Emirates and DXB win awards at the...

The ceremony was held at Nikki Beach Club in Dubai

The world’s best hotels, destination, airline, airport and cruise line, as voted for by a cross-section of the 25 million globetrotting members of the GHA Discovery loyalty programme, were unveiled at the 17th edition of luxury travel awards ceremony.

This year, the awards were held at Dubai’s Nikki Beach Club and were hosted by UK TV presenters Kate Garraway and Gethin Jones.

The ULTRAs are organised by Nick Perry, chairman of multi-media brand Ultratravel, with which Global Hotel Alliance has a long-standing joint venture, the Ultratravel Collection.

In hotels, Hotel Lutetia Paris, part of The Set Collection was named ‘Ultratravel Collection Hotel of the Year’. Portrait Milano, a new Lungarno Collection hotel in Milan's fashion district, was voted ‘Best New Hotel in the World’. Capella (pictured) was crowned ‘Ultratravel Luxury Brand of the Year’, and Pan Pacific Orchard won ‘Favourite Green Collection Hotel’, a new category for 2023 following the recent launch of Green Collection.

In aviation, Dubai International was named ‘Best Airport in the World’. For the second year running, Dubai carrier Emirates won two awards: ‘Best Airline in the World’ and ‘Best Airline in the Middle East’.

Regent Seven Seas Cruises (RSSC) was selected as ‘The Best Luxury Cruise Line’ for the second consecutive year. RSSC’s triumph follows the ultra-luxury cruise line becoming the first cruise operator to partner with GHA and its loyalty programme earlier this year.

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Japan was awarded ‘Favourite Country for a Holiday’, ahead of Italy and Australia, the runners-up in this category.

GHA CEO Chris Hartley said: “With the ULTRAs awards based on the opinions and preferences of our 25 million GHA DISCOVERY members who travel on average four to five times a year, they are a true barometer of luxury traveller sentiment.”

For a full list of ULTRAs 2023 winners, visit www.ultratravel.com/ultra-winners-2023