06 Oct 2015
BANGKOK – TTG Travel Awards 2015 culminates on 1 October in celebration of the 83 winners who represent the best and brightest in the Asia-Pacific industry.
18 new winners have emerged across various categories, taking home the signature Hermes trophy for the first time. First-time winners such as Vietjet, Gardens By The Bay and Buffalo Tours have successfully claimed titles that were dominated by long-time winners, taking the honor of Best Asian Low-Cost Carrier, Best Theme Attraction and Best Travel Agency – Vietnam respectively.
The roll-call of inaugural winners also include POP Hotel Kuta Beach Bali, Mira Moon, Shangri-La Kuala Lumpur, The Westin Singapore, Crowne Plaza Changi Airport and Amari Phuket from the Hotels –Individual, positioning themselves as the best of the best in the travel trade industry.
Amid strong competition, 16 of tonight’s winning organisations have continued to grow from strength to strength, making their remarkable comebacks into the awards. Among them are AccorHotels and Holiday Inn Express, reclaiming their titles as Best Global Hotel Chain and Best Budget Hotel Brand respectively. Other returning winners include The Langham Hong Kong (Best City Hotel – Hong Kong) and Suntec Singapore Convention & Exhibition Centre (Best Convention & Exhibition Centre).
While first-time and returning winners make their way into TTG Travel Awards, veteran organisations such as Qatar Airways, Thailand Convention & Exhibition Bureau, Resorts World at Sentosa Pte Ltd and Singapore Tourism Board have successfully defended their titles with consecutive wins, continuing their reign as the industry’s giants.
Other industry giants such as Tourism Promotion Board (Philippines) and Best Western International were handpicked by TTG Publishing’s editorial team as Best Marketing & Relationship Effort and Best Trade Supporter for their outstanding achievements. Myanmar was crowned Destination of the Year, and Mr. Ryoichi Matsuyama, President of JNTO was announced as the Travel Personality of the Year.
The Awards also welcomed 2 new TTG Travel Hall of Fame honoraries – Regal Airport Hotel and Banyan Tree Spa into the elite ranks of the travel trade industry for their impressive achievement of winning the same award over the l0 years. A virtual Hall of Fame (http://www.ttghof.com) was launched in late September with the objective to showcase the accolades and memorabilia of the Hall of Fame inductees to a global audience.
For the first time, TTG Travel Awards also honored 2 of their industry partners – Jae Pil Sho, Editor and Publisher of TravelPress Korea and Chower Narula, Managing Director of World Media for their lifelong contributions and immense dedication to the travel trade industry and also TTG Asia Media.
This year, The 26th Annual TTG Travel Awards 2015 Ceremony and Gala Dinner was held in Centara Grand at CentralWorld, the official venue sponsor for the event. This annual event coincides with Incentive Travel & Conventions, Meetings Asia (IT&CMA) and Corporate Travel World (CTW) Asia-Pacific – The World’s Only Doublebill Event in MICE and Corporate Travel.
S/N |
Award Title |
Winner |
1 |
Best North American Airline |
Air Canada |
2 |
Best European Airline |
Turkish Airlines NEW |
3 |
Best Middle Eastern Airline |
Qatar Airways |
4 |
Best South-East Asian Airline |
Thai Airways International |
5 |
Best North Asian Airline |
Cathay Pacific Airways |
6 |
Best China Airline |
China Southern Airlines |
7 |
Best Pacific Airline |
Qantas Airways Ltd |
8 |
Best Regional Airline |
Dragonair |
9 |
Best Asian Low-Cost Carrier |
VietJet NEW |
10 |
Best Global Hotel Chain |
AccorHotels |
11 |
Best Regional Hotel Chain |
Park Hotel Group |
12 |
Best Local Hotel Chain |
Harbour Plaza Hotels & Resorts |
13 |
Best Hotel Rep Company |
Preferred Hotels & Resorts |
14 |
Best Luxury Hotel Brand |
Shangri-La Hotels & Resorts |
15 |
Best Mid-Range Hotel Brand |
Best Western International |
16 |
Best Budget Hotel Brand |
Holiday Inn Express |
17 |
Best Luxury Hotel |
The Peninsula Hong Kong |
18 |
Best Mid-Range Hotel |
Ramada Singapore At Zhongshan Park |
19 |
Best Budget Hotel |
POP Hotel Kuta Beach Bali NEW |
20 |
Best Independent Hotel |
Royal Plaza on Scotts |
21 |
Best Boutique Hotel |
Mira Moon Hong Kong NEW |
22 |
Best City Hotel - Bangkok |
Mandarin Oriental, Bangkok |
23 |
Best City Hotel - Delhi |
Taj Palace Hotel |
24 |
Best City Hotel - Hanoi/Ho Chi Minh City |
InterContinental Hanoi Westlake |
25 |
Best City Hotel - Hong Kong |
The Langham, Hong Kong |
26 |
Best City Hotel - Jakarta |
Gran Melia Jakarta |
27 |
Best City Hotel - Kuala Lumpur |
Shangri-La Hotel, Kuala Lumpur NEW |
28 |
Best City Hotel - Macau |
Grand Hyatt Macau |
29 |
Best City Hotel - Manila |
Fairmont Makati |
30 |
Best City Hotel - Seoul |
The Shilla Seoul |
31 |
Best City Hotel - Singapore |
Mandarin Orchard Singapore |
32 |
Best City Hotel - Taipei |
W Taipei |
33 |
Best City Hotel - Tokyo |
Conrad Tokyo |
34 |
Best New City Hotel |
The Westin Singapore NEW |
35 |
Best Airport Hotel |
Crowne Plaza® Changi Airport NEW |
36 |
Best Beach Resort |
Amari Phuket NEW |
37 |
Best Resort Hotel (Non-Beach) |
Maya Ubud Resort & Spa, Bali |
38 |
Best Integrated Resort |
Resorts World at Sentosa Pte Ltd |
39 |
Best Serviced Residence Operator |
Frasers Hospitality Pte Ltd |
40 |
Best Airline - Business Class |
Etihad Airways NEW |
41 |
Best Business Hotel |
Grand Hyatt Erawan Bangkok |
42 |
Best Meetings & Conventions Hotel |
Centara Grand & Bangkok Convention Centre at CentralWorld |
43 |
Best BT-MICE City |
Singapore Tourism Board |
44 |
Best Convention & Exhibition Centre |
Suntec Singapore Convention & Exhibition Centre |
45 |
Best Convention & Exhibition Bureau |
Thailand Convention & Exhibition Bureau |
46 |
Best Airport |
Incheon International Airport Corporation |
47 |
Best GDS |
Travelport |
48 |
Best Cruise Operator |
Royal Caribbean Cruises (Asia) Pte. Ltd. |
49 |
Best NTO |
Macau Government Tourist Office NEW |
50 |
Best Theme Attraction |
Gardens by the Bay NEW |
51 |
Best Travel Agency - China |
China International Travel Service |
52 |
Best Travel Agency - Chinese Taipei |
Phoenix Tours International Inc |
53 |
Best Travel Agency - Hong Kong |
Westminister Travel Limited |
54 |
Best Travel Agency - India |
Creative Travel Pvt Ltd |
55 |
Best Travel Agency - Indochina |
Diethelm Travel Group |
56 |
Best Travel Agency - Indonesia |
Panorama Destination Indonesia |
57 |
Best Travel Agency - Japan |
H.I.S.Co, Ltd |
58 |
Best Travel Agency - Malaysia |
Mitra Tours & Travel |
59 |
Best Travel Agency - Singapore |
Chan Brothers Travel |
60 |
Best Travel Agency - South Korea |
Hanatour |
61 |
Best Travel Agency - Thailand |
Asian Trails |
62 |
Best Travel Agency - The Philippines |
Rajah Travel Corporation |
63 |
Best Travel Agency - Vietnam |
Buffalo Tours NEW |
64 |
Best Corporate Travel Agency |
Carlson Wagonlit Travel |
65 |
Best Online Travel Agency |
Asiatravel.com |
66 |
Travel Personality of the Year |
Ryoichi Matsuyama, President, JNTO NEW |
67 |
Destination of the Year |
Ministry of Hotels and Tourism, The Republic of the Union of Myanmar NEW |
68 |
Best Marketing & Relationship Effort |
Tourism Promotion Board (TPB) Philippines |
69 |
Best Trade Supporter |
Best Western International |
70 |
TTG Pioneer Award |
Chower Narula NEW AWARD |
71 |
TTG Pioneer Award |
Jae Pil Sho NEW AWARD |
72 |
Hall of Fame |
Singapore Airlines Ltd |
73 |
Hall of Fame |
Singapore Changi Airport |
74 |
Hall of Fame |
Hertz Asia Pacific |
75 |
Hall of Fame |
Royal Cliff Hotels Group - The State of Exclusivity & Fascination |
76 |
Hall of Fame |
Star Cruises |
77 |
Hall of Fame |
Sabre Travel Network Asia Pacific |
78 |
Hall of Fame |
SilkAir |
79 |
Hall of Fame |
Lotte Tour |
80 |
Hall of Fame |
Hong Kong International Airport |
81 |
Hall of Fame |
Raffles Singapore |
82 |
Hall of Fame |
Regal Airport Hotel INDUCTED IN 2015 |
83 |
Hall of Fame |
Banyan Tree Spa INDUCTED IN 2015 |
sourced:traveldailynews.asia