World Travel Awards Indian Ocean Event – Maldives Excels

The event was hosted by the 5-star Sun Aqua Vilu Reef and was attended by leaders of hospitality from all across the region. Maldives was recognized as one of the best destinations, and benefited from a lot of attention.

Seychelles was also celebrating, as it won the Indian Ocean’s Leading Cruise Destination and the Indian Ocean’s Leading Cruise Port.

At the same time, Mauritius Tourism was happy to receive the title of Indian Ocean’s Leading Honeymoon Destination.

Graham Cooke, president of the World Travel Awards, said: “What a fantastic evening it’s been here at Sun Aqua Vilu Reef in the Maldives.


“It has been an honour to recognise the leading hospitality providers from the Indian Ocean tonight and I offer my heartfelt congratulations to each and every one of them.


“It is your hard work, dedication, initiative and investment that makes the Indian Ocean tourism sector the success it is today.”


He continued by adding: “I look forward to seeing many of tonight’s winners later this year at the Grand Final in Vietnam, where they will compete for the global titles.”


On the other hand, there were also awards for airline categories. Therefore, Air Seychelles was voted Indian Ocean’s Leading Airline and Indian Ocean’s Leading Airline Business Class, while Air Mauritius received the Indian Ocean’s Leading Airline Economy Class award.

Trans Maldivian Airways left the event holding the trophy for Indian Ocean’s Leading Seaplane Operator.

At the same time, the St Regis Maldives Vommuli Resort was the happy winner of the award for Indian Ocean’s Leading Island Resort.

The guest nation, Sri Lanka, was handed the awards for Asia’s Leading Destination and Asia’s Leading Adventure Tourism Destination; Hilton Colombo received the awards for Sri Lanka’s Leading Business Hotel and the Movenpick Colombo was voted Sri Lanka’s Leading Hotel.

In the travel industry, World Travel Awards Gala Ceremonies are knows as the best networking opportunities, and are attended by government and industry leaders, as well as broadcast media.

The event was first established in 1993 to reward and celebrate excellence in all areas of the tourism industry.

Nowadays, the World Travel Awards is a brand recognized globally as a hallmark of quality, with winners that set the benchmark for others to aspire to.

Every year, World Travel Awards puts together a series of regional gala ceremonies that aim to recognize and celebrate both individual and collective successes.