World Travel Awards

Sandals Royal Bahamian welcomes industry leaders for World Travel Awards Caribbean Gala Ceremony 2020

20 January 2020 - The Bahamas

The leaders of the Caribbean travel industry are heading to the enchanting Sandals® Royal Bahamian for the World Travel Awards (WTA) Caribbean Gala Ceremony 2020.

The VIP ceremony in Nassau, the capital of the Bahamas, will be the premier annual gathering of the Caribbean hospitality industry, with the key players and decision-makers from across the region attending. The evening will also mark the opening leg of the WTA Grand Tour 2020 – an annual search for the finest travel and tourism organisations in the world.The ceremony on Monday 20 January 2020 marks WTA’s third visit to the paradise islands of the Bahamas since its launch in 1993.

Graham Cooke, Founder, WTA, says: “I am honoured that Sandals Royal Bahamian will host the opening leg of WTA’s 27^th annual Grand Tour. I look forward to joining all our nominees for what promises to be a fabulous evening of acknowledging travel industry excellence.”

The red-carpet evening will take place on the eve of the 38^th edition of Caribbean Travel Marketplace, which will be staged at Baha Mar from 21-23 January 2020.

A private club in the 1940s and later a favourite A-list hideaway, Sandals Royal Bahamian enjoys an illustrious history, playing host to prestigious guests such as The Beatles. Today, the resort offers an extensive Luxury Included® holiday experience, including two sky-sized colonnaded pools overlooking the emerald sea, two pristine white-sand beaches, 5-Star Global Gourmet™ dining at 10 speciality restaurants, a Red Lane® Spa and exclusive VIP airport transfers for butler guests. Just offshore sits the idyllic Sandals Island, with two secluded beaches, pools and dining experiences.

Gordon ‘Butch’ Stewart, Chairman, Sandals Resorts International, says: “We are excited to host the 27^th annual World Travel Awards here in paradise at the distinguished Sandals Royal Bahamian. It is an honour to celebrate the continued success of the hospitality industry with those who are at the helm. Across all our resorts, our aspiration is to exceed our guests’ expectations while innovating the Luxury Included experience alongside trail blazers to achieve new heights.”

The VIP ceremony will form the first leg of the WTA Grand Tour 2020 – a search for the finest travel and tourism organisations in the world. Other 2020 regional ceremonies include Antalya (Turkey), Seoul (South Korea), Nairobi (Kenya), Thompson Okanagan, British Columbia (Canada) and Dubai (UAE), with the winners progressing to the Grand Final in Moscow (Russia) on 27 November.

Notes to Editors

About World Travel Awards

WTA was established in 1993 to acknowledge, reward and celebrate excellence across all sectors of the tourism industry.

Today, the WTA brand is recognized globally as the ultimate hallmark of quality, with winners setting the benchmark to which all others aspire.

Each year, WTA covers the globe with a series of regional gala ceremonies staged to recognize and celebrate individual and collective success within each key geographical region.

WTA gala ceremonies are widely regarded as the best networking opportunities in the travel industry, attended by government and industry leaders, luminaries and international print and broadcast media.

For more information about WTA visit worldtravelawards.com

About Sandals Resorts

Sandals Resorts offers two people in love with the most romantic, Luxury Included® vacation experience in the Caribbean. With 15 stunning beachfront settings in Jamaica, Antigua, Saint Lucia, The Bahamas, Barbados and Grenada, Sandals Resorts offers more quality inclusions than any other resort company on the planet. Signature Love Nest suites for the ultimate in privacy and service; butlers trained by the English Guild of Professional Butlers; Red Lane Spa®; 5-Star Global Gourmet™ dining, ensuring top-shelf liquor, premium wines and gourmet specialty restaurants; Aqua Centers with expert PADI® certification and training; fast Wi-Fi from beach to bedroom and Sandals Customizable Weddings are all Sandals Resorts exclusives. Sandals Resorts is part of family-owned Sandals Resorts International (SRI), which includes Beaches Resorts and is the Caribbean’s leading all-inclusive resort company. For more information about the Sandals Resorts Luxury Included® difference, visit sandals.com.