The five-star Corinthia Palace Hotel & Spa has been named ‘Malta’s Leading Hotel’ for the third consecutive year at the World Travel Awards Europe Ceremony held in Antalya, Turkey. The award was presented to hotel general manager Italico Rota by World Travel Awards president and founder Graham Cooke.
Hailed as ‘The Oscars of the Travel Industry’, World Travel Awards is acknowledged across the globe as the ultimate travel accolade, and celebrates those brands that are pushing the boundaries of industry excellence, the Corinthia Group said in a statement.
Set in extensive landscaped gardens, the Corinthia Palace Hotel & Spa was the very first hotel to fly the Corinthia flag when it opened in 1968 in the presence of Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh. Since then, the world renowned hotel has become the benchmark for excellence in Malta’s luxury hotel sector and the catalyst for the ‘Corinthia Hotels’ brand worldwide expansion.
More than 500 organisations across Europe, spanning more than 125 categories, entered this year’s edition of the World Travel Awards, all vying for the most influential accolade in travel.
The industry’s elite – including CEOs of leading travel companies, government ministers, and tourist board chiefs – attended the glittering gala event, which was headlined by Turkish pop sensation Aydan Kaya and violin rock supremos, Fuse. The raft of media covering the event included Bloomberg TV, Hürriyet, CNBC and CNN Türk.
Mr Cooke said: “During times of economic uncertainty world-class brands come into their own, continuing to grow market share whilst competitors flounder. This is amply demonstrated in the number of top honours won by the world’s top hotels and travel organisations this year.”
The World Travel Awards was launched in 1993 to acknowledge and recognise excellence in the world’s travel and tourism industry. Now celebrating its 18th anniversary, the awards are regarded as the very highest achievement that a travel product could ever hope to receive. Votes are cast by 183,000 travel professionals, which include travel agencies, tour and transport companies and tourism organisations in over 160 countries across the globe.
Votes are cast globally by fellow industry professionals in over 1,000 different categories. Attended by senior executives from major travel companies, operators and destinations, WTA events are universally respected as providing established, top-level networking opportunities, regionally and globally.