The prestigious Travel Awards for the UK Times, Sunday Times and Sunday Times Travel Magazine titles were held at the Mediterranean Conference Centre in Valletta last night.

For the first time ever, these influential publications came together to reward the best destinations, airlines, cities, hotels, tour operators and cruises in the industry.

The winners were chosen by thousands of globe-trotting readers of these titles in a survey over the past three months.

Supported by the Malta Tourism Authority, EasyJet and Corinthia Hotels, over 100 of News UK’s top clients attended the inaugural event.

News UK is part of News Corp – a global, diversified media and information services company focused on creating and distributing authoritative and engaging content to consumers throughout the world.

Guests stayed at the Corinthia Palace in Attard and activities were held across the Maltese islands over four days.

MTA chief executive Josef Formosa Gauci said: “It is a privilege to be associated with such leading titles. It will help us reach out to a demographic that does not necessarily have Malta on its radar as an ideal holiday destination. These awards allow us to showcase the destination to News UK’s key clients, ranging from leading tour operators and travel agents to airlines and cruise line companies.

James Hawker, head of category development, News UK Commercial, said: “The launch of our first travel awards marks the beginning of a new commercial product for News UK. This will give brands and agencies a new channel to reach engaged, affluent audiences with specific sector interest. It’s our ambition that these awards will soon become the largest consumer travel survey in the UK.”