and one of the seven “wonders of the world”, but also embodies many of Cambodia’s historical tales and is a repository of scriptures, chronicles and instructions related to Buddhism and Brahmanism.
“On top of the announcement that Cambodia would reopen to vaccinated tourists, news of Touropia Travel Guides having ranked Angkor Wat temple first will encourage foreign travellers to get vaccinated against Covid-19 to visit the Kingdom,” Sinan claimed.
However, international tourist arrivals have yet to record a major hike in the immediate weeks following November 15’s announcement, he said, noting that solo and duo travellers are on the rise, but that larger groups are “almost non-existent”.
He predicted that group tourism would likely not see a sustained pick-up until March.
Cambodia Association of Travel Agents adviser Ho Vandy said the ranking would be more or less influential for the industry, noting that renown travel and tourism businesses have also placed the Angkor temples towards the top of their lists.
This has meant more promotion, helping the Kingdom reap larger sums from its multi-million-dollar advertising campaign, he said.
“This will persuade international tourists to put Cambodia, especially Angkor Wat, on the list of places they want to visit,” he said, pointing out that the centuries-old temple is widely considered a masterpiece.
On June 24, US travel firm Tripadvisor Inc named a three-day discovery tour across Siem Reap province as the world’s number one luxury tour in the 2021 Travellers’ Choice “Best of the Best” Things to Do Awards.
The package includes a tour on the main circuit in Angkor park and beyond to Phnom Kulen National Park and its refreshing waterfalls, the famous floating villages on Tonle Sap Lake and the endearing Banteay Srei temple – or “citadel of the women”, according to the Tripadvisor website.
December 14 also marked the 29th anniversary of Angkor Archaeological Park’s inscription as a UNESCO’s World Heritage Site.
Established in 1925 and covering an area of 401sq km, the park was the Kingdom’s first nature reserve and Southeast Asia’s first national park, according to the Ministry of Tourism.
Data from the Ministry of Tourism shows that from January-October 2021, Cambodia received a total of 144,433 foreign tourists, down 88 per cent year-on-year from 1,246,790.