Abu Dhabi’s Department of Culture and Tourism (DCT) is to launch a new award scheme intended to honour excellence within the tourism and travel industry, a new report has revealed.
The DCT is hoping to establish the new awards as a benchmark for the industry all over the world.
The Abu Dhabi Tourism Excellence Awards have been created for the purpose of recognising important achievements and to stimulate networking and engagement.
The hope is that the awards will also have an impact in raising the overall competitiveness of the industry both in the United Arab Emirates and overseas, according to a WAM report.
The DCT says that the awards are being launched in order to create a culture of achievement, with the presentation ceremony intended to be held on an annual basis.
The awards are also intended to promote the sharing of best practices, with the event likely to bring together partners in the industry to engage, interact and network with each other as well as to align the industry’s overall direction and strategies.
The awards are being launched as the 168 hotels and hotel apartments in Abu Dhabi, which offer numerous accommodation ratings including the likes of five-star luxury establishments, are experiencing impressive growth and higher international visibility.
The 2020 presentation ceremony is to be held on 1st April, with organisations and the general public being invited to make nominations in a number of different categories by making use of the dedicated website.
The DCT believes that the time is right for the launching of the awards to capitalise on and underscore the documented success of the UAE capital and also to build a platform to make further collective gains, according to the DCT’s acting undersecretary Saood Al Hosani.
The increased competition between all entities in the tourism sector that will be encouraged by the new awards will see the ultimate result of enhancing the experience of visitors and boosting the emirate’s reputation and visitation metrics.
Each category’s best selections are to be chosen by an expert panel of judges and the gala award ceremony will announce the chosen winners.
The awards are to be presented in a number of important categories that cover all of the key touch-points in the value chain of the industry.
Awards will be given out for Grand Excellence in Tourism, Ambassador of Excellence, Excellence in Leisure, Exceptional Cuisine Experience, Excellence in MICE Events, Excellence in Tourist Happiness and Excellence in Cultural Tourism.
Awards will also be given to Hospitality Excellence De Luxe and Exceptional Travel Operator.
Entrants can visit the website of the Abu Dhabi Tourism Awards and submit their entry form – the website also includes more details about the awards.
The shortlist of all nominees in every category will be revealed in March.
Anyone planning to travel to Abu Dhabi or anywhere else in the UAE should take out travel insurance to ensure financial protection against unfortunate travel-related incidents such as lost luggage and cancelled flights.
