World Travel Awards for the Americas a Great Success in New York
18 September 2007 - New York/United States
The World Travel Awards (WTA) have announced the regional winners for the Americas at their World Travel Americas ceremony in New York. More than 250 top executives from the travel industry celebrated their achievements with stars from Broadway and Hollywood at the luxurious Jumeirah Essex House on Monday night.
During the event trophies were well received by Delta Air Lines, which was voted "North America's Leading Business Class Airline"; Hilton Hotels Corporation picked up "South America's Leading Hotel Brand"; Europcar International scored "Central America's and South America's Leading Car Hire Company". Over 20 awards were presented to winners during the star-studded gala ceremony. Also among the winners was Jumeirah Essex House, which won the titles of "North America's Leading Hotel" and "North America's Leading Business Hotel".
"I can imagine no better place for an event honoring excellence in the travel industry than right here in our City, which welcomed nearly 44 million visitors last year," commented Mayor Michael Bloomberg on the event. "In New York City, we are committed to setting ambitious goals and finding innovative ways to reach them – two qualities that the World Travel Awards also value."
It was a night that both award winners and nominees will remember, as the audience enjoyed a dazzling mix of music, comedy and entertainment. The regional awards were hosted by Lauren Holly, who appeared in the movie classics "Dumb & Dumber" and "What Women Want", along with radio and television host Todd Newton. Another celebrity that graced the event is stand-up comedian Wendy Liebman. A surprise performance of the musical hit Jersey Boys gained resounding applause from the enthralled audience.
"We expanded the World Travel Awards scheme to the Americas with our Grand Tour, and we have been extremely well received in New York this year. The response from award winners who attended the event has already been very positive," said Graham Cooke, President and Founder of the World Travel Awards. "We now look forward to the other regional events and the global awards in the Turks & Caicos."
Key industry figures including Kay Urban, President & CEO North America of Amadeus, Pam Elledge, SVP Global Sales & Distribution of Delta Air Lines, Nigel Page, SVP Commercial Operations The Americas of Emirates, Adolfo Crespo, Executive VP Customer Services of Mexicana Airlines and Cheryl Rutenberg, Vice President Merchant Sales, VISA USA Inc, attended the black-tie event, which provided an excellent networking environment for the region's travel industry elite.
The media interest in the glamorous event was considerable: as many as 16 high-profile publications attended the awards, including: CasaLife Magazine, Condé Nast Traveler, Contribute Magazine, Elite Traveler, Executive Travel, Executive Travel Skyguide, Hotel Business, New York Living Magazine, Successful Meetings, Meeting News, Town & Country Magazine, Travel Weekly, Travel + Leisure, Travel World News, Travel Agent Magazine and Travelgirl Magazine. As WTA's official media partner, BBC World will broadcast the regional awards to over 280 million homes in over 200 countries and territories on Fast:track, one of the station's best known travel programs.
Voting for the Americas categories started in March of this year and ended in August. During this period ballots were completed, returned and processed using the online voting form. The winners of The Americas Awards Ceremony will automatically be put forward as nominees in their respective global categories. The world winners will be announced at the grand final, the Annual World Travel Awards Gala Ceremony in the Turks & Caicos in the Caribbean on 12th December this year.
For the first time in 14 years, the World Travel Awards cover the various country and regional level awards by recognizing award winners in their own territory. Other chosen locations for this year's grand tour include Newcastle Gateshead in North East England for the European & Green Awards and Bangalore in India for the Asia, Australasia & Indian Ocean Awards.
The complete winners' list and pictures from the event are now available on the official WTA website www.worldtravelawards.com.
Notes to Editors
The World Travel Awards were conceived in 1993 to acknowledge and celebrate excellence in the world's travel and tourism industry. Now in their fourteenth year, travel professionals and discerning travelers have come to regard the World Travel Awards as the very best endorsement that a travel product could hope to receive. With thousands of votes cast by travel professionals from 167,000 travel agencies, tour & transport companies and tourism organizations in over 160 countries across the globe, winning a World Travel Award has become one of the highest accolades a travel product or organization can achieve. World Travel Awards are especially coveted as, uniquely, the votes are cast globally by fellow professionals. With trophies awarded in over 1,000 different categories, the World Travel Awards are undoubtedly the world's most comprehensive awards celebration. Attended by top executives of winning companies, the events are highly regarded and well-established as a forum that brings together all areas of travel and tourism in recognition of their achievements.
WTA's sponsors include Turks & Caicos Islands, North East England, Amadeus, Nakheel, Emirates Palace, Beaches, Fortune Cookie, Etihad Airways, The Leela Palace Kempinski Bangalore, VLM Direct and Virtually-the-World.
www.worldtravelawards.com
– ends –
For further press information please contact Nadine Wenn at:
World Travel Awards Limited
T: +44 (0)20 7925 0000
E: [email protected]
12-16 Laystall Street
London EC1R 4PF
During the event trophies were well received by Delta Air Lines, which was voted "North America's Leading Business Class Airline"; Hilton Hotels Corporation picked up "South America's Leading Hotel Brand"; Europcar International scored "Central America's and South America's Leading Car Hire Company". Over 20 awards were presented to winners during the star-studded gala ceremony. Also among the winners was Jumeirah Essex House, which won the titles of "North America's Leading Hotel" and "North America's Leading Business Hotel".
"I can imagine no better place for an event honoring excellence in the travel industry than right here in our City, which welcomed nearly 44 million visitors last year," commented Mayor Michael Bloomberg on the event. "In New York City, we are committed to setting ambitious goals and finding innovative ways to reach them – two qualities that the World Travel Awards also value."
It was a night that both award winners and nominees will remember, as the audience enjoyed a dazzling mix of music, comedy and entertainment. The regional awards were hosted by Lauren Holly, who appeared in the movie classics "Dumb & Dumber" and "What Women Want", along with radio and television host Todd Newton. Another celebrity that graced the event is stand-up comedian Wendy Liebman. A surprise performance of the musical hit Jersey Boys gained resounding applause from the enthralled audience.
"We expanded the World Travel Awards scheme to the Americas with our Grand Tour, and we have been extremely well received in New York this year. The response from award winners who attended the event has already been very positive," said Graham Cooke, President and Founder of the World Travel Awards. "We now look forward to the other regional events and the global awards in the Turks & Caicos."
Key industry figures including Kay Urban, President & CEO North America of Amadeus, Pam Elledge, SVP Global Sales & Distribution of Delta Air Lines, Nigel Page, SVP Commercial Operations The Americas of Emirates, Adolfo Crespo, Executive VP Customer Services of Mexicana Airlines and Cheryl Rutenberg, Vice President Merchant Sales, VISA USA Inc, attended the black-tie event, which provided an excellent networking environment for the region's travel industry elite.
The media interest in the glamorous event was considerable: as many as 16 high-profile publications attended the awards, including: CasaLife Magazine, Condé Nast Traveler, Contribute Magazine, Elite Traveler, Executive Travel, Executive Travel Skyguide, Hotel Business, New York Living Magazine, Successful Meetings, Meeting News, Town & Country Magazine, Travel Weekly, Travel + Leisure, Travel World News, Travel Agent Magazine and Travelgirl Magazine. As WTA's official media partner, BBC World will broadcast the regional awards to over 280 million homes in over 200 countries and territories on Fast:track, one of the station's best known travel programs.
Voting for the Americas categories started in March of this year and ended in August. During this period ballots were completed, returned and processed using the online voting form. The winners of The Americas Awards Ceremony will automatically be put forward as nominees in their respective global categories. The world winners will be announced at the grand final, the Annual World Travel Awards Gala Ceremony in the Turks & Caicos in the Caribbean on 12th December this year.
For the first time in 14 years, the World Travel Awards cover the various country and regional level awards by recognizing award winners in their own territory. Other chosen locations for this year's grand tour include Newcastle Gateshead in North East England for the European & Green Awards and Bangalore in India for the Asia, Australasia & Indian Ocean Awards.
The complete winners' list and pictures from the event are now available on the official WTA website www.worldtravelawards.com.
Notes to Editors
The World Travel Awards were conceived in 1993 to acknowledge and celebrate excellence in the world's travel and tourism industry. Now in their fourteenth year, travel professionals and discerning travelers have come to regard the World Travel Awards as the very best endorsement that a travel product could hope to receive. With thousands of votes cast by travel professionals from 167,000 travel agencies, tour & transport companies and tourism organizations in over 160 countries across the globe, winning a World Travel Award has become one of the highest accolades a travel product or organization can achieve. World Travel Awards are especially coveted as, uniquely, the votes are cast globally by fellow professionals. With trophies awarded in over 1,000 different categories, the World Travel Awards are undoubtedly the world's most comprehensive awards celebration. Attended by top executives of winning companies, the events are highly regarded and well-established as a forum that brings together all areas of travel and tourism in recognition of their achievements.
WTA's sponsors include Turks & Caicos Islands, North East England, Amadeus, Nakheel, Emirates Palace, Beaches, Fortune Cookie, Etihad Airways, The Leela Palace Kempinski Bangalore, VLM Direct and Virtually-the-World.
www.worldtravelawards.com
– ends –
For further press information please contact Nadine Wenn at:
World Travel Awards Limited
T: +44 (0)20 7925 0000
E: [email protected]
12-16 Laystall Street
London EC1R 4PF
