Abu Dhabi Wins Best Middle East Destination at Travel Weekly Asia Readers’ Choice Awards 2019

20 Oct, 2019

Abu Dhabi won first place in the Best Destination – Middle East category for the second consecutive time at the Travel Weekly Asia Readers’ Choice Awards 2019. The award coincided with the emirate’s participation in the 12th edition of the ITB Asia travel trade show in Singapore, where the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi (DCT- Abu Dhabi), along with a number of the city’s stakeholders, showcased some of the emirate’s best tourism offerings.

Held annually by the popular travel publication, The Travel Weekly Asia Readers’ Choice Awards are voted on by the readers of Travel Weekly Asia, who consist of travel trade professionals from across the continent. Representatives of DCT – Abu Dhabi were present at Mandarin Orchard Singapore to receive the prestigious award.

Saeed Rashed Al Saeed, Destination Marketing Director at the Department of Culture and Tourism - Abu Dhabi, expressed the department’s gratitude for winning the award, saying: “We are proud to have been selected as the Best Destination – Middle East by the readers of Travel Weekly Asia. We have worked over the years to raise Abu Dhabi’s profile as a global hub for culture and tourism, and to be selected for such an accolade is a culmination of these efforts. We are grateful for the recognition that our beautiful city has been receiving across the world.”

The Travel Weekly Asia Readers’ Choice Awards is the latest of several honors received by Abu Dhabi this year. Earlier in the year, Abu Dhabi was selected as the Middle East’s Leading Business Destination at the World Travel Awards. In May, Abu Dhabi was ranked by French holiday specialists Club Med amongst the top ten most family-friendly tourism destinations in the world. These recognitions follow a series of achievements by the UAE capital in the field of tourism, including achieving a 5.8% increase in the number of visitors in 2018 and establishing new tourism destinations and events such as the Abu Dhabi Showdown Week, Abu Dhabi Family Week, and Qasr Al Watan.
Parallel to the awards, the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi participated in the 12th edition of ITB Asia. The three-day international travel trade show, organised by Messe Berlin (Singapore) Pte Ltd and supported by Singapore Exhibition & Convention Bureau, is widely regarded as the leading travel industry event in Asia Pacific. DCT – Abu Dhabi was joined by top Abu Dhabi stakeholders at the exhibition, including Etihad Airways, Experience Hub, Expo 2020, Arabian Adventure, and Louvre Abu Dhabi.

“ITB Asia is a great opportunity for us to engage with stakeholders of travel trade in the Asia Pacific region every year, and to showcase some of the best tourism attractions and offerings in Abu Dhabi. Through this event, we hope to build strong relationships with the travel industry across Asia and to help reinforce Abu Dhabi’s position as a premium hub for culture and tourism both in Asia and across the globe.” Said Al Saeed.
The event saw international exhibitors of all sectors from the travel-value chain showcase their products, from Asia Pacific's leading travel companies and emerging small and medium-sized enterprises to top international buyers from the MICE, Leisure and Corporate Travel markets.