Excitement is building for this year’s World Travel Awards Indian Ocean Gala Ceremony as the travel industry’s leading awards programme makes its final preparations for the prestigious event to be held at the Sun Aqua Vilu Reef resort in the Maldives.
The event will take place on July 8 with hospitality leaders from across the region expected to be in attendance at Sun Aqua Vilu Reef, which offers 103 luxurious rooms and suites — all of which come with deep soaking tubs, complimentary Wi-Fi and 24-hour room service.
In a statement, World Travel Awards said the glittering event will kick off with a cocktail reception at 7pm while the gala ceremony and dinner commences at 8pm. The events will be compered by Maldivian Idol hosts Moosa Waseem and Aminath Lamha Latheef — two of the most familiar faces on Maldivian television, it added.
According to World Travel Awards, the Indian Ocean Gala Ceremony will also allow attendees to get in touch with authentic Maldivian culture through traditional dances such as Bandiya and Maafathi. The main act for the evening will be performed by leading Maldivian singer Mariyam Unoosha, it said.
Looking ahead to the Indian Ocean Gala Ceremony 2017, World Travel Awards President and Founder Graham Cooke said: “It will be our pleasure to welcome guests to Sun Aqua Vilu Reef. With just a two and half weeks to go until the event, we are putting the finishing touches in place and I look forward to greeting all our guests at a wonderful resort in a picturesque tourist hotspot.”
Evgenia Boyankova, Group Director of Business Development at Sun Siyam Resorts which owns and manages the Sun Aqua Vilu Reef, added: “We love hosting world class events! It’s always been a thrill that brings a lot of fun and enjoyment to our guests. We are getting ready for World Travel Awards Indian Ocean Gala Ceremony with great excitement. Myself and the team look forward to welcoming the participants to our boutique resort, where Maldivian hospitality, culture and luxury is unrivalled.”
Voting for the World Travel Awards Indian Ocean Gala Ceremony closed on May 22.
World Travel Awards was established in 1993 to acknowledge, reward and celebrate excellence across all sectors of the tourism industry. Today, the World Travel Awards brand is recognised globally as the ultimate hallmark of quality, with winners setting the benchmark to which all others aspire.
Each year, World Travel Awards covers the globe with a series of regional gala ceremonies staged to recognise and celebrate individual and collective success within each key geographical region.
World Travel Awards Gala Ceremonies are widely regarded as the best networking opportunities in the travel industry, attended by government and industry leaders, luminaries and international print and broadcast media.
Sun Aqua Vilu Reef’s sister property The Sun Siyam Iru Fushi was the host of the gala event for World Travel Awards 2016 in December. At the ceremony, Sun Aqua Vilu Reef was crowned the World’s Leading Water Villa Resort.