TTG Travel Awards 2012 recognised 80 of the Asia-~­-Pacific travel trade’s best

An incredible 51 out of 72 award titles were retained by their 2011 winners at the 23rd Annual TTG Travel Awards, a TTG Travel Trade Publishing event.

Held at the World Ballroom at Centara Grand and Bangkok Convention Centre at CentralWorld, the yearly event recognised 80 of the Asia—Pacific travel trade’s best organisations and individuals.  The event was attended by a total of 700 members of the Asia—Pacific travel trade, and garnered a total of 60,000 valid votes – a 20% increase from 2011 – from June to August for its voted titles.

9 winners took home the signature Hermes trophy for the first time. Song Saa Private Island became 2012’s Best New Beach Resort, and Amankora, the Best Non—Beach Resort, reflecting Cambodia’s and Bhutan’s growing presence on the map of the Asia—Pacific travel trade.

In the Hotel Chain sub—category, only Park Hotel Group (Best Regional Hotel Chain) and Preferred Hotel Group (Best Hotel Rep Company) were new winners, while Mercury Travels Limited (Best Travel Agency – India) became the only new travel agency winner this year. Similarly, the entire airline category returned to take away their respective awards for the third year running.

Notably, among the returning winners, Wing On Travel has returned after more than a decade since its last win in 2001 to retake the Best Travel Agency – Hong Kong title.

"It’s heartening to see our industry colleagues innovate and reinvent their products to stay relevant and in demand," said TTG Asia Media managing director Darren Ng. " The fact that so many of our winners can return to reclaim their titles is testament to their constant drive for improvement, amidst so many other up—and—coming competitors."

Thai organisations once again dominated the Business Travel and Meetings, Incentives, Conventions and Events (BT—MICE) front, with Thai Airways International (Best Airline – Business Class and Best South—East Asian Airline), Grand Hyatt Erawan (Best Business Hotel), Thai Convention & Exhibition Bureau (Best Convention & Exhibition Bureau), and Centara Grand & Bangkok Convention Centre at CentralWorld (Best Meetings & Conventions Hotel).

Thai Airways International and Best Western International, in fact, both repeated their dual win this year, with Best Western International winning the Best Mid—Range Hotel Brand and an Outstanding Achievement Award, Best Marketing and Relationship Effort, for which it was handpicked by the TTG Travel Trade Publishing editorial team.

The Awards also honoured its 8 Travel Hall of Fame luminaries at tonight’s ceremony. These organisations, including Singapore Airlines, Lotte Tour, and Singapore Changi Airport, have won the same award more than 10 consecutive times.

The 23rd Annual TTG Travel Awards 2012 Ceremony and Gala Dinner is held yearly in Bangkok, in conjunction with Incentive Travel & Conventions, Meetings Asia (IT&CMA) and Corporate Travel World (CTW) Asia Pacific. The event, the World’s Only Doublebill Event in MICE and Corporate Travel, is a one—stop platform for industry professionals to do business, learn and network in a single location – Centara Grand & Bangkok Convention Centre at CentralWorld.