All eyes on the 82 Extraordinaries at the 24th Annual TTG Travel Awards 2013

The 24th Annual TTG Travel Awards 2013 Ceremony and Gala Dinner is held annually in Bangkok, in conjunction 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.

BANGKOK – 82 extraordinary organisations and individuals are taking home the 24K gold-plated signature Hermes trophy at this year’s TTG Travel Awards – an annual regional event organised by TTG Asia Media’s Travel Trade Publishing group.

A new record of 120,000 valid votes was garnered during a 2 month period (from end May to early August) from print and online subscribers of the group’s six titles: TTG Asia, TTG China, TTG India, TTGmice, TTG-BTmice China and TTG Asia Luxury. Readers of the relevant industry sectors cast their votes of confidence for the 68 winning travel supplier and travel agency organisations who had won their affirmation with exceptional services and products.

This year, the awards saw 28 recipients successfully claim their titles of industry’s best from last year’s winners. Among them include airline carriers Air Canada and Finnair, several individual hotel/resort properties in Bali, Bangkok, Hong Kong, Maldives, Manila, Seoul, Singapore and Tokyo, namely Maya Ubud Resort & Spa, Bali, Mandarin Oriental, Bangkok, Holiday Inn Express Hong Kong Causeway Bay, The Ritz-Carlton, Hong Kong, Dusit Thani Maldives, Fairmont Makati, Conrad Seoul, Shangri-La Hotel, Singapore, The Quincy Hotel By Far East Hospitality, Mandarin Orchard Singapore, and Four Seasons Tokyo at Marunouchi for their respective awards. The Best Serviced Residence Operator, Best Airport and Best NTO also saw new winners in Frasers Hospitality Pte Ltd, Incheon International Airport and Korea Tourism Organization. In addition, 10 of the 16 travel agency award winners also went to different organisations.

“This year, we have witnessed several change in leads in many key Asia-Pacific markets across both Supplier and Agency awards. This reflects the intense competition in these markets, and the discerning expectations of the trade in return. Most notably, for non market-based awards such as Best Luxury Hotel, Best Budget Hotel, Best Serviced Residence Operator, Best Airport and Best NTO, organisations in Singapore, Hong Kong and Korea have come out tops, evidencing the high standards of service these organisations have demonstrated to win the industry over. Their accomplishment of making it to this year’s winners list is no simple feat,” said Mr Darren Ng, Managing Director of TTG Asia Media.

Amid the strong competition, Thai organisations have also stood out in the marketplace for holding their reign on strongly contested titles such as Best Meetings & Conventions Hotel (Centara Grand at CentralWorld), Best Convention & Exhibition Bureau (Thailand Convention & Exhibition Bureau), Best Airline – Business Class and Best South-East Asian Airline (Thai Airways International), and Best Business Hotel (Grand Hyatt Erawan). Furthermore, all 4 awards in the non-voting Outstanding Achievement Awards category went to winners with associations with Thailand. TTG Travel Trade Publishing’s editorial team handpicked new winners Mr. Martin J. Craigs, Chief Executive Officer of Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) based in Thailand and Mr. Chanin Donavanik, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Thailand-grown Dusit International, as their Travel Personality of the Year and Travel Entrepreneur of the Year respectively. The country Thailand continues to be their choice for Destination of the Year, while Best Western International’s regional HQ in Thailand picked up the title for Best Marketing & Relationship Effort.

The Travel Hall of Fame also welcomed 2 more additions – Hong Kong International Airport and Raffles Hotel Singapore – to the ranks of travel trade’s best of the best, rounding the count of Travel Hall of Fame honoraries to a perfect 10. These 2 organisations have been inducted this year for their impressive achievement of winning the same award over the last 10 consecutive years.

This year, TTG Travel Awards also launched its first-ever fund raising initiative with several Travel Hall of Fame honoraries generously sponsoring items towards this cause. All profits from the auction went to PATA Foundation to support tourism development and sustainability efforts for the travel and tourism community.

TTG Travel Awards 2013 Winners

Travel Supplier Awards		Organisation
Airline Awards
Best North American Airline	Air Canada ^NEW
Best European Airline	Finnair ^NEW
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 Limited
Best Pacific Airline	Qantas Airways
Best Regional Airline	Dragonair
Best Asian Low-Cost Carrier	AirAsia
Hotels · Resorts · Serviced Apartments · Spa Awards
Hotel Chains
Best Global Hotel Chain	InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG)
Best Regional Hotel Chain	Park Hotel Group
Best Local Hotel Chain	Harbour Plaza Hotels & Resorts
Best Hotel Rep Company	Preferred Hotel Group™
Best Luxury Hotel Brand	The Peninsula Hotels
Best Mid-range Hotel Brand	Best Western International
Best Budget Hotel Brand	Ibis Hotels
Hotels – Individual Property
Best Luxury Hotel	Shangri-La Hotel, Singapore ^NEW
Best Mid-Range Hotel	Furama Riverfront, Singapore
Best Budget Hotel	Holiday Inn Express Hong Kong Causeway Bay ^NEW
Best Independent Hotel	Royal Plaza on Scotts
Best Boutique Hotel	The Quincy Hotel By Far East Hospitality ^NEW
Best City Hotel – Bangkok	Mandarin Oriental, Bangkok ^NEW
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 Ritz-Carlton, Hong Kong ^NEW
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 (IHG)
Best City Hotel – Seoul	Conrad Seoul ^NEW
Best City Hotel – Singapore	Mandarin Orchard Singapore ^NEW
Best City Hotel – Taipei	W Taipei
Best City Hotel – Tokyo	Four Seasons Tokyo at Marunouchi ^NEW
Best New City Hotel	Fairmont Makati ^NEW
Best Airport Hotel	Regal Airport Hotel

Resorts – Individual Property
Best Beach Resort	Amari Palm Reef Koh Samui
Best Resort Hotel (Non-Beach)	Maya Ubud Resort & Spa, Bali ^NEW
Best New Beach Resort Hotel	Dusit Thani Maldives ^NEW
Best Integrated Resort	Resorts World at Sentosa Pte Ltd
Serviced Residences and Spas
Best Serviced Residence Operator	Frasers Hospitality Pte Ltd ^NEW
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 (Singapore Tourism Board)
Best Convention & Exhibition Centre	Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre
Best Convention & Exhibition Bureau	Thailand Convention & Exhibition Bureau
Travel Services Awards
Best Airport	Incheon International Airport ^NEW
Best GDS	Travelport
Best Cruise Operator	Royal Caribbean International
Best NTO	Korea Tourism Organization ^NEW
Best Theme Attraction	Hong Kong Disneyland Resort
Travel Agency Awards	Organisation
Best Travel Agency – Australia	Harvey World Travel ^NEW
Best Travel Agency – China	China International Travel Service
Best Travel Agency – Chinese Taipei	Phoenix Tours International, Inc
Best Travel Agency – Hong Kong	Westminster Travel Limited ^NEW 西敏旅行社有限公司
Best Travel Agency – India	Creative Travel Pvt Ltd ^NEW
Best Travel Agency – Indochina	Exotissimo Travel Asia ^NEW
Best Travel Agency – Indonesia	Panorama Destination Indonesia ^NEW
Best Travel Agency – Japan	H.I.S.Co.,Ltd.
Best Travel Agency – Malaysia	Asian Overland Services Tours & Travel ^NEW
Best Travel Agency – Singapore	Chan Brothers Travel ^NEW
Best Travel Agency – South Korea	Global Tour Co., Ltd ^NEW
Best Travel Agency – Thailand	Diethelm Travel Group
Best Travel Agency – The Philippines	Marsman Drysdale Travel Inc.^NEW
Best Travel Agency – Vietnam	Vietravel
Best Corporate Travel Agency	Carlson Wagonlit Travel
Best Online Travel Agency	Asiatravel.com ^NEW

Outstanding Achievement Awards

	Organisation
Travel Personality of the Year	Mr. Martin J. Craigs ^NEW Chief Executive Officer of Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA)
Destination of the Year	Thailand
Best Travel Entrepreneur	Mr. Chanin Donavanik ^NEW Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Dusit International
Best Marketing & Development Effort	Best Western International
Travel Hall of Fame	Organisation
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
Travel Hall of Fame	Hong Kong International Airport ^{INDUCTED IN 2013}
Travel Hall of Fame	Raffles Hotel Singapore ^{INDUCTED IN 2013}

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Theodore Koumelis

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Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.