Colombo, Dec 7 – The Maldives has received the world’s leading island destination title at the 2013 World Travel Awards (WTA) in Qatar, Xinhua news agency reports local media as saying Friday.
This is the third time the Maldives has won the prestigious travel award hailed as the Oscars of the travel industry, the Minivan News said.
The Maldives beat off competition from Indonesia’s Bali, Barbados, Cook Islands, Jamaica, the Madeira Islands, Mauritius, the Seychelles, Sicily in Italy, St. Lucia and Zanzibar in Tanzania.
Maldivian resorts also picked up a number of awards in various categories, with Hulhule Island Hotel winning the ‘World’s Leading Airport Resort’ and Conrad Maldives Rangali Island the ‘World’s Leading Water Villa Resort’ title this year.
Baros Maldives won recognition as the ‘World’s Most Romantic Resort’ and ‘World’s Leading Island Villas’.
In November, the Maldives received one million tourist arrivals for the first time in a calendar year.
– Bernama
