Events, Tourism, Organisations & Operators,

The finest travel brands from across the Americas and the Caribbean have been unveiled at a star-studded Gala Ceremony in Jamaica. The elite of the travel industry assembled for the World Travel Awards (WTA) Caribbean & The America’s Gala Ceremony 2022 to find out who amongst them had been crowned best of the best.
The red carpet evening, hosted at Sandals Montego Bay, marked the opening leg of the WTA Grand Tour 2022 – an international search for the finest travel and tourism organisations in the world.

Winners on the night included the paradise island of St. Lucia, which fended off stiff competition to emerge as ‘Caribbean’s Leading Honeymoon Destination’, whilst Turks & Caicos was voted ‘Caribbean’s Leading Beach Destination’.  The Bahamas took the title of ‘Caribbean’s Leading Luxury Island Destination’.  Jamaica emerged triumphantly a multiple winner, picking up the ultimate title for ‘Caribbean’s Leading Destination’, along with ‘Caribbean’s Leading Cruise Destination’ and ‘Caribbean’s Leading Tourist Board’.
From North America, the big winners were Miami Beach which took the highly-coveted title of ‘North America’s Leading City Destination’ with Miami Beach Visitor and Convention Authority claiming the title of ‘North America’s Leading Tourist Board’, Las Vegas who won the award for ‘North America’s Leading Meeting & Conference Destination’ and New Orleans who claimed the honour of ‘North America’s Leading City Break Destination’.ADVERTISEMENTAcapulco celebrated, winning the top prize for ‘Mexico & Central America’s Leading City Destination’, while Tulum took the title of ‘Mexico & Central America’s Leading Beach Destination’.  Elsewhere, the cutting-edge gastronomy of Peru earnt it the title of ‘South America’s Leading Culinary Destination’ while Ecuador enjoyed a night of huge success with Quito winning the award for ‘South America’s Leading City Destination’ and Guayaquil claiming a hat-trick of honours including the title of ‘South America’s Leading Meetings & Conference Destination’.

Graham Cooke, Founder, WTA, said: “What an incredible evening at the majestic Sandals Montego Bay, Jamaica. WTA had the privilege of recognising the industry’s driving forces from the leading nations from the length and breadth of the Caribbean and Americas regions. As stellar examples of tourism excellence, our winners have helped us to once again raise the collective benchmark”.
In the hospitality sector, winners included Jamaica’s GoldenEye (‘Caribbean’s Leading Boutique Resort’), Halfmoon (‘Caribbean’s Leading Hotel’), Round Hill Hotel & Villas (‘Caribbean’s Leading Villa Resort’), Beaches Turks & Caicos (‘Caribbean’s Leading All-Inclusive Family Resort’) and the relentless drive for excellence helped Sandals Resorts International to lift the title of ‘Caribbean’s Leading Hotel Brand’.
From The Americas, big winners included Conrad New York Downtown, which claimed the title of ‘North America’s Leading Hotel’, while Malibu Beach Inn Hotel & Spa was named ‘North America’s Leading Boutique Hotel’.  Elsewhere, Gaia Hotel & Reserve took the prize for ‘Mexico & Central America’s Leading Green Hotel’, with Sofitel Legend Santa Clara Cartagena winning the award for ‘South America’s Leading Hotel’.
In the aviation sector, Bahamasair was named ‘Caribbean’s Leading Airline’, whilst Sangster International Airport, Jamaica walked away with ‘Caribbean’s Leading Airport’. Privé Jets won the title of ‘North America’s Leading Private Jet Charter’.
The next events on the WTA Grand Tour 2022 include Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam (Asia & Oceania), Amman, Jordan (Middle East), Mallorca, Spain (Europe) and Nairobi, Kenya (Africa & Indian Ocean).
Find a full list of winners on the official WTA website. www.worldtravelawards.com

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Tourism Minister Thong Khon will head the Cambodian delegation at the 16th International Travel Expo Ho Chi Minh City 2022 (ITE HCMC 2022) to be held from September 8 to 10 under the theme ‘Growing Forward Together.’As the largest annual international travel event in Vietnam, organised by Vietnam National Administration of Tourism and Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism, ITE HCMC 2022 aims to enhance exchanges, tourism promotion and business opportunities for Vietnamese and foreign tourism companies and associations, said a release.
The event, supported by the Tourism Alliance of Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam, is to be held at Saigon Exhibition & Convention Centre in a hybrid format – a physical event, complemented with virtual components such as virtual B2B meetings with buyers, conferences and live streaming.
The Tourism Ministry of Cambodia will have its booth at the event this year. Another highlight will be ‘Cambodia Night’ on September 8, where the country will have the opportunity to showcase its various art and cultural forms. Vietnam MICE Forum, Vietnam Night ‘Dear Gạo’ and Korea Night on September 9 are the other highlights of the event.
The expo was not held in the last two years due to Covid-19 and this year it is expected to attract over 300 participating companies and 150 high-level buyers from over 50 countries and territories, together with more than 30,000 trade visitors, all gathering in one place, over the three days, the release said.
Travel businesses from Australia, the US, the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Russia, Romania, Poland, Japan, Korea, India, Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Kuwait are expected to attend the event. More than 6,000 B2B meetings between buyers and exhibitors have also been scheduled.ADVERTISEMENTThe ‘Business Matching’ activity at the event will be an opportunity for exhibitors and buyers to open B2B cooperation and enhance trade promotion. For successful business negotiations, a contract signing ceremony will be held directly at the event.
Vietnam, a fast-growing tourism destination, attracted nearly one million international visitors in the first seven months of the year. The event is expected to promote inbound tourism to Vietnam and the Mekong sub-region.
According to the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT), the country registered an increase of nearly nine times tourist arrivals in the first seven months of the year compared to the same period in 2021.
Nguyen Thi Anh Hoa, Director of Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism, said: “As the leading international tourism event in Vietnam and the region, the expo is constantly improving in terms of scale and quality, and actively promoting the recovery of tourism in Vietnam and the region.”
Miss International Peace 2021 Nguyen Thuc Thuy Tien (Communications Ambassador of ITE HCMC 2022) and Miss Thailand Coco Arayha Suparurk will attend the expo.
Ho Chi Minh City will also host the Asia & Oceania Gala Ceremony of the World Travel Awards (WTA) 2022 on September 7. The WTA was launched in 1993 to acknowledge excellence in the travel and tourism industry. Heralded as the ‘travel industry’s equivalent of the Oscars,’ the awards are based on votes from the public and travel professionals across the globe.

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he Mekong Tourism Forum 2022 will return as a face-to-face event 9-14 October at Hoiana Resort & Golf (Hoiana), Quang Nam province, adjacent to Hoi An city, in central Vietnam.
It will be the first in-person gathering of the six Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS) destinations since 2019.
With the theme “Rebuild Tourism, Rebound with Resilience,” the forum in Quang Nam will be the first interactive event convening public- and private-sector tourism leaders and experts in the Mekong region since COVID-19 disrupted the travel industry.
“With a lot of rebuilding and catching up to do, the 2022 Mekong Tourism Forum aims to drive real action and create a more resilient, inclusive, sustainable and successful tourism industry.” said Mr. Nguyen Trung Khanh, Chairman of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism.
The main public discussions and speeches at the Forum will take place on 12 October. Speakers will focus on tourism recovery, digital transformation, supply chain localisation, social enterprise business models, and best practices for a resilient travel sector rebound, especially using latest technologies.ADVERTISEMENTTopics will include megatrends that affect tourism recovery. Panelists and experts will suggest policies, regulations and investments needed to bring back travel and tourism. There will be a special emphasis on nature-based solutions and technology adoption.
Specific panels will address social enterprises, connecting sustainable tourism suppliers and buyers, and unlocking green tourism opportunities.
Speakers will include leaders from the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT), representatives from other GMS national tourism organisations, the Asian Development Bank, Destination Mekong, Agoda, the Pacific Asia Travel Association, OAG, YAANA Ventures, EXO Travel, Travelife and the ASEAN Tourism Association, among others.
The Mekong Forum will take place in in Hoiana Resort & Golf (Hoiana), on a beach setting just south of Hoi An UNESCO-listed heritage city. Da Nang international airport is 40 minutes from the conference venue.
There will be complimentary airport transfers for Forum guests on 11 and 14 October. There will be post-event delegate tours in the Quang Nam area on 13 October.
The Mekong Tourism Forum is free to attend for genuine Greater Mekong Sub-region travel and tourism stakeholders.
Further information and registration: MekongTourismForum.org
Quang Nam and green tourism is the focus of Visit Vietnam Year 2022.

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