The yearly event recognised 80 of the Asia-Pacific travel trade’s best organisations and individuals. The event was attended by a total of 700 members of the Asia-Pacific travel trade, and garnered a total of 60,000 valid votes.
BANGKOK – An incredible 51 out of 72 award titles were retained by their 2011 winners at the 23rd Annual TTG Travel Awards, a TTG Travel Trade Publishing event.
Held at the World Ballroom at Centara Grand and Bangkok Convention Centre at CentralWorld, the yearly event recognised 80 of the Asia-Pacific travel trade’s best organisations and individuals. The event was attended by a total of 700 members of the Asia-Pacific travel trade, and garnered a total of 60,000 valid votes – a 20% increase from 2011 – from June to August for its voted titles.
9 winners took home the signature Hermes trophy for the first time. Song Saa Private Island became 2012’s Best New Beach Resort, and Amankora, the Best Non-Beach Resort, reflecting Cambodia’s and Bhutan’s growing presence on the map of the Asia-Pacific travel trade.
In the Hotel Chain sub-category, only Park Hotel Group (Best Regional Hotel Chain) and Preferred Hotel Group (Best Hotel Rep Company) were new winners, while Mercury Travels Limited (Best Travel Agency – India) became the only new travel agency winner this year. Similarly, the entire airline category returned to take away their respective awards for the third year running.
Notably, among the returning winners, Wing On Travel has returned after more than a decade since its last win in 2001 to retake the Best Travel Agency – Hong Kong title.
“It’s heartening to see our industry colleagues innovate and reinvent their products to stay relevant and in demand,” said TTG Asia Media managing director Darren Ng. “The fact that so many of our winners can return to reclaim their titles is testament to their constant drive for improvement, amidst so many other up-and-coming competitors.”
Thai organisations once again dominated the Business Travel and Meetings, Incentives, Conventions and Events (BT-MICE) front, with Thai Airways International (Best Airline – Business Class and Best South-East Asian Airline), Grand Hyatt Erawan (Best Business Hotel), Thai Convention & Exhibition Bureau (Best Convention & Exhibition Bureau), and Centara Grand & Bangkok Convention Centre at CentralWorld (Best Meetings & Conventions Hotel).
Thai Airways International and Best Western International, in fact, both repeated their dual win this year, with Best Western International winning the Best Mid-Range Hotel Brand and an Outstanding Achievement Award, Best Marketing and Relationship Effort, for which it was handpicked by the TTG Travel Trade Publishing editorial team.
The Awards also honoured its 8 Travel Hall of Fame luminaries at tonight’s ceremony. These organisations, including Singapore Airlines, Lotte Tour, and Singapore Changi Airport, have won the same award more than 10 consecutive times.
The 23rd Annual TTG Travel Awards 2012 Ceremony and Gala Dinner is held yearly in Bangkok, in conjunction with Incentive Travel & Conventions, Meetings Asia (IT&CMA) and Corporate Travel World (CTW) Asia Pacific. The event, the World’s Only Doublebill Event in MICE and Corporate Travel, is a one-stop platform for industry professionals to do business, learn and network in a single location – Centara Grand & Bangkok Convention Centre at CentralWorld.
Voting for the TTG Travel Awards 2013 opens in June 2013. The 24th Annual TTG Travel Awards 2012 Ceremony and Gala Dinner will be held on 3 October 2013.
| 2012 Travel Awards | Company |
| Airline Awards | |
| Best North American Airline | United Airlines |
| Best European Airline | Air France-KLM |
| Best Middle Eastern Airline | Qatar Airways |
| Best South-East Asian Airline | Thai Airways International |
| Best North Asian Airline | Cathay Pacific Airways |
| Best China Airline | Air China |
| Best Pacific Airline | Qantas Airways Limited |
| Best Regional Airline | Dragonair |
| Best Asian Low-Cost Carrier | AirAsia |
| Hotel Chain Awards | |
| Best Global Hotel Chain | InterContinental Hotels Group |
| Best Regional Hotel Chain | Park Hotel Group |
| Best Local Hotel Chain | Harbour Plaza Hotels & Resorts |
| Best Hotel Rep Company | Preferred Hotel GroupTM |
| Best Luxury Hotel Brand | The Peninsula Hotels |
| Best Mid-Range Hotel Brand | Best Western International |
| Best Budget Hotel Brand | Ibis Hotels |
| Hotel – Individual Property Awards | |
| Best Luxury Hotel | Raffles Hotel Singapore |
| Best Mid-Range Hotel | Furama Riverfront, Singapore |
| Best Budget Hotel | Ibis Singapore Bencoolen |
| Best Independent Hotel | Royal Plaza on Scotts |
| Best Boutique Hotel | Hotel LKF by Rhombus |
| Best City Hotel – Bangkok | Siam Kempinski Hotel Bangkok |
| Best City Hotel – Delhi | Taj Palace Hotel |
| Best City Hotel – Hanoi/Ho Chi Minh City | Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi |
| Best City Hotel – Hong Kong | The Langham Hong Kong |
| Best City Hotel – Jakarta | Hotel Mulia Senayan |
| Best City Hotel – Kuala Lumpur | Hilton Kuala Lumpur |
| Best City Hotel – Macau | Grand Hyatt Macau |
| Best City Hotel – Manila | InterContinental Manila |
| Best City Hotel – Seoul | Lotte Hotel Seoul |
| Best City Hotel – Singapore | Shangri-La Hotel, Singapore |
| Best City Hotel – Taipei | W Taipei |
| Best City Hotel – Tokyo | Imperial Hotel, Tokyo |
| Best New City Hotel | Conrad Macao, Cotai Central |
| Best Airport Hotel | Regal Airport Hotel |
| Resorts, Serviced Residences and Spa Awards | |
| Best Beach Resort | Amari Palm Reef Koh Samui |
| Best Resort Hotel (Non-Beach) | Amankora |
| Paro, Thimphu, Punakha, Gangtey, Bumthang | |
| Kingdom of Bhutan | |
| Best New Beach Resort Hotel | Song Saa Private Island |
| Best Integrated Resort | Resorts World at Sentosa Pte Ltd |
| Best Serviced Residence Operator | The Ascott Limited |
| Best Spa Operator | Banyan Tree Spas |
| BT-MICE Awards | |
| Best Airline – Business Class | Thai Airways International |
| Best Business Hotel | Grand Hyatt Erawan Bangkok |
| Best Meetings & Conventions Hotel | Centara Grand & Bangkok Convention Centre at CentralWorld |
| Best BT-MICE City | Singapore |
| Best Convention & Exhibition Centre | Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre |
| Best Convention & Exhibition Bureau | Thailand Convention & Exhibition Bureau |
| Travel Services Awards | |
| Best Airport | Hong Kong International Airport |
| Best GDS | Travelport |
| Best Cruise Operator | Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. |
| Best NTO | Japan National Tourism Organization |
| Best Theme Attraction | Hong Kong Disneyland |
| Travel Agency Awards | |
| Best Travel Agency – Australia | Flight Centre |
| Best Travel Agency – China | China International Travel Service |
| Best Travel Agency – Chinese Taipei | Phoenix Tours International, Inc |
| Best Travel Agency – Hong Kong | Wing On Travel |
| Best Travel Agency – India | Mercury Travels Limited |
| Best Travel Agency – Indochina | Asian Trails |
| Best Travel Agency – Indonesia | Pacto Ltd Indonesia |
| Best Travel Agency – Japan | H.I.S.Co.,Ltd. |
| Best Travel Agency – Malaysia | Reliance Sightseeing Sdn. Bhd. |
| Best Travel Agency – Singapore | Tour East Singapore (1996) Pte Ltd |
| Best Travel Agency – South Korea | HANATOUR Service Inc |
| Best Travel Agency – Thailand | Diethelm Travel Group |
| Best Travel Agency – The Philippines | Rajah Travel Corporation |
| Best Travel Agency – Vietnam | Vietravel |
| Best Corporate Travel Agency | Carlson Wagonlit Travel |
| Best On-line Travel Agent | Expedia |
| Outstanding Achievement Awards | |
| Travel Personality of the Year | Mr Jean-Gabriel Pérès |
| President & CEO of Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts | |
| Destination of the Year | Thailand |
| Best Travel Entrepreneur | Mr Deep Kalra |
| Founder & CEO of MakeMyTrip.com | |
| Best Marketing & Relationship Effort | Best Western International |
| Travel Hall of Fame | |
| Travel Hall of Fame | Singapore Airlines |
| Travel Hall of Fame | Singapore Changi Airport |
| Travel Hall of Fame | Hertz Asia Pacific |
| Travel Hall of Fame | The Royal Cliff Hotels Group – The State of Exclusivity & Fascination |
| Travel Hall of Fame | Star Cruises |
| Travel Hall of Fame | Abacus International |
| Travel Hall of Fame | SilkAir |
| Travel Hall of Fame | Lotte Tour |
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
