Mena Travel Award takes place during ATM

The Ceremony this year was officially sponsored and commenced by (UAE National Council of Tourism and Antiquities ) HH Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan and HE Mr. HE Mohammed Khamis Almuhairi Director General of the National Council of Tourism and Antiquities.

For his part, HE Mr. Mohammed Khamis bin Hareb Al Muhairi, stated, "The sponsorship and support of the Council for this award is aimed at creating objective competition for hotels in the region and seeks to develop the tourism product and provide service beyond expectations of guests and visitors from all over the world."

His Excellency added, "The organization of the awards ceremony comes parallel with the Arabian Travel Market 2013, the biggest tourism event in the region. He thanked Dr. Saker and his team at CHA International for their great effort in order to produce and drive the annual event which promotes the region's tourism globally."

The guest of honor this year were the Egyptian Minister of Tourism Mr. Hisham Zaazou,. Along with the Famous Actresses : Yousra and Nelly Kareem and as well as the Talk Show host and lead star Mr. Amr Adeeb.

This Award - hosted annually by CHA International under the coordination of President Dr. Sam Saker; has become an annual tradition honoring and awarding Top Performers of the colorful Dubai Travel Industry.

Going back to the year 2003, the MENA Travel Award has evolved into a prestigious and quality event during which all segments of the travel industry serving the MENA Region are voted for and recognized by the end user.


Dr. Saker added, "The number of agencies that participated in this year's competition was almost reached one thousand from the following categories: hotels, golf clubs, five-star restaurants, health clubs, car rental companies and the best tourist destination responsible for tourism."

He pointed out, "The number votes received from the hotel guests / end users during the period from the first of February 2013 until the third of April 2013 exceeded three hundred thousand votes with an increase of 97 thousand participants over last year."

He stressed, "This award is gaining great credibility each year through the process of audit carried out by PricewaterhouseCoopers International during and after the voting process to ensure the integrity of the voting process."

With the normalization and continuation of growth and development in the region and based on the strong demand by industry players, the event is continuing now with the 2013 Gala Mena Award at the luxurious Al Meyden Hotel. This Gala Event was established by CHA international in 2003 to celebrate, recognize and honor the quality, the skills, the creativity, the ingenuity and success of the MENA region's growing travel industry and its leaders. The Award also honors and recognizes the top talent of each specific region.

•Mena Travel Award is judged by the industry's END USERS.
•For 2013 over 12 countries & 1050 entrants participated.

This year the MENA Travel Awards covered 16 categories that help distinguish key players from each segment of the travel industry, including the number of ties.

There were 62 winners in the specifically devised awards system. Hence, CHA International revealed the three outright winners and ties of Platinum, Gold, and Silver awards for each of the 16 selected industry categories.

On Wednesday, May 8th, during the 2013 Arabian Travel Market, the winners of MENA Travel Awards' were announced during a lavish Oscar style Gala event and which took place at Al Meydan Hotel, Dubai, UAE. The evening was attended by over 800 of top professionals who are always present to share experiences and celebrate success stories.

The attendance is highly appreciated for the success of this important mission and for the triumph of such unique tourism Quality contest of our great region. Created to celebrate the skill, creativity, ingenuity and success of the Middle East and North Africa's growing travel industry.

"It is very important to recognize real talent and superior service in our industry to stimulate even higher standards and to applaud the effort made by so many," said Dr. Sam Saker President of CHA (Consultants of Hospitality Administrators) the organizers of the elegant annual Awards. "That is why we have very carefully designed the MENA Travel Awards to follow very specific procedures to ensure they are first class and have real merit," he added.

As usual, Key to the judging criteria is the (150 / minimum) electronic voting card that each entrant's category submitted. These will be completed equally by the entrant's selected end users, guests, customers and trade professionals, who are requested to state their preference along preset criteria and categories which score accordingly in a 45 days voting period (February 16 to March 30, 2012).

Successful entrants in each of the categories will be acknowledged as finalists and therefore considered the best in their category and industry segment. Adjudicators then revealed the top three outright winners, Platinum, Gold and Silver, for each of the 18 categories, at the special gala dinner.

"What makes these awards so important is that they cover all key travel and hospitality industry sectors," explained Dr. Saker. "This also acknowledges the tremendous breadth the whole industry offers today and its continued aims for excellence," he added.

Candidates for the 15 Award categories covered 5 and 4 star hotels, airlines, spas (separately located or within hotels), golf courses, car rental, conference & convention centers, Fine Dining and tourism projects.

Being a winner of the 8th annual MENA Travel Awards is even more significant as the ceremony was conducted in front of an audience of 800 ++ top industry figures at a sumptuous gala dinner. The event also included fabulous entertainment.