World Travel Awards Archives

December 6, 2023

Emirates has swept up five accolades at the prestigious 2023 World Travel Awards Grand Final. Spotlighting everything from First Class and inflight entertainment to Skywards and brand, Emirates’ recognition is a testament to its longstanding investment in its outstanding customer experience.

At the high-profile industry awards ceremony, Emirates was named the World’s Leading Airline for the Middle East for the third consecutive year and scooped up top honours for Leading Airline Inflight Entertainment, Leading Airline Brand and Leading First Class. Emirates Skywards was also crowned the World’s Leading Rewards Programme, an accolade it has won for the last 11 out of 12 ceremonies.

Emirates’ unwavering belief that travel is not just about the destination, but the journey, underscores its numerous ongoing investments in the customer experience, both in-air and on-ground. The airline’s commitment to raising the bar has also ensured that Emirates remains a top choice for global travellers

Delivering on its brand promise to ‘Fly Better’, Emirates is undertaking a USD$2 billion investment to elevate the inflight experience. Emirates has reimagined its F&B offering, introducing unlimited caviar in First Class, a special cinema menu, in addition to its highly popular curated vegan menu. The Premium Economy cabin upgrade is well underway, with 22 A380s now sporting fully refreshed interiors. Emirates offers 6,500 channels of ice on-demand entertainment in every class, including exclusives such as the interview with UAE astronaut Dr Sultan AlNeyadi, live from the International Space Station.

Every year, World Travel Awards’ Grand Tour scours the globe for excellence, awarding regional tourism and travel organisations, with a culmination in the Grand Final where winners go head-to-head for top honours. Marking its 30th anniversary, World Travel Awards is globally recognized as one of the industry’s most prestigious honours programmes.

This year, Emirates has been widely recognized for its industry leadership across a broad range of categories, including its recent double win for Best Airline in the World and Best Airline in the Middle East at the 2023 ULTRAs, as voted by global travellers. The airline was also crowned the 2024 APEX World Class Airline and the 2024 IFSA award for Best Onboard Amenity, and won Transport & Logistics Company of the year at the Gulf Business Awards 2023.

October 25, 2022

dnata Travel Group brands have won seven accolades at the Middle East edition of the World Travel Awards for 2022.

Representing the Travel division of dnata, a leading global air and travel services provider, titles earned by dnata Travel Group include: Middle East’s Leading Airline GSA 2022 (dnata Representation Services), Middle East’s Leading Corporate Travel Company 2022 (dnata Travel Management), Bahrain’s Leading Travel Management Company 2022 (dnata Travel Management), and Saudi Arabia’s Leading Travel Agency 2022 (dnata Travel).

A highlight for the Group at the prestigious travel industry awards this year includes the success of Arabian Adventures across three categories for a third consecutive year, including the UAE’s Leading Destination Management Company 2022, UAE’s Leading Desert Safari Company 2022, and UAE’s Leading Tour Operator 2022.

Arabian Adventures also recently secured a Tripadvisor Traveller’s Choice Award for 2022, acknowledging its desert safari and city experiences as a top thing to do for travellers to the UAE. The award is based on great reviews and opinions collected from travellers worldwide. Arabian Adventures is growing its team and core offering which also includes cruise handling and event services, with an exciting range of new products and enhancements to its existing range set to be launched throughout the 2022/23 winter season.

John Bevan, Divisional Senior Vice President, dnata Travel Group, commented: “dnata Travel Group brands across the Middle East support local travellers and travel companies with every need, including leisure and corporate travel services, quality local representation services for a host of worldwide hotels and airlines, and more. The annual World Travel Awards are recognised globally, and we are proud to have been acknowledged here as we continue to innovate and grow to support the local market and beyond with an ever-evolving range of award-winning travel services.”

The World Travel Awards serves to acknowledge, reward and celebrate excellence across all sectors of the travel, tourism and hospitality industries. The awards are voted on by travel and tourism professionals worldwide.

December 4, 2020

SriLankan retains title for the fifth consecutive year

December 04, 2020: SriLankan Airlines, the National Carrier of Sri Lanka and a member of the oneworld alliance has won the prestigious ‘World’s Leading Airline to the Indian Ocean’ title once again at the World Travel Awards Grand Final held in Moscow.

SriLankan Airlines’ Chairman Ashok Pathirage said the latest accolade demonstrates the Airline’s commitment to delivering the Government of Sri Lanka’s vision of making Sri Lanka an aviation hub in Asia and the company was building on its business plan to strengthen its position as a fully-fledged international airline. “Yet again, SriLankan Airlines has made a tremendous mark in the region. We have a proud history that spans over four decades of operations,” he said. “Winning the World’s Leading Airline to the Indian Ocean’ for the fifth-year running is commendable especially given the current situation with COVID-19 which continues to cause disruption to the aviation and travel industry. It is proof of the National Carrier’s superior and dedicated focus to its service and operations time and again which gives SriLankan Airlines resilience to face any adversity”

The Airline has been winning the coveted title since 2016 and this year the National Carrier not only won the title as ‘Asia’s Leading Airline to the Indian Ocean’ but also was honored with the title ‘Asia’s Leading Marketing Campaign’ at the WTA Asia ceremony in 2020.

The Award is also symbolic of SriLankan’s commitment to serve the South Asian region, and India in particular by connecting 11 Indian cities to Sri Lanka and beyond. The Airline also operates to other cities in South Asia including Male, Dhaka, Karachi, and Lahore.

Chairman Mr. Ashok Pathirage Mr.Vipula Gunatilleka

SriLankan Airlines’ Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Vipula Gunatilleka said “At a time the industry is faced with unprecedented challenges, it is reassuring to know that SriLankan Airlines remains a top brand in the minds of travellers and the industry in the South Asian region. Winning this award for the fifth consecutive year reaffirms our stature in the Indian Subcontinent. Looking ahead for better times, we aim to further fortify our presence, by bringing in more of the world to the Indian Ocean region.”

This year’s WTA’s World’s Leading Destination, Maldives has been Sri Lanka’s extended home market with its connectivity to Malé and Gan Island, thus facilitating leisure-seekers from its extensive network in the Middle East, Europe, Far East, and Australia. SriLankan also became the first Airline to connect Gan Island of South Maldives with the world, thus becoming the only international airline to operate out of two points in the Maldives. Currently, the Airline operates an exclusive direct service from London to Malé.

The Airline also connects travellers to the much sought-after holiday getaway, the Seychelles via its Colombo hub, offering a wider range of prime leisure destinations in the Indian Ocean region.

The other award winners are, Dubai International Airport, Hilton London Heathrow Airport, Sandals Grenada, The Algarve Portugal, Holiday Inn Express, JW Mariott, Hertz, and Norwegian Cruise Line.

World Travel Awards™, celebrating its 27th anniversary this year, was established in 1993 to acknowledge, reward, and celebrate excellence across all key sectors of the travel, tourism, and hospitality industries. Today, the World Travel Awards™ brand is recognised globally as the ultimate hallmark of industry excellence.

November 30, 2020

Airline recognised with world’s leading Economy Class, Loyalty Rewards Programme and Business Class Airline Lounge awards

Emirates has been named as the World’s Leading Airline in three major categories at the World Travel Awards 2020: World’s Leading Economy Class, Airline Rewards Programme and Airline Lounge – Business Class.

Earlier this month, Emirates also took home four regional World Travel Awards for the Middle East’s Leading Airline Brand; Middle East’s Leading Airline Lounge – Business Class; Middle East’s Leading Airline Rewards Programme and Middle East’s Leading Airline Website.

The airline took top rankings across both the global and regional categories based on a record voter turnout from tourism consumers, a testament to its ongoing efforts and focused approach to continually enhance the customer experience in spite of challenges posed by the global pandemic.

The latest honours come hot off the heels of a flurry of other award wins over the last few weeks, including four wins at the Business Traveller Middle East Awards, the Best Airline for 2020 at The Sun Travel Awards, Best Long-Haul Airline at The Times and The Sunday Times Travel Awards, in addition to being rated as the safest airline in the world for its response to the COVID-19 pandemic according to the Safe Travel Barometer.

Part of the airline’s commitment to deliver outstanding value to customers is through industry-leading service and products across every class of travel. In Emirates’ Economy Class, customers can explore over 4,500 on-demand entertainment channels on the airline’s award-winning inflight system, ice. The airline also caters to every palate with regionally inspired multi-course meals and complimentary beverages. In early November, Emirates signature onboard dining experience returned while observing strict health and hygiene measures.

In line with the airline’s ongoing efforts to ensure a seamless and safe customer journey, as well as provide technology options to enhance the overall experience, the Emirates app has also been enhanced to allow customers to sync their entertainment options prior to boarding, as well browse menus on their personal devices both online and offline.

To further safeguard customer health and wellbeing, Emirates has put in numerous safety measures across every customer touchpoint on the ground and in the air, including the distribution of complimentary hygiene kits containing masks, gloves, hand sanitiser and antibacterial wipes to all customers.

The airline’s Business Class lounge in Concourse B in Dubai delivers elevated comfort and service for Emirates’ premium customers. With safety and hygiene measures in place, customers can relax, savour global flavours, and catch up before they board their next flight. The Emirates Business Class lounge at Terminal 3 at Dubai International Airport has also gradually revived its renowned pre-pandemic offerings such as full food and beverage services, quiet areas, amongst other experiences.

Emirates Skywards, the loyalty programme of Emirates and flydubai, recently marked its 20 year anniversary and has grown its base to over 27 million highly engaged members in 180 countries by offering value in bespoke experiences, brand partnerships and digital technologies.

To meet and exceed the ever-growing expectations of consumers for a better digital experience, the airline has made significant investments into its mobile and digital channels, such as personalized ice playlists via Emirates app, 3D cabin previews ahead of travel, tickets bidding for highly sought after event and sporting experiences using Skywards Miles, amongst numerous other innovations. The Emirates app has been downloaded over 25 million times, on the back of solid consumer uptake for a joined up experience across all touchpoints. During the pandemic, emirates.com became an information ‘hub’ for the most up to date travel information for consumers and industry stakeholders.

The annual World Travel Awards is a prestigious event that acknowledges, rewards and celebrates organisations within the travel, tourism and hospitality sectors, and is recognised as a hallmark of industry excellence. Winners were announced at a Grand Final event in Moscow, Russia.

December 19, 2017

Oman Air, the national carrier of the Sultanate of Oman, has been awarded “World’s Leading Airline – Economy Class” at the World Travel Awards. The World Travel Awards were presented last week at a gala dinner held at JW Marriott Phu Quoc Emerald Bay Resort & Spa, Vietnam. The national carrier was also awarded the ‘World’s Ultimate Service Award in Hospitality’.

The awards were received by Hamad Al Harthy, the Acting Regional Vice President – Far East, on behalf of Oman Air. 2017 has been a stellar year for Oman Air; the airline has been presented with a multitude of awards and accolades from renowned organisations around the globe, including four World Travel Awards.

Earlier this year, Oman Air was named the ‘Middle East’s Leading Airline, Business Class’ and ‘Middle East’s Leading Airline, Economy Class’ in the World Travel Awards Middle East 2017.

Acting CEO of Oman Air Abdul Aziz Alraisi said: “This is a fantastic way for Oman Air to conclude the year; winning four World Travel Awards, along with various other awards in 2017. These awards set the standards for the travel industry and it is testament of our quality services and product offering that we have consistently been voted the best. Oman Air is a successful, sustainable company and it is immensely rewarding to be recognised for our unique products and on board experience, in all classes.”

2017 award wins are not just limited to exemplary service; the airline was recently awarded the prestigious “Pay it Forward” award by PAX International magazine for its Taiseer Initiative.

Other recent award wins include Oman Air being named “Asia’s Top Outstanding Airline” by leading travel magazine, NOW Travel Asia and “Inflight Retailer of the Year 2017”, together with Muscat Duty Free.

For further information on Oman Air, visit www.omanair.com

Emirates Secures Top Honours at 2023 World Travel Awards with Five Accolades

dnata Travel Group brands win seven accolades at World Travel Awards Middle East 2022

SriLankan Airlines named the ‘World’s Leading Airline to the Indian Ocean’ at WTA

SriLankan retains title for the fifth consecutive year

Emirates clinches three gongs at the World Travel Awards

Airline recognised with world’s leading Economy Class, Loyalty Rewards Programme and Business Class Airline Lounge awards

Oman Air wins double at World Travel Awards