Doha to Host Tourism's "Oscars" Awards

Doha, January 07 (QNA) - Doha will host the Grand Final Gala Ceremony of the World Travel Awards (WTA), the "Oscars" of the travel industry, on January 11, 2012. The event will be held in KATARA in partnership with Qatar Tourism Authority (QTA). QTA's website says that "The most important decision-makers in global travel and tourism are set to attend the glittering ceremony, which will be staged at Katara Cultural Village, Qatar s ground-breaking new arts and exhibitions complex." Qatar is nominated for a number of awards, including World's Leading Airlines, for Qatar Airways. Qatar Airways was nominated for five other awards, the World's Leading Airline In-flight Entertainment, World's Leading Airline to Middle-East, World's Leading Airline Business Class, and World’s Leading Airline Lounge: Business Class, World's Leading Airline First Class and World's Leading Airline Economy Class. Other nominations for the State of Qatar include World's Leading Business Destination and the World's Leading Travel Agency, Regency Travel & Tours nominated. More than 1000 of the leaders of the tourism industry are nominated for the WTA, including the Ritz Carlton, Armani Hotels, Jumeirah as well as many others. Qatar Tourism Authority's Chairman Ahmed Al Nuaimi said that nominating the State of Qatar for a number of awards shows that the country does have services of the highest caliber to offer to tourists. He added that choosing Qatar to host the awards reflects the growing confidence in the country's tourism sector. There are a number of new awards that offered in this year's edition, including World's Ultimate Service Award in Hospitality which sees the St. Regis Bali resort and the Esperanza Cabo resort San Lucas, among other resorts, fight for the award. Around 213000 specialists from different fields in the tourism industry will vote in the awards. (QNA)