Middle East airlines and hotels win...

The gala event was held at Dubai’s Burj Al Arab hotel

The global tourism sector was recognised at the World Travel Awards (WTA) Grand Final Gala Ceremony on 1 December in Dubai.

The red-carpet reception marked the WTA’s 30th anniversary of celebrating the travel industry.

The top accolade, ‘World’s Leading Destination’, went to The Maldives, while the Maldives Marketing & Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC) was voted ‘World’s Leading Tourist Board’.

In the Middle East, Jumeirah Al Naseem in Dubai was awarded ‘World’s Leading Hotel’ and Qatar was voted ‘World’s Leading Sports Tourism Destination’. Qatar was also named ‘World’s Leading Business Travel Destination’ and Qatar Tourism collected ‘World’s Leading Marketing Campaign’.

In the newcomer categories, Dubai’s Atlantis The Royal was named ‘World’s Leading New Resort’ and Raffles Doha was voted ‘World’s Leading New Hotel’. In addition, the ascent of Saudi Arabia’s tourism economy was acknowledged with Red Sea International Airport taking ‘World’s Leading New Airport’.

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WTA founder Graham Cooke said: “It has been a privilege to host our 30th anniversary celebrations at Burj Al Arab Jumeirah, Dubai for an incredible evening that will last long in everyone’s memory.

“Our World winners represent the pinnacle of tourism excellence, and I congratulate each and every one for helping to raise the collective benchmark to even greater heights.”

The strength of the regional aviation sector was also recognised with wins for Qatar Airways (‘World’s Leading Airline’ and ‘World’s Leading Airline - Business Class’); Etihad Airways (‘World’s Leading Airline - Economy Class’ and ‘World’s Leading Airline – Customer Experience’); and Emirates (‘World’s Leading Airline - First Class’).

For more information, visit www.worldtravelawards.com