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.
The 24thAnnual 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.
More information on the TTG Travel Awards can be found at: www.ttgasia.com/ttg-awards
The TTG Travel Awards has been recognising the best of Asia-Pacific’s travel industry since 1989. This prestigious annual event honours stellar organisations and individuals in 4 categories: Travel Supplier, Travel Agency, Outstanding Achievement and Travel Hall of Fame. This TTG Travel Trade Publishing event is proudly organised by TTG Asia, with the support of TTG India, TTG China, TTGmice, TTG-BTmice China and TTG Asia Luxury.
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 NDUCTED IN 2013
