Irene Chua, vice president, Asia, Northstar Travel Group; Tom Kemp, Chairman & CEO, Northstar Travel Group; Robert Sullivan, president of the Travel Group, Northstar Travel Group share the stage.
Held at Mandarin Orchard Singapore, the awards saw more than 100 hospitality leaders across Asia Pacific in attendance. The menu of the night was specially prepared by chefs from two-Michelin-starred restaurant Shisen Hanten by Chen Kentaro.
Fifty-six awards were handed out to travel organisations at Travel Weekly Asia 2018 Readers’ Choice Awards today (October 15).
Held at Mandarin Orchard Singapore, the awards saw more than 100 hospitality leaders across Asia Pacific in attendance. The menu of the night was specially prepared by chefs from two-Michelin-starred restaurant Shisen Hanten by Chen Kentaro.
Robert Sullivan, president of the Travel Group, Northstar Travel Group, said, “The Travel Weekly Asia Readers’ Choice Awards are the most influential and representative ranking of travel suppliers in Asia Pacific. Our award winners of years past have served as inspirations and positive examples for the rest of the industry, and I sincerely hope that this year’s winners will continue to bear the torch and raise the bar in the respective areas of expertise.”
The fourth edition of the annual awards – the largest edition to date with 56 awards – recognised travel organisations in 10 categories, with categories ranging from Airline, Cruise, Car Rental, Destination, Hotel, Resort, Serviced Residence, Travel Agent, Travel Technology and Tourism Experience.
This year, new award categories that have been introduced include Best Design Hotel – Asia Pacific, Best Cruise Line – River Cruise and Best MICE Destination – Asia Pacific.
The winner of two cruise awards, Royal Caribbean International’s AVP and managing director, Asia Pacific, Angie Stephen commented that receiving the awards “is an honour as it distinguishes us by the experts in the industry who consumers are going to for expert advice. Being voted the best of the best in Asia Pacific inspires us to continue to deliver an incredible service and experience for our guests.”
“It’s exciting to be here in Asia Pacific. I’m excited to head into the next decade to expand the market, grow the distribution and introduce Royal Caribbean cruising to the world,” Stephen added.
Over in the airlines category, aviation giant American Airlines soared home with the award for Best Airline in North America. “This is a huge vindication that our friends in Asia Pacific have given us with this award,” says Shane Hodges, vice president, Asia Pacific, American Airlines. “It says a lot about what American Airlines has been trying to do to be not only the world’s largest but also the world’s best airline.”
“I think this is just the start. We have doubled our network in the last 4-5 years in Asia Pacific. We are completely committed to this region. We know that this is going to be an enormous aviation market over the next 5-10 years,” concluded Hodges.
MGM Cotai, which celebrated its opening in February, took home the award for the Best New Hotel.
“We are very fortunate to have achieved this recognition within such a few short months from our opening. Being a large property, it has not been an easy task and we still have a long way to go to establish ourselves as a premium property in Macau,” said Kenneth Low, vice president of hotel operations, MGM Cotai.
“At the fourth edition of Travel Weekly Asia 2018 Readers’ Choice Awards, we continue to celebrate and honour organisations that have distinguished themselves by rising above the competition to set new standards for the rest of us in the industry. We hope that travel companies will be inspired by these winners and strive for quality, creativity and excellence in their respective businesses,” said Irene Chua, vice president, Asia, Northstar Travel Group.
Here are this year’s winners:
Airline
Best Airline - Asia Pacific: Singapore Airlines
Best Airline - Middle East: Qatar Airways
Best Airline - North America: American Airlines
Best Airline - Europe: Lufthansa Airline
Best Airline - Business Class: Qatar Airways
Best Low Cost Carrier: AirAsia
Best Airport - Asia Pacific: Singapore Changi Airport
Best Airline (Service Excellence): Singapore Airlines
Hotel
Best Hotel - Asia Pacific: Shangri-La Hotel, Singapore
Best International Hotel Chain: Marriott International
Best Regional Hotel Chain: Pan Pacific Hotels Group
Best Midscale Hotel Chain: Best Western Hotels & Resorts
Best Upscale Hotel - Asia Pacific: Mandarin Orchard Singapore
Best Luxury Hotel - Asia Pacific: Mandarin Oriental Singapore
Best Design Hotel - Asia Pacific: New World Petaling Jaya Hotel
Best Airport Hotel - Asia Pacific: Regal Airport Hotel, Hong Kong
Most Innovative Hotel - Asia Pacific: One Farrer Hotel
Best New Hotel - Asia Pacific: MGM Cotai
Best Midscale Hotel - Asia Pacific: Dorsett Singapore
Best Hotel (Service Excellence): Hilton Suzhou
Resort
Best Resort - Asia Pacific: The St. Regis Bali Resort
Best Integrated Resort - Asia Pacific: Resorts World Sentosa
Best Entertainment Resort - Asia Pacific: The Venetian Macao
Best Resort (Service Excellence): Sofitel Singapore Sentosa Resort & Spa
Serviced Residence
Best Serviced Residence Group - Asia Pacific: The Ascott Limited
Best Serviced Residence Property - Asia Pacific: Orchard Scotts Residences
Car Rental
Best Car Rental: Hertz
Cruise
Best Cruise Line - Asia Pacific: Royal Caribbean International
Best Luxury Cruise Line - Asia Pacific: Regent Seven Seas Cruises
Best Cruise Line - Cuisine: Dream Cruises
Best Cruise Line - Entertainment: Dream Cruises
Best Cruise Line - Family: Royal Caribbean International
Best Cruise Line - River Cruise: Crystal Cruises
Best New Ship: Dream Cruises
Best Cruise Port: Marina Bay Cruise Centre Singapore
Best Cruise Line (Service Excellence): Silversea Cruises
Technology
Best Global Distribution System: Sabre
Most Innovative Global Distribution System: Travelport
Best Payment Gateway: CyberSource
Best Travel Management Solutions Provider: HRS – Global Hotel Solutions
Travel Agent
Best Travel Agency - Asia Pacific: JTB
Best Travel Agency - Southeast Asia (Inbound): Panorama Destination
Best Travel Agency - Southeast Asia (Outbound): Chan Brothers Travel
Best Travel Agency - North Asia (Inbound): Faces of Asia
Best Travel Agency - North Asia (Outbound): Hong Thai Travel Services Limited Hong Kong
Best Online Travel Wholesaler: Hotelbeds
Best Travel Management Company: Carlson Wagonlit Travel
Tourism Experience
Best Theme Park: Universal Studios Singapore
Best Attraction: Sentosa
Best Designer Outlet Mall: McArthurGlen Designer Outlets
Destination
Best Destination - Asia Pacific: Thailand
Best Destination - America: Los Angeles
Best Destination - Europe: Switzerland
Best Destination - Middle East: Abu Dhabi
Best MICE Destination - Asia Pacific: Singapore
Best Trade Destination Marketing: Singapore