Sydney and Qantas soar to the top at first World Travel Awards
10 June 2008 - Sydney
Australia had a night of triumph at the inaugural World Travel Awards Australasia Ceremony at Sydney's Observatory Hotel on Tuesday 10 June.
They emerged with a fistful of overall category prizes including Qantas, who scooped the coveted Leading Airline and Sydney, which captured the much sought Destination honour.
But there was also major acclaim for New Zealand, the Cooks Islands, French Polynesia and Fiji.
Australia walked away with 13 of the main awards from across the region while New Zealand's The Spire, Queenstown took the Leading Boutique Resort as well as Leading Ski Resort. The InterContinental Hotel in Wellington was awarded the Leading Business Hotel.
Given the stiff competition on the night, perhaps the biggest achievement was reserved for the smaller destinations.
French Polynesia, for example, was delighted to take the Leading Spa Resort with the Bora Bora Nui Resort & Spa.
The Fiji delegation also celebrated by becoming the first winners of the new category of Leading Green Hotel - presented to the Jean-Michel Cousteau Fiji Islands Resort.
The unique charm of the Cook Islands' Aitutaki helped it to win not only the Leading Beach at One Foot Island, but also the Leading Boutique Resort at the Pacific Resort.
A total of 429 travel companies and businesses were nominated for the event. It was an exciting and uplifting night to remember for the Australasian travel and tourism industry, many of whom had travelled to Sydney for the dual purpose of recognising the' best of the best' as well as visiting the Australian Tourism Exchange.
In all, there were a total of 52 award categories including travel operators, airlines, hotels, spas, resorts and destinations in Australia, New Zealand, the Cook Islands, French Polynesia, Guam, Micronesia Federated State, New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Tonga and Vanuatu.
All the winners for Australasia are listed on the World Travel Awards website www.worldtravelawards.com.
Graham Cooke, President and Founder of the World Travel Awards, said it had been a remarkable evening for the entire region.
"There was immense pride in the amazing achievements of all the winners, who are an example, not only to the region, but also to the international travel and tourism industry. A World Travel Award is considered the most acclaimed endorsement of a company and its services.
"No one should under estimate the prestige gained by these winners.
"They are setting fresh and challenging standards by pushing the barriers and increasing the quality of customer experience to entirely new levels.
"They are making the world sit up and take notice."
-ends-
• The World Travel Awards were launched in 1993 to acknowledge and recognize excellence in the world's travel and tourism industry.
• Now celebrating its 15th Anniversary, the awards are regarded as the very highest achievement that a travel product could ever hope to receive.
• Attended by senior executives from major travel companies, operators and destinations, WTA events are universally respected as providing established, top-level networking opportunities, regionally and globally.
Log on to www.worldtravelawards.com for regular updated information
For further press information please contact Jane Larcombe at:
T: +44 (0) 1892 785071
E:
They emerged with a fistful of overall category prizes including Qantas, who scooped the coveted Leading Airline and Sydney, which captured the much sought Destination honour.
But there was also major acclaim for New Zealand, the Cooks Islands, French Polynesia and Fiji.
Australia walked away with 13 of the main awards from across the region while New Zealand's The Spire, Queenstown took the Leading Boutique Resort as well as Leading Ski Resort. The InterContinental Hotel in Wellington was awarded the Leading Business Hotel.
Given the stiff competition on the night, perhaps the biggest achievement was reserved for the smaller destinations.
French Polynesia, for example, was delighted to take the Leading Spa Resort with the Bora Bora Nui Resort & Spa.
The Fiji delegation also celebrated by becoming the first winners of the new category of Leading Green Hotel - presented to the Jean-Michel Cousteau Fiji Islands Resort.
The unique charm of the Cook Islands' Aitutaki helped it to win not only the Leading Beach at One Foot Island, but also the Leading Boutique Resort at the Pacific Resort.
A total of 429 travel companies and businesses were nominated for the event. It was an exciting and uplifting night to remember for the Australasian travel and tourism industry, many of whom had travelled to Sydney for the dual purpose of recognising the' best of the best' as well as visiting the Australian Tourism Exchange.
In all, there were a total of 52 award categories including travel operators, airlines, hotels, spas, resorts and destinations in Australia, New Zealand, the Cook Islands, French Polynesia, Guam, Micronesia Federated State, New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Tonga and Vanuatu.
All the winners for Australasia are listed on the World Travel Awards website www.worldtravelawards.com.
Graham Cooke, President and Founder of the World Travel Awards, said it had been a remarkable evening for the entire region.
"There was immense pride in the amazing achievements of all the winners, who are an example, not only to the region, but also to the international travel and tourism industry. A World Travel Award is considered the most acclaimed endorsement of a company and its services.
"No one should under estimate the prestige gained by these winners.
"They are setting fresh and challenging standards by pushing the barriers and increasing the quality of customer experience to entirely new levels.
"They are making the world sit up and take notice."
-ends-
Notes to Editors
About World Travel Awards
• The World Travel Awards were launched in 1993 to acknowledge and recognize excellence in the world's travel and tourism industry.
• Now celebrating its 15th Anniversary, the awards are regarded as the very highest achievement that a travel product could ever hope to receive.
• Attended by senior executives from major travel companies, operators and destinations, WTA events are universally respected as providing established, top-level networking opportunities, regionally and globally.
Log on to www.worldtravelawards.com for regular updated information
For further press information please contact Jane Larcombe at:
T: +44 (0) 1892 785071
E:
