Winners of the 2019 Maldives Travel Awards will be announced at a special gala on December 19, organiser Maldives Association of Travel Agents and Tour Operators (MATATO) announced Thursday.
Dubbed as the premier travel event in the Maldives, the Maldives Travel Awards gala will see more than 200 travel professionals come together at Crossroads Maldives — the first and largest integrated tourism development in the country — to celebrate the winners in 25 categories of the Gala Edition.
The gala will begin in the evening with a networking reception hosted at Café De Mar for winners in the Guesthouse Edition, followed by the gala dinner where the winners of the Gala Edition and the People’s Edition would be announced.
Maldives Travel Awards celebrates its eighth anniversary this year, with a record number of nominations in all major categories.
This year, the Gala edition features 236 nominations in 28 categories, representing more than 100 registered travel brands in the Maldives. The Guesthouse Edition features 196 nominations in 13 categories.
Winners in both edition are selected based on reviews by travellers and popular vote collected via SMS and an online voting portal. A combined total of over 110,000 votes have been registered.
Meanwhile, contributions to the industry by three travel professionals will be recognised as part of the People’s Edition.
“We are very excited for the upcoming gala event which again marks historic milestones for Maldives Travel Awards. We continue to grow our numbers with more and more properties signing up for the awards making this celebration ever more grand and significant,” MATATO President Abdulla Suood was quoted in a statement, as saying.
Initiated in 2012 by MATATO, the Maldives Travel Awards celebrate and honour the best tourism and hospitality products in the Maldives whilst fostering relationships with suppliers and local travel agents. From 20 categories in 2012, the awards have now expanded into three editions totalling 55 categories.
MATATO hosts three editions: the People’s Edition, which recognises successful pioneers and long serving individuals in the tourism industry, a Guesthouse Edition, which celebrates the outstanding performance of the up and coming guesthouse sector, and the Gala Edition, which is exclusive for winners in the categories for resorts, airlines and liveaboards.