The 22nd edition of the annual Business Traveller Middle East Awards was held at the Palazzo Versace in Dubai on Monday night.
The gala ceremony had over 250 guests in attendance including industry leaders and C-Suite executives. The winners of 40 award categories spanning three main divisions including airlines, airports and hotels were announced.
In the airlines category, Emirates was recognised with four prestigious awards, including ‘Best Airline Worldwide’, ‘Airline with the Best Premium Economy Class’, ‘Airline with the Best First Class’, and ‘Best Airport Lounge in the Middle East’ for its Emirates First Class Lounge, Dubai International Airport.
UAE’s Etihad Airways also earned three accolades – ‘Airline with the Best Cabin Crew’, ‘Airline with the Best Economy Class’ and ‘Airline with the Best Frequent Flyer Programme’.
Also, flydubai bagged the ‘Best Low-Cost Airline Serving the Middle East’, whereas Qatar Airways took home two awards – ‘Airline with the Best Business Class’ and ‘Best Regional Airline Serving the Middle East’.
Within the airports category, the Dubai International Airport won two awards including ‘Best Airport in the Middle East’ and ‘Best Airport Worldwide’.
As for the hotels' category, Raffles Doha took home the award for the Best Business Hotel ‘Best New Business Hotel in the Middle East’ and Hilton Abu Dhabi Yas Island received the ‘Overall Best Business Hotel in the Middle East’. For 13 of the hotel category awards which recognised individual hotels, there was also a Highly Commended winner in each of them which was the property that secured the second-highest number of votes in that category.
At a broader brand level, Jumeirah Hotels & Resorts won the Best Luxury Hotel Brand in the Middle East, while InterContinental Hotels & Resorts took home the accolade for Best Hotel Brand in the Middle East and Accor’s Fairmont brand won the honour of the ‘Best Hotel Brand Worldwide’.
There were three special awards within the hotels' category and these included ‘Overall Best Business Hotel in the Middle East’ (based on the hotel that got the highest number of votes during the voting process) which went to Hilton Abu Dhabi Yas Island and two Editor Choice Awards too. The first was for the Most Iconic Property in the Middle East which was won by the Four Seasons Hotel Riyadh at Kingdom Centre, and the award for Best Leisure Hotel which was secured by Sofitel Dubai Downtown.
The Guest of Honour for the awards, Jerry Inzerillo, group CEO of Diriyah Company, was unable to travel from Saudi Arabia to Dubai due to an unforeseen high-level business meeting in the kingdom but did send a specially pre-recorded video message for all the guests gathered at the awards.
For the second consecutive occasion, Business Traveller Middle East also bestowed a Lifetime Achievement Award. This year’s award was presented to Olivier Louis, Managing Director of One&Only Royal Mirage and One&Only The Palm in recognition of his influential role in the development of the hospitality sector in the region over the last over 25 years.
“Our annual awards champion the message of resilience, perseverance and aspiration,”
said Ian Fairservice, managing partner and group editor-in-chief of Motivate Media Group.
“We opened the nominations process to the public and also had a public round of voting to ensure the authenticity, fairness and impartiality of the awards. My warmest congratulations to each of the winners.”
The sponsors for the event included Diriyah Company, Delsey Paris, Neutral Fuels, as well as venue partners Palazzo Versace Dubai and Palazzo Hospitality, and vote processing partner Jacobsons Direct Marketing.
The full list of winners is below. Stay tuned for the May edition of Business Traveller Middle East which will have complete awards coverage.
The Business Traveller Middle East Awards 2023 winners:
Lifetime Achievement Award: Olivier Louis, Managing Director of One&Only Royal Mirage and One&Only The Palm
Airlines:
Airline with the Best Cabin Crew: Etihad Airways
Airline with the Best Economy Class: Etihad Airways
Airline with the Best Premium Economy Class: Emirates
Airline with the Best Business Class: Qatar Airways
Airline with the Best First Class: Emirates
Airline with the Best Frequent Flyer Programme: Etihad Guest
Best Regional Airline Serving the Middle East: Qatar Airways
Best Asian Airline Serving the Middle East: Singapore Airlines
Best European Airline Serving the Middle East: Turkish Airlines
Best Low-Cost Airline Serving the Middle East: flydubai
Best Airline worldwide: Emirates
Airports:
Best Airport Hotel in the Middle East: Grand Mercure Hotel and Residences Dubai Airport
Best Airport in the Middle East: Dubai International Airport
Best Duty Free Shopping in the Middle East: Dubai Duty Free
Best Airport Lounge in the Middle East: Emirates First Class Lounge, Dubai International Airport
Best Airport Worldwide: Dubai International Airport
Hotels :
Best New Business Hotel in the Middle East: Raffles Doha (Winner); Marriott Resort Palm Jumeirah, Dubai (Highly Commended)
Best Business Hotel in Dubai: Four Seasons Hotel Dubai International Financial Centre (Winner); Novotel World Trade Centre Dubai (Highly Commended)
Best Business Hotel in Abu Dhabi: Hilton Abu Dhabi Yas Island (Winner); Beach Rotana Abu Dhabi (Highly Commended)
Best Business Hotel in Sharjah and the Northern Emirates: Intercontinental Ras Al Khaimah Mina Al Arab Resort & Spa (Winner); Fujairah Rotana Resort & Spa (Highly Commended)
Best Business Hotel in Jordan: The Boulevard Arjaan by Rotana, Amman (Winner); Amman Marriott Hotel (Highly Commended)
Best Business Hotel in Lebanon: Radisson Blu Hotel, Beirut Verdun (Winner); Gefinor Rotana Beirut (Highly Commended)
Best Business Hotel in Egypt: InterContinental Citystars Cairo (Winner); Fairmont Nile City (Highly Commended)
Best Business Hotel in Qatar: Fairmont Doha (Winner); Alwadi Hotel Doha – MGallery (Highly Commended)
Best Business Hotel in Kuwait: Grand Hyatt Kuwait (Winner); Four Seasons Hotel Kuwait at Burj Alshaya (Highly Commended)
Best Business Hotel in Bahrain: Jumeirah Gulf of Bahrain Resort & Spa (Winner); Mövenpick Hotel Bahrain (Highly Commended)
Best Business Hotel in Oman: Al Bustan Palace, a Ritz-Carlton Hotel (Winner); Jumeirah Muscat Bay (Highly Commended)
Best Business Hotel in Riyadh: voco Riyadh (Winner); Radisson Hotel Riyadh Airport (Highly Commended)
Best Business Hotel in Jeddah: The Ritz-Carlton, Jeddah (Winner); Shangri-La Jeddah (Highly Commended)
Editor’s Choice: Most Iconic Property in the Middle East: Four Seasons Hotel Riyadh at Kingdom Centre
Editor’s Choice: Best Leisure Hotel: Sofitel Dubai Downtown
Overall Best Business Hotel in the Middle East: Hilton Abu Dhabi Yas Island
Best Serviced Apartment Brand in the Middle East: Ascott
Best Hotel Loyalty Programme in the Middle East: Marriott Bonvoy
Best Budget Hotel Brand in the Middle East: Rove Hotels
Best Lifestyle Hotel Brand in the Middle East: Radisson
Best Luxury Hotel Brand in the Middle East: Jumeirah Hotels & Resorts
Best Hotel Brand in the Middle East: InterContinental Hotels & Resorts
Best Hotel Brand Worldwide: Fairmont
News Source: Gulf Business
