The finest travel brands in Asia and Oceania have been unveiled at a star-studded gala ceremony in Vietnam. The elite of the travel industry assembled for the World Travel Awards (WTA) Asia & Oceania Gala Ceremony 2022 in Ho Chi Minh City to find out who amongst them had been crowned best of the best.
Winners at the red carpet ceremony included Cambodia, winning its first ever World Travel Awards for ‘Asia’s Leading Cultural Destination’ and ‘Asia’s Leading Youth Travel Destination’. Amazing natural beauty combined with world-class levels of hospitality earned Vietnam the title of ‘Asia’s Leading Destination’, Hanoi claimed the top prize for ‘Asia’s Leading City Break Destination’ and Ho Chi Minh City won the award for ‘Asia’s Leading Business Travel Destination’. Meanwhile New Zealand scooped the title of ‘Oceania’s Leading Destination’ making it a double victory after Tourism New Zealand lifted the trophy for ‘Oceania’s Leading Tourist Board’.
Travel industry VIPs from 35 nations attended the blockbuster event at Ho Chi Minh City’s state-of-the-art GEM Center.
Graham Cooke, Founder, WTA, said: “What an incredible evening was had by our blue-chip audience. WTA had the privilege of recognising the industry’s leading lights from the length and breadth of twin Asia and Oceania regions. As shining examples of tourism excellence, our winners have helped to once again raise the bar”.
“Ho Chi Minh City is an impressive cosmopolitan destination, rich in history and culture but with a dynamic, forward-thinking outlook. Vietnam is not only a tremendously exciting destination within Asia, but I believe it will soon become a tourism epicentre on the global stage. We foresee an era of unprecedented growth as more brands and tourism development products are attracted to the nation”.
In the aviation sector, Singapore Airlines was named ‘Asia’s Leading Airline’ whilst Vietnam Airlines earned the prestigious accolade of ‘Asia’s Leading Airline Brand’ as well as ‘Asia’s Leading Airline – Economy Class’. AirAsia collected ‘Asia’s Leading Low-Cost Airline’, Singapore Changi Airport was named ‘Asia’s Leading Airport’ and Royal Brunei Airlines won the coveted title of ‘Asia’s Leading Cabin Crew’. Oceania winners included Air New Zealand (‘Oceania’s Leading Airline’) and Auckland Airport (‘Oceania’s Leading Airport’).
The refined elegance of Raffles Singapore claimed the ultimate hospitality award for ‘Asia’s Leading Hotel’, the beguiling blend of French Indochine haute couture led Hotel de la Coupole MGallery to be voted ‘Asia’s Leading Design Hotel’, and the honour of Asia’s Leading Boutique Beach Resort” went to Amanoi, Vietnam. Newcomer winners included Jakarta’s The Langham (‘Asia’s Leading New Hotel’) and Regent Phu Quoc (‘Asia’s Leading Resort’). The Ascott Limited marked a remarkable year of expansion with the hospitality giant claiming the award for ‘Asia’s Leading Serviced Apartment Brand’.
Big Oceania victories included the top prize for Millbrook Resort, New Zealand (Oceania’s Leading Hotel’), Hyatt Regency Sydney claiming the title of ‘Oceania’s Leading Business Hotel’ and InterContinental Wellington securing ‘Oceania’s Leading Conference Hotel’.
Travel provider winners included Vietravel (‘Asia’s Leading Tour Operator’), Abercrombie & Kent (‘Oceania’s Leading Tour Operator’) and Sun Group (‘Asia’s Leading Integrated Tourism Group’).
The next red carpet events on the WTA Grand Tour 2022 include Amman, Jordan (Middle East), Mallorca, Spain (Europe) and Nairobi, Kenya (Africa & Indian Ocean).
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 recognised 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 recognise 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.
