(Posted 08th December 2025)
Tourism royalty from across the globe convened in the Kingdom of Bahrain for the World Travel Awards (WTA) Grand Final Gala Ceremony 2025 to recognise the travel organisations pushing the boundaries of excellence and innovation.
Winners at the VIP reception included Maldives, voted ‘World’s Leading Destination’, and Athens, named ‘World’s Leading City Break Destination’. Chile claimed ‘World’s Leading Adventure Tourism Destination’. Tanzania took ‘World’s Leading Safari Destination’, whilst Jamaica was recognised as ‘World’s Leading Cruise Destination’. Hospitality winners included The St. Regis The Palm, which received the ‘World’s Leading Hotel Service Award’, and Katara Hospitality claiming ‘World’s Leading Hospitality Development Company’. Jumeirah Thanda Island, Tanzania emerged triumphant as ‘World’s Leading Exclusive Private Island’.
In the newcomer categories, Marriott Marquis Dubai Creek saw off a strong field to emerge as ‘World’s Leading New Hotel’. In neighbouring Oman, The St. Regis Al Mouj Muscat Resort collected ‘World’s Leading New Resort’.
The strength of Arabian aviation was highlighted with significant wins for Qatar Airways (‘World’s Leading Airline’ and ‘World’s Leading Airline – Business Class’); Etihad Airways (‘World’s Leading Airline – Economy Class’, ‘World’s Leading Airline – Customer Experience’ and ‘World’s Leading Airline Lounge – Business Class’); and Emirates (‘World’s Leading Airline – First Class’, ‘World’s Leading Airline Brand’ and ‘World’s Leading Airline Lounge – First Class’). Star Alliance also took to the podium to collect ‘World’s Leading Airline Alliance’.
Meanwhile, AirAsia picked up double honours, winning ‘World’s Leading Low-Cost Airline’ and ‘World’s Leading Low-Cost Airline Cabin Crew’. TAP Air Portugal claimed ‘World’s Leading Airline to Africa’ and ‘World’s Leading Airline to South America’.
The gala evening marked the climax of WTA’s Grand Tour 2025, a global search for the best travel and tourism organisations, with regional ceremonies staged in Tanzania, Cancun (Mexico), Saint Lucia, Hong Kong, Sardinia (Italy) and Dubai.
Graham Cooke, Founder, World Travel Awards, said: “It has been a privilege to host our Grand Final Gala Ceremony 2025 in the Kingdom of Bahrain, which has delivered an incredible ceremony featuring the leading lights of travel from across the world. Our winners are stellar examples of tourism excellence, and I congratulate each and every one for helping to raise the collective benchmark across our industry.”
Linking East and West, the Kingdom of Bahrain is an archipelago of 33 islands in the Arabian Gulf. With a rich history dating back more than 4,000 years, the Kingdom has served as a major hub for trade and the pearl-diving industry.
Exhibition World Bahrain is a strategic catalyst for the Kingdom’s tourism sector growth, playing a pivotal role in positioning the Kingdom as a leading MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions) destination.
Sara Ahmed Buhiji, CEO of Bahrain Tourism & Exhibitions Authority and Chairperson of Exhibition World Bahrain, said: “Hosting the World Travel Awards Grand Final demonstrates Bahrain’s capacity to deliver international events of this significance. Our investment in MICE infrastructure through Exhibition World Bahrain continues to position the Kingdom as a competitive destination for major industry gatherings. The networking and dialogue facilitated during this event will contribute to strengthening partnerships and advancing opportunities within the region.”
Other winners included Waldorf Astoria Cairo Heliopolis, which emerged victorious as ‘World’s Leading City Business Hotel’. Greece also enjoyed a strong showing, with Ikos Resorts winning ‘World’s Leading Luxury All-Inclusive Resort Brand’ and Sani Resort taking ‘World’s Leading Family & Beach Resort’.
With its timeless elegance and world-class facilities, Cannes was named ‘World’s Leading Festival & Event Destination’, whilst Madrid collected ‘World’s Leading Meetings & Conference Destination’. Portugal’s Dark Sky Alqueva received the ‘World’s Responsible Tourism Award’.
Destinations to win their first ever World title included Vietnam’s Dong Van Karst Plateau UNESCO Global Geopark, Tuyen Quang (‘World’s Leading Regional Cultural Destination’); Spain’s Huesca La Magia (‘World’s Leading Regional Adventure Tourism Destination’); and Cancún Convention & Visitors Bureau (‘World’s Leading City Tourist Board’).
Africa
Special mention here go to Minaz Manji and his team at Twiga Tours for bringing home the Award as the World’s Leading Safari Company 2025 (
| World’s Leading Safari Company 2025 | Twiga Tours |
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) as well as for the Africa’s Responsible Tourism Award and for being named Tanzania’s Leading Tour Operatos 2024 – a repeat World Winner and multiple Africa winner and truly well deserved.
Africa’s leading family resoirt is also no stranger in the global winners list and congratulations go to the Baobab Beach Resort and Spa!
And another repeat winner which must be mentioned is the Four Points by Sheraton Nairobi Airport, once again recognized as Africa’s Leading Airport Hotel – congratulations Vivek Mathur and the team at the hotel!
Uganda too excelled in the Africa section of the awards with the Speke Resort and Conference Centre bringing home the award as Uganda’s Leading Conference Hotel, while the Kampala Serena Hotel and the Lake Victoria Serena Golf Resort and Spa took the honours as Uganda’s Leading Hotel, Uganda;;s Leading Hotel Suite and Uganda’s Leading Resort.
Congratulations also go to repeat winner Nkuringo Gorilla Lodge as the country’s Leading Safari Lodge and to the Gazelle Safari Company for being named as Uganda’s best.
The full list of Ugandan winners is shown below:
Uganda
Individual accolades will also be acknowledged in coming days and especially the list of winners from Eastern Africa will be recognized, especially the winners from Kenya, among others.
ATCNews once again extends heartiest congratulations to all the winners in the World Category and the continental and country selections.
