World Travel Awards postpones Africa & Indian Ocean Gala Ceremony

World Travel Awards has regretfully been forced to postpone its Africa & Indian Ocean Gala Ceremony 2014, scheduled to take place at the Transcorp Hilton Abuja on September 5th. 

The decision follows the recent outbreak of the Ebola virus in sections of West Africa.

While only two cases of the virus have been reported in Africa’s most populous nation, World Travel Awards and Transcorp Hilton Abuja have taken the decision to ensure the safety of guests. 

World Travel Awards President Graham Cooke said: “It is with great sadness that we have been forced to postpone our much anticipated Africa & Indian Ocean Gala Ceremony at this time. However, we are confident, along with our partners at Transcorp Hilton Abuja, that World Travel Awards will be able to visit Nigeria for the first time in 2015 to stage the event.

“We are working tirelessly to ensure our winners from the Africa & Indian Ocean regions receive the recognition they so richly deserve later in the year. We will release more details as soon as possible.”

Commenting on the postponement, Transcorp Hilton Abuja General Manager Etienne Gailliez said: “We regret the turn of events leading to the postponement of the Africa & India Ocean Gala Ceremony.

“However, the safety and security of our guests remain of paramount importance even as we still look forward to hosting the event on a larger scale come 2015.”

Abuja, Nigeria, was expected to be the fourth stop on the World Travel Awards annual Grand Tour.

The tour began at the JW Marriott Marquis, Dubai, in May, with the second stop taking place at Divani Apollon Palace & Thalasso on August 2nd. World Travel Awards next visits Quito, in Ecuador, on August 9th, before reaching The Oberoi, New Delhi, India on October 10th.

The sunshine island of Anguilla will complete the line up later in the year, before the World Travel Awards heads for Morocco for the Grand Final 2014 on November 29th.

For more information visit the official World Travel Awards website.

Notes to Editors

About World Travel Awards

World Travel Awards celebrates its 21st anniversary this year and is acknowledged across the globe as the ultimate travel accolade.

The organisation aims to celebrate those brands that are pushing the boundaries of industry excellence.

WTA’s global media partner network includes International New York Times, TV5Monde, CNBC Arabiya, Newsweek, Outlook Traveller, Travel & Leisure, Khaleej Times, Trade Arabia, TTN, Trav Talk India, Publituris, ASTA Network, Breaking Travel News, Travel Daily News International and Focus on Travel News.

This global media partner network has a monthly readership of 1.7 million and a TV audience reach of 90 million.

To download WTA logos visit: www.worldtravelawards.com/logo

About Transcorp Hilton Abuja

Winner of Hilton Worldwide prize for Hotel of the Year 2010 for Middle East & Africa and World Travel Awards 2013 prize for Nigeria’s Leading Hotel, Transcorp Hilton Abuja, for over 27 years, has offered consistent quality service to local and international business and leisure travellers.

The iconic Hotel is famous for hosting high profile events and State visits and is rightly acclaimed as the flagship of Nigeria’s hospitality industry.

The Hotel, set on its own beautiful landscaped gardens, has 670 well-appointed art-deco rooms and suites on 10 floors with floors 9 and 10 dedicated as Executive Floors. It has 4 restaurants, 4 bars and a Night Club.

For meetings and conferences, the Hotel has 24 Hilton Meetings rooms including a Boardroom and a multi-purpose Congress Hall with a capacity for 1200 persons.

Leisure and recreation facilities include a well-equipped fitness center, an outdoor swimming pool, 3 tennis courts, 3 squash courts, volleyball and basketball courts and a children’s playground.