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In the News 2021

16 April 2021
Martinhal Sagres Beach Family Resorts offers 5-star hotel rooms at the beach front, as well as a selection of family villas, some with private pools. The award-winning resort, which the latest award is for “Portugal’s Best Villa Resort 2020” in the World Travel Awards.
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15 April 2021
On the cusp of celebrating its 45th anniversary as a resort for foreign and domestic tourists, San Ignacio Resort Hotel has been nominated for the World Travel Awards’s Belize’s Leading Hotel 2021.
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9 April 2021
Low-cost airline Fastjet Zimbabwe plans to increase daily flight frequency between Victoria Falls and Johannesburg in South Africa in response to demand, starting next month. A multi-award-winning African value airline, Fastjet began flight operations in 2012 and its list of awards include World Travel Awards Africa's Leading Low-Cost Carrier 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020.
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8 April 2021
The Bahamas Honored with Nine Nominations in World Travel Awards – The Islands of The Bahamas have been selected as a shortlisted nominee in the 28th annual World Travel Awards and are nominated in the lead beach, cruise, dive, honeymoon and overall destination categories. The Bahamas Ministry of Tourism is also nominated in the Caribbean’s Leading Tourist Board 2021 category. Voting is open now through August 2, 2021.
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6 April 2021
CEBU has secured a nomination as Asia’s Leading Wedding Destination to the 2021 World Travel Awards (WTA). Cebu will be competing against fellow nominees in the category, namely Bali in Indonesia, Ko Samui in Thailand and Langkawi in Malaysia. Bali took home Asia’s Leading Wedding Destination in 2020 and 2019.
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6 April 2021
Hotels run in Cuba by the Spanish chain Melia Hotels International were nominated to different prizes at the 28th edition of the World Travel Awards, according to an official statement on Thursday.
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6 April 2021
Beautiful Caribbean country Grenada is shortlist nominee in 3 categories in the 28th annual World Travel Awards 2021.
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6 April 2021
Recientemente ha sido anunciada la lista de hoteles y resorts candidatos, por áreas geográficas y países, en la edición 28 de los World Travel Awards, WTA.Se trata de una de las distinciones de mayor prestigio, a nivel global, para la industria del turismo.
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5 April 2021
Tourism and Wildlife CS Najib Balala unveiled the Kenya National Convention Bureau(KNCB) in 2019, tasked with driving the country's Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions (MICE) sector into greater heights, and place Kenya as a top destination. Kenya has been actively engaged in the MICE sector for decades. Nairobi was named Africa’s leading business travel destination at the World Travel Awards in 2019.
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5 April 2021
Topping Asia in the three categories of Heritage, Culture and Cuisine for two years in a row in 2019 and 2020, Vietnam is nominated in a number of categories in the prestigious World Travel Awards (WTA) 2021. The WTA 2021 officially opened its voting portal at www.worldtravelawards.com from March 30, 2021, remaining open until August 16.
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4 April 2021
HERO OdySea has been awarded both the UAE and the Middle East’s Leading Boat Tour Operator at the World Travel Awards 2020 and what makes this experience unforgettable is that guests can drive their own boat along Dubai’s iconic coastline.
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3 April 2021
Vietnam has been nominated in 10 categories of the annual prestigious World Travel Awards (WTA) 2021.
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2 April 2021
Kenya is today one of the leading business destinations in Africa, thanks to its growing population and burgeoning demand for goods and services. In 2020, World Travel Awards (WTA) named Kenya's capital, Nairobi, as the continent's top Business Travel Destination, beating other giant cities such as Cairo, Accra, Johannesburg, Lagos, among others.
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1 April 2021
The Philippines and the Department of Tourism (DOT) secure positions as nominees to the 2021 World Travel Awards (WTA), one of the most prestigious and comprehensive global recognition bodies that aims to “acknowledge, reward and celebrate excellence across all key sectors of the travel, tourism and hospitality industries.”
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30 March 2021
The upcoming Easter weekend is the perfect time to venture out with your loved ones safely. Whether it’s a daycation, an overnight trip or a weekend away, there are plenty of things to do in South Africa. Table Mountain, named Africa's leading tourist attraction at last year’s World Travel Awards, is a must for first-time visitors.
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26 March 2021
Keenly aware that the coronavirus pandemic has wiped out thousands and thousands of weddings in the past year, the Jamaica Tourist Board is launching a contest in the spirit of romance. In December 2020, the World Travel Awards named Jamaica as the ‘World's Leading Wedding Destination’ for the second consecutive year.
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25 March 2021
Travel-starved South Africans are settling on the Maldives as a destination of choice for an idyllic escape from all things COVID. The Maldives was voted World’s Leading Destination for 2020 in the annual World Travel Awards.
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24 March 2021
Warm hospitality and dreamy experiences are the norm on Maui. In fact, according to the World Travel Awards, the island was the top honeymoon destination in North America in 2020.
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16 March 2021
Named "best new hotel in Africa" at last year's World Travel Awards, he Houghton Hotel has everything you need for a super staycation in Jozi.
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9 March 2021
ll-Inclusive and uncrowded Shambala Private Game Reserve has won the World Travel Awards 2020 “Worlds Leading Private Game Reserve” award. This Big5 game reserve, based in the magnificent Waterberg region of South Africa, is offering SA Residents all-inclusive deals.
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9 March 2021
Norwegian Cruise Line invites you to discover the world while sailing aboard its award-winning fleet. NCL is widely regarded as an innovator in global cruise travel – having won a slew of accolades last year including World’s Leading Cruise Line (five years in a row from 2016 to 2020), Europe’s Leading Cruise Line (13 years in a row) and North America’s Leading Cruise Line (five years in a row) by industry excellence hallmark World Travel Awards.
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8 March 2021
Kenya Airways has partnered with the African Union and the Africa Centre For Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) to become one of the first airlines in Africa to implement the Trusted Travel Pass. In 2020 KQ was named Africa’s leading airline by the World Travel Awards.
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7 March 2021
If you’re looking for something truly unique and special to do before the summer starts, how does floating 4,000 feet above the beautiful Arabian Desert in a hot air balloon sound to you? Balloon Adventures Dubai, which is part of the Hero Experiences Group, was recently named World’s Leading Balloon Ride Operator at the World Travel Awards (WTA) 2020 and the award-winning company is treating UAE residents and tourists alike to an exclusive offer.
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5 March 2021
Kanoo Travel, a fully owned business division of Yusuf bin Ahmed Kanoo Group (YBA Kanoo), has been named Saudi Arabia’s Leading Business Travel Agency in 2020 by the 27th World Travel Awards.
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4 March 2021
Of all the healthy outdoor lifestyles, beach living must be one of the most uplifting and invigorating. Those who buy in the Algarve tend to choose locations near the coast for that reason. And it might motivate any would-be residents to know that our beaches are unrivalled globally. In 2020, the region was voted World’s Leading Beach Destination in the World Travel Awards. With a kilometre of natural golden sand on Vale do Lobo’s doorstep, it’s a well-known fact that the quality of their beaches is world-class.
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3 March 2021
Are you one of those unfortunate brides – or grooms – who had to cancel your wedding last year, due to COVID? The Jamaica Tourist Board would like to make your situation better. Over the last year, many couples around the world had to cancel or postpone their wedding or honeymoon plans, but one thing we do know is that — love is not cancelled! In the spirit of romance, the Jamaica Tourist Board is launching a ‘No Wedding, No Cry’ Jamaica Honeymoon Sweepstakes on March 15, 2021. Most important, the island of Jamaica, in December 2020, was named by the World Travel Awards as “The World’s Leading Wedding Destination.”
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2 March 2021
Kanoo Travel, a fully owned business division of Yusuf bin Ahmed Kanoo Group, has been named Saudi Arabia’s “Leading Business Travel Agency” in 2020 by the 27th World Travel Awards.
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23 February 2021
Bamboo Airways has announced the addition of 3.5 trillion VND to its charter capital, bringing the total amount to 10.5 trillion VND (457.3 million USD). The airline won “Asia’s Leading Regional Airline 2020” at the World Travel Awards last November.
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22 February 2021
Three sites in Intramuros are set to reopen to visitors starting Wednesday, February 17. Intramuros was named the World's Leading Tourist Attraction in the 27th World Travel Awards held last November.
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22 February 2021
Conrad Centennial, named Singapore's Leading Conference Hotel at last year's World Travel Awards, has pulled out all the stops to become a staycation destination for young families. And it shows.
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19 February 2021
The walled city of Intramuros is reopening three of its sites – Fort Santiago, Casa Manila Museum, and Baluarte de San Diego on Wednesday. Intramuros was hailed as Asia's leading tourist attraction in the 2020 World Travel Awards, beating world-class landmarks as India’s Taj Mahal and the Great Wall of China.
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15 February 2021
The Digital Nomad Village is a haven for remote workers on the shores of Madeira, offering free workspace for those staying a month or more. Crowned “Europe’s Leading Island Destination 2020| in the World Travel Awards for the seventh time, Madeira has had a successful year despite the pandemic, with travellers lured to by its year-round warmth, striking landscapes and easy access from the rest of Europe.
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15 February 2021
Bamboo Airways has recently announced its pre-tax profits of over 400 billion VND (17.38 million USD) in 2020, up 34 percent year-on-year. It won the “Asia's leading regional airline 2020” title by World Travel Awards in November 2020.
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12 February 2021
The government, through the Ministry of Tourism, has been on a campaign to promote local tourism by encouraging Kenyans and foreign residents to visit and explore local tourist attractions and sites in the country. Kenya was voted as Africa's leading tourist destination in 2020 by World Travel Awards (WTA), with a number of sites and locations in Nairobi contributing to the ranking.
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11 February 2021
The Portuguese autonomous region of Madeira, which is located in the Atlantic Ocean, 978 km south of Portugal and 450 km north of the Canary Islands is becoming a highly desirable ‘Amalfi Coast Alternative’ for a certain demographic of traveller. Madeira was recently crowned Europe’s Leading Island Destination 2020 at the World Travel Awards.
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10 February 2021
At Miraflores Park, he demonstrated his ability to elevate his team's commitment, service and culture. A testament to his leadership, the hotel received recognition as South America's Most Romantic Resort, Peru's Leading Hotel Suite and Peru's Leading Business Hotel, in 2020 by World Travel Awards.
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9 February 2021
From a “low-cost” destination 20 years ago, Vietnam’s tourism sector has made substantial breakthroughs and become a regular in the last five years on “must-see” lists for international tourists.
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9 February 2021
Kenya was ranked as Africa’s leading tourist destination in 2020 by the World Travel Awards (WTA).
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2 February 2021
The first digital nomad village in Europe is about to open on the tiny volcanic island of Madeira, one of two autonomous regions of Portugal. Digital Nomads Madeira launches on February 1 in the village of Ponta do Sol. It aims to attract digital nomads, remote workers who travel the world while they work. The Madeira islands were voted the World's Leading Island Destination for the sixth consecutive year in the World Travel Awards 2020.
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27 January 2021
Portugal is a country that you simply cannot skip. Named Europe’s leading destination for the fourth consecutive year, Portugal bagged 27 awards at the World Travel Awards this year, it is in the top 3 of the 2020 Global Peace Index, the ranking of the safest countries in the world and is also the first country to receive the 'Safe Travels' seal from the World Travel & Tourism Council.
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26 January 2021
Kenya’s conference tourism sector, like most business sectors around the world, has been greatly affected during the Covid-19 pandemic. Among the big postponed events in 2020 was the World Travel Awards Africa & Indian Ocean Gala ceremony that the KICC had won and which had been scheduled for October 2020. That has now been postponed to 2021. The event will now not only be an awards show but also a platform for Kenya’s entire MICE industry and tourism sector to come together to showcase and demonstrate that the country is once again open for business.
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26 January 2021
Hyatt announced today that a Hyatt affiliate has entered into a management agreement with Alliance City LLC for the development of Hyatt Centric Boulevard Batumi. Batumi, Georgia's second largest city, was named Europe's leading emerging tourism destination by World Travel Awards in 2019 and 2020, making it a perfect location to introduce the Hyatt Centric brand to Georgia.
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20 January 2021
Want to know how to social-distance in the most luxurious way? You can do it in one of the exclusive villas at Casa de Campo, one of the world’s best resorts located on 7,000 acres of land in the Dominican Republic. Casa de Campo has won awards too numerous to mention, including 2020 kudos from the World Travel Awards, as the world’s leading luxury sports and villa resort.
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20 January 2021
As the country’s tourism slowly recovers from the effects the COVID-19 crisis, Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat sees dive tourism as a boost in the recovery efforts of the hardest hit sector. Last year, the Philippines won as the World’s Leading Dive Destination in the 27th World Travel Awards, beating other favorites like Maldives, Fiji, and Mexico.
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19 January 2021
Border closures mean there are more rooms for Kiwis at the high-end inns. An eight-year run as New Zealand's Leading Boutique Hotel at the World Travel Awards says it all about The George.
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19 January 2021
Aurora Expeditions, which received record bookings for its 2022 Arctic and global season, has opened pre-registration for its Antarctic 2022-23 itineraries. In 2020, Aurora Expeditions received the World’s Leading Polar Expedition award at World Travel Awards.
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18 January 2021
The European Aviation Network (EAN) rollout has been completed on the British Airways short-haul fleet. This has seen its entire Airbus narrowbody fleet equipped with Inmarsat’s EAN technology. As well as this, Inmarsat has been named the ‘World’s Leading Inflight Internet Service Provider’ for the fourth year in a row at the World Travel Awards 2020.
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18 January 2021
With more than 300 dive sites, some of which are recognised globally, dive tourism can boost the industry’s recovery. Attesting to its underwater beauty, the Philippines won as the World’s Leading Dive Destination in the 27th World Travel Awards.
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17 January 2021
The Department of Tourism (DOT) remains optimistic about the country’s dive tourism, driven by its many offerings to divers. The Philippines was named as the world’s leading dive destination at the World Travel Awards in November last year.
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15 January 2021
In an interview with GEORGIA TODAY, Elene Otarashvili, the General Manager of Radisson Collection Tsinandali Estate, and the founding partner and board member of the Georgian Business Tourism Association (GBTA) talks about the changes they had to enforce throughout the pandemic, and sends out a few reassuring positive messages. At the World Travel Awards, one of the most prestigious competitions in the global tourism industry, the Radisson Collection Tsinandali estate won ‘Georgia’s Leading Hotel 2020.’
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14 January 2021
Last November, Vietnam was named as Leading Heritage Destination, Leading Cultural Destination, and Leading Culinary Destination of Asia at the prestigious World Travel Awards (WTA) 2020. This is also the second consecutive year Vietnam has been honoured at the three categories, showing that culture, heritage and cuisine are prominent factors bringing about international titles for Vietnamese tourism.
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12 January 2021
Tourism is one of the most hard-hit industries by COVID-19’s impact; the Department of Tourism through the Tourism Promotions Board presents a plan which may help the industry, and the nation, recover. On top of these preparations, another thing that has boosted optimism for the return of Philippine tourism is the fact that the country came away with five awards at the recently concluded 27th World Travel Awards. The award-giving body cited the Walled City of Intramuros as Asia’s leading tourist attraction while hailing the Philippines as Asia’s leading beach destination and Asia’s leading dive destination.
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12 January 2021
Despite being one of the most severely affected countries due to the repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic that stopped the world in its tracks in 2020, the Maldivian tourism industry ended the year relatively successfully, soaring past its arrival target of half a million. Having bagged multiple international awards through the year, including the prestigious World's Leading Destination award at the World Travel Awards 2020, the island nation is ending the year with 4,982 operational beds in 254 guesthouses and 39 islands across 12 atolls.
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12 January 2021
Maldives beach Get a slice of paradise in the Maldives Swap a hellish 2020 for the heavenly Maldives in 2021. Crowned ‘World’s Leading Destination’ at the recent World Travel Awards, this archipelago consists of tropical atolls fringed by white-sand shores and coral reefs. On one especially opulent atoll is Emerald Maldives – itself ‘Leading New Resort’ at the same gala – which hosts all guests on the same all-inclusive rate.
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12 January 2021
Inmarsat has been crowned the ‘World’s Leading Inflight Internet Service Provider’ for the fourth year in a row at the World Travel Awards 2020.
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11 January 2021
Irish whiskey brand Jameson was given the title of World’s Leading Distillery Tour for the third year running in recognition of its Bow Street experience.
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7 January 2021
Ready to travel away from the troubles of 2020 and escape to sheer paradise? Let’s face it, after the past twelve months we all deserve a break, and the more luxurious, the better. In 2020, the resort was recognised for its efforts with the World Travel Award for being the Seychelles Leading Green Resort.
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7 January 2021
The Belfry has announced Chris Eigelaar’s promotion to Resort General Manager. The Belfry Hotel & Resort was recently announced as the venue for the much-anticipated Betfred British Masters 2021, and was recently awarded for its high-quality facilities and exceptionally high standard of service, as it retained its position as the World’s Best Golf Hotel, England’s Best Golf Hotel and England’s Best Golf Course at the World Golf Awards, and England’s Leading Resort and England’s Leading Conference Hotel at the World Travel Awards.
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6 January 2021
Glasgow is a Resort City, recognised at the 2019 World Travel Awards as the leading festival and event venue on the globe. We will definitely have long debates on how easily and to what extent international business and leisure travel will recover, and we will certainly have to work hard to help our airports recover missing routes – but it will not have been in vain for years of investment in infrastructure, marketing and event management capabilities.
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6 January 2021
Vietnam will continue to use flexible measures to stimulate the domestic tourism market as international borders remain shut due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, a top tourism official has said. Also according to Hung, in 2020, Vietnam was honoured as Asia’s leading heritage, cultural, and culinary destination at the World Travel Awards 2020, dubbed the travel industry’s Oscars, which helped raise the profile of Vietnam in the market even more.
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5 January 2021
The World Travel Awards (WTA) voted Serengeti National Park as the leading national park in Africa, in a meeting that was held in Mauritius. The previous year award was from the SafariBookings.com. Others were Thanda Island in Africa's Leading Luxury Island category and the Port of Dar es Salaam in Africa's Leading Cruise Port category. The WTA was established in 1993 to acknowledge, reward and celebrate excellence across all sectors of the tourism industry.
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5 January 2021
On the back of winning four awards at the 2020 World Travel Awards; Nigeria’s Leading Hotel, Nigeria’s Leading Business Hotel, Nigeria’s Leading Hotel Suite (the Presidential Suite), as well as Africa’s Leading Business Hotel for the sixth consecutive year, Transcorp Hilton Abuja has focused on becoming the choice destination for leisure in Abuja.
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5 January 2021
Some places around the globe have carved out such a special place in the hearts and minds of people in the digital nomad world that they are effortlessly associated with the best work-travel experience. Madeira, for the fifth consecutive year and the seventh time since its first participation, was recently crowned Europe’s Leading Island Destination 2020 at the World Travel Awards, which is regarded as the travel industry’s most prestigious awards program.
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4 January 2021
Lost amid the vast expanse of the Atlantic Ocean, the Azores islands present an idyllic playground for all lovers of sport and adventure. It therefore came as no surprise earlier in the year when the World Travel Awards named this autonomous region of Portugal as Europe's leading adventure tourism destination.
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4 January 2021
Under the constant efforts and health and safety precautions undertaken prior to the reopening, Maldives has welcomed its 100,000th visitor since the reopening of borders, as well as the island nation's 500,000th visitor for the year 2020. Maldives also received the World’s Leading Destination award by the World Travel Awards this year, a testament to the desirability the country continues to carry amongst international travel enthusiasts.
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4 January 2021
Upon completion, The Bight by Dream Hotel Group will boast 90 guest rooms and suites in total. Turks and Caicos is a coveted destination for travellers to the Caribbean and Grace Bay Beach is widely considered one of the islands’ hallmarks. In recent years, this coastal spot has been named ‘World’s Leading Beach Destination’ by the World Travel Awards.
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4 January 2021
From a “low-cost” destination 20 years ago, Vietnam’s tourism sector has made substantial breakthroughs and become a regular in the last five years on “must-see” lists for international tourists. Vietnam’s tourism sector froze this year because of COVID-19, but the country still surpassed many to win the World Travel Awards’ World’s Leading Heritage Destination 2020.
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4 January 2021
Cyprus-based online travel agency DayTrip4U has been honored as the “World’s Leading Tours & Activities Website” for 2020 at the 27th World Travel Awards (WTA).
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4 January 2021
Seychelles will need to focus intensely on re-building its economy by creating, rejuvenating, and upscaling the country’s outlined Blue Economy sectors. Port Victoria has become a key player in supporting various BE activities in the country. Notably, it secured the title of Indian Ocean Leading Cruise Port conferred by the World Travel Awards for the eighth year running in 2020.
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3 January 2021
Oman Air, the national carrier of the Sultanate of Oman, will be welcoming guests from 103 countries who can travel to the country without a visa. The national carrier recently earned two 2020 World Travel Awards.
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2 January 2021
Maldives welcomed its first tourist for 2021 at Velana International Airport (VIA) on Friday. Having bagged multiple international awards through the year, including the prestigious World's Leading Destination award at the World Travel Awards 2020, the island nation is ending the year with 4,982 operational beds in 254 guesthouses and 39 islands across 12 atolls.
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31 December 2020
Jamaica was a big winner at the 2020 Travel Awards gala celebration held in the Bahamas, taking home the title of the Caribbean’s top destination for the 15th season in a row. The Jamaica Tourist Board was named the region’s leading Tourist Board for the 13th consecutive year. In addition to the World Travel Awards, Jamaica has also received the top destination in the Caribbean title for 2020 from CNN, Bloomberg, and Forbes.
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2 December 2020
Plettenberg Bay has been voted as Africa’s leading beach destination in the World Travel Awards. The World Travel Awards is a global initiative that recognises and rewards excellence in travel and tourism.
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