Regional Airlines And Hotels Honoured At BTME Awards 2013

The region’s top hotel, airline and car rental companies picked up awards in front of their peers on Sunday evening, as voted for independently by the readers of Business Traveller Middle East.

With more than 300 travel industry managers representing their industries at the gala dinner ceremony, the event was hosted by Motivate and Panacea Publishing at The Address hotel in Dubai Marina.

The awards were presented by the Minister of Tourism for Lebanon His Excellency Fadi Abboud, and the executive director from the Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority, Khalid Hadi.

Emirates stole the spotlight in the airline category, picking up ‘Best Regional Airline Serving the Middle East’, ‘Airline With The Best Business Class’, ‘Airline With The Best Economy Class’ and highly coveted ‘Best Airline Worldwide’.

The top airport operators also grabbed the limelight, with Dubai once again winning ‘Best Airport In The Middle East’ and ‘Best Airport For Duty Free Shopping In The Middle East’, while Singapore Changi won ‘Best Airport In The World’.

In the hotel categories, the St Regis Doha won ‘Overall Best Business Hotel in the Middle East’ and ‘Best Business Hotel in Doha’ and the world’s tallest hotel, the JW Marriott Marquis Dubai, picked up ‘Best New Business Hotel’.

InterContinental Hotels Group was the standout operator, walking away with the ‘Best Hotel Brand Worldwide’ award, and Phoenicia Beirut, InterContinental Dubai Festival City, InterContinental Jeddah and InterContinental Citystars won the Beirut, Dubai, Jeddah and Cairo categories respectively.

Ian Fairservice, managing partner of Motivate, said: “While the leading brands have performed well once again, this year’s winners are among the broadest we’ve had in 10 years, which reflects the increasing breadth and competition in the Middle East’s travel scene.”

The awards were sponsored by Masar, Nikon, Samsonite and Jacobsons Direct Marketing Services.

THE COMPLETE WINNERS LIST

Airline Category

Airline with the Best Cabin Staff, Qatar Airways
Best Regional Airline serving the Middle East, Emirates
Best Asian Airline serving the Middle East, Singapore Airlines
Best European Airline serving the Middle East, Lufthansa
Best North American Airline serving the Middle East, Delta Airlines
Airline with the Best First Class, Etihad Airways
Airline with the Best Business Class, Emirates
Airline with the Best Premium Economy Class, Virgin Atlantic
Airline with the Best Economy Class, Emirates
Best Low Cost Airline serving the Middle East, Fly Dubai
Airline with the Best Frequent Flyer Program, Etihad Guest
Best Airline Worldwide, Emirates

Airport Category

Best Airport in the Middle East , Dubai International Airport
Best Airport for Duty Free Shopping in the Middle East, Dubai International Airport
Best Airport in the World, Singapore Changi International Airport

Car Rental Category

Best Car Rental Company in the Middle East, Hertz

Business Hotel Category

Best New Business Hotel, JW Marriott Marquis Hotel Dubai
Best Business Hotel in Abu Dhabi, Jumeirah at Etihad Towers
Best Business Hotel in Amman, Four Seasons Amman
Best Business Hotel in Manama, The Ritz-Carlton, Bahrain Hotel & Spa
Best Business Hotel in Beirut, Phoenicia Beirut, An InterContinental City Hotel
Best Business Hotel in Cairo, InterContinental Citystars Hotel, Cairo
Best Business Hotel in Doha, The St. Regis Doha
Best Business Hotel in Dubai and the Northern Emirates, InterContinental, Dubai Festival City
Best Business Hotel in Jeddah, InterContinental Jeddah
Best Business Hotel in Muscat, Al Bustan Palace, Ritz-Carlton
Best Business Hotel in Kuwait, JW Marriott Hotel Kuwait City
Best Business Hotel in Riyadh, The Ritz-Carlton, Riyadh
Best Budget Hotel Brand, Ibis

Best Serviced Apartments Company in the Middle East, Nuran Serviced Residences

Overall Best Business Hotel in the Middle East, The St. Regis Doha
Best Hotel Loyalty Programme in the Middle East, Rotana Rewards
Best Hotel Brand in the Middle East, Jumeirah
Best Hotel Brand World Wide, InterContinental

Full coverage of this year’s awards will appear in the May-June issue of Business Traveller Middle East magazine.