Maiden Arabian Travel Awards enchants the Middle East
The first edition of Arabian Travel Awards captivated over 150 travel, tourism and hospitality partners from the Middle East at the first American hotel chain in Dubai–JW Marriott Hotel. Arabian Travel Awards is Durga Das Publications’ first-ever internat
It was an extravagant 4th of July celebrations and an evening of glitter, glamour, honour and an unforgettable night to over 46 award winners who were recognised for the hard work and applauded for their many efforts undertaken over the years. The awards consisted of a unique system of jury judgement and internet voting to give out absolutely fair and unbiased results. The formal black-tie event was attended by over 150 notable personalities of the Middle East travel and tourism sector.
In his opening remarks, welcoming the guests for the awards, SanJeet, Mentor, Arabian Travel Awards, said, “Arabian Travel Awards aim at identifying and encouraging talent of every aspect of the tourism sector. We are pleased to share with you that we were surprised when we received nominations for awards from over 25 countries for this maiden international awards ceremony. The hospitality and tourism industry in the Middle East has reached remarkable heights and it is our pleasure and privilege to honour the people behind the hard work to attract millions of tourists from around the world to the Middle East region. Winning this award brings with it a great source of responsibility to encourage and further develop the industry, ensuring the best practices for the future enabling it to much greater heights.”
From the very beginning of the event, the crowd was engaged through fun activities and the awards were given away very swiftly with no interruptions, which was very well received by the Middle East audience. The award categories were very different and unique compared to other awards in the region. The awards were divided into four main categories: Personal Awards, Business Awards, Trending Awards and Partner Awards. These included awards for Best Business Hotel, Best Family Friendly Hotel, Best City Hotel, Best Green Hotel, Best Leisure Hotel, Best Destination Management Company, Best Hotel Apartments, Best B2B Travel Portal, and Best Luxury Hotel to name a few. The awards were given away by the Guest of Honour Dr. Tanushree Pandey, Gladrags Mrs. India, who specially flew in for the event; Sumeera Bahl, Director, Durga Das Publications Middle and the SanJeet, Mentor, Arabian Travel Awards.
Kulwant Singh, Founder and Managing Director, Lama Tours, was declared the ‘Face of the Future’ whilst Lakshmi Durai, CEO, Travel Matrix, won the Best Cruise Professional award. Each of these awards spoke beyond words about the recognition and appreciation shown to the stalwarts of the industry who have tirelessly worked hard over the past many years to ensure the correct lanes, best practices are maintained in the industry and have contributed to the development of the trade relations between the Middle East and the rest of the world in order to better improve the economy of the region.