The event, including a Gala Dinner, took place at the Casino de Madrid and was attended by more than 250 guests
- President of the Arab Tourism Organization, his Excellence, Sheikh Bandar Bin Fahd Al-Fehaid received the award for the “Best Tourism Model of Social Integration”
- The award for “Outstanding Tourism Personality for America 2016” was awarded to Francisco Javier García, Tourism Minister of the Dominican Republic
- Companies who received awards for their work in other categories included Wamos Air, Tui Group, Hosteltur, Jet2Holidays, Hotelbeds, Westjet, Repotur, Anex Tours and Expedia
- Over the course of the evening, BlueBay Hotels also presented different awards to several companies for their continued support shown to the group
BlueBay Hotels, the eighth Spanish hotel company by international presence and the 11th largest hotel group regarding hotel rooms, held the third edition of the BlueBay Travel Awards yesterday on the 17th of January. The Gala has been an important meeting point for many prominent figures from the tourism sector before the start of Fitur for the last three years. The event took place at the Casino de Madrid and was attended by more than 250 guests from the tourism sector and other figures with a considerable presence in the social and political sphere at a national and international level. Wamos Air, Tui Group, Hosteltur, Jet2Holidays, Hotelbeds, Westjet, Repotur, Anex Tours and Expedia all received awards, and top level executives from all the companies were present at the event, which included an opera and ballet performance, to collect the awards made from recycled material.
Among the most important dignitaries who attended the Gala were his Excellence, Sheikh Bandar Bin Fahd Al-Fehaid, president of the ATO – Arab Tourism Organization who received the Best Tourism Model of Social Integration award for his/its commitment to the economic and social development of the Arab League nations; and the Tourism Minister of the Dominican Republic, Francisco Javier García, who received the Outstanding Tourism Personality for America in 2016 award for his commitment to consolidating legal and financial frameworks to boost tourism in the Dominican Republic. BlueBay Hotels’ Chairman, Jamal Satli Iglesias, presented these two very special awards and said “there is a strong commitment to developing the tourism sector, in both cases, as a fundamental support for social development in a geographical area. Recognising that this is a lever for growth, which dynamises the business sector and as such brings wealth to society, means it is a task that requires total commitment at the highest levels of politics at both a corporate and institutional level.”
Award winning companies
Companies who won awards in the different categories included:
Wamos Air, winner of the Leading Air Travel Provider category for its performance, cooperation capacity, growth within the highly competitive international market and excellent service quality provided to passengers.
Tui Group, winner of the Fastest Growing Partner category for its growth in record numbers, a huge impact, and 100% commitment to adopting ambitious and ingenious forward-looking strategies.
Hosteltur, winner of the Best Social Media Tourism Platform category for its incredible ability in adapting to constant changes in the world of tourism communication and its strong commitment to spreading content focused on innovation.
Jet2Holidays, winner of the Leading Package Holiday Company category for its innovation in the aviation sector, a clear commitment to the tourism sector as a European tour operator from its beginnings by creating attractive and irresistible package holidays.
Hotelbeds, winner of the Best B2B Distributor category for its aggressive growth strategy and also implementing new and efficient distribution channels in international markets.
Westjet, winner of the Excellence in Tourism Management category for masterfully diversifying the original nature of its business, momentum, agility and modern structure and receiving widespread recognition from consumers.
Anex Tours, winner of the Newcomer category for its excellent and relentless work, mainly in the Caribbean, and especially during some particularly challenging and complicated years for Russian tour operators.
Repotur, winner of the Leading Digital Press Platform in Latin America category for its leadership in publishing content from the sector in Mexico, Colombia and Argentina, and also for its ability to discover the news first, rigorous journalism and being the indisputable reference media for all tourism professionals in Latin America.
Expedia, winner of the Innovation in Online Marketing category for its professional track-record of successes over 20 years, and its ability to be on the cutting edge of technological innovation throughout its many years at the forefront of the industry.
Arab Tourism Organization (ATO), winner of the Best Tourism Models of Social Integration category and a very special award for its clear and unquestionable commitment to the economic and social development of peoples, equality, diversity and the integration of different Arab communities in the world through tourism development.
Francisco Javier García, Tourism Minister of the Dominican Republic, received the award for “Outstanding Tourism Personality for America in 2016“ in recognition of his decisive work in consolidating legal and financial frameworks to attract national and foreign investments to the tourism sector in the Dominican Republic year after year in order to develop strategic plans committed to a quality hotel offering.
