Gulf Times: Gulf Times

It was an evening of celebration for Qatar, when Doha was yesterday declared “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”.

The most important decision-makers in global travel and tourism attended the World Travel Awards (WTA), which was held in partnership with Qatar Tourism Authority (QTA), at Katara Cultural Village to recognise leaders in the world’s hospitality and travel industry.

In another big win for Qatar, Aspire Zone was named the “World’s Leading Sports Tourism Development Project”, recognising 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 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 recognised by their industry peers.”
Hailed as “The Oscars of the Travel Industry” by the Wall Street Journal, WTA is recognised worldwide as the ultimate travel accolade.

WTA president and founder Graham Cooke said: “Qatar 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 $100bn worth of infrastructure is due to be completed before the 2022 FIFA World Cup among other projects.”

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.

Restructured under the Emiri Decree (46) in 2009, Qatar Tourism Authority was given the mandate to organise, enable, and supervise the tourism industry development and to hold exhibitions in Qatar, as well as represent and promote Qatar as a quality tourism destination for leisure, business, education, and sport. Qatar Tourism Authority gets actively involved in organising events and promotions which positively reflect on the general image of Qatar as an evolving tourism destination combining business with leisure.

Dubai’s Burj Al Arab bagged the award for the “World’s Leading Hotel”, Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority won the “World’s Responsible Tourism Award” and India’s The Oberoi Gurgaon won the “World’s Leading Luxury Hotel” honour which was the first award of the evening.