24th Annual World Travel Awards Asia & Australasia Gala Ceremony

4 June 2017, hosted by the luxury Grand Kempinski Hotel Shanghai, the prestigious event was attended by 250 hospitality leaders from across the regions.

“It has been an honour to recognise some of the leading hospitality providers from Asia and Australasia tonight and I offer my heartfelt congratulations to each and every one of them. It is your hard work, dedication, initiative and investment that makes the tourism sector the success it is today.”
Frost continued: “I look forward to seeing many of tonight’s winners later this year at the Grand Final in Vietnam, where they will compete for the global titles.”

In a special award decided by the World Travel Awards Academy, Kempinski Hotels' very own Michael Henssler – Chief Operating Officer Asia, Member of the Management Board of Kempinski Hotel SA, Managing Director of Key International Hotels Management Co. Ltd. - took home the prestigious trophy for Asia’s Leading Travel Personality 2017. Grand Kempinski Hotel Shanghai scooped two trophies: Asia's Leading Conference Hotel and China’s Leading Business Hotel.

Also among the winners was Shanghai Municipal Tourism Administration which walked away with the title of Asia's Leading Festival & Event Destination and Asia's Leading Meeting & Conference Destination. “Shanghai Municipal Tourism Administration has been a member of ICCA (International Conference and Congress Association) since 2001. To upgrade the service level of the city's MICE industry, SMTA has been making efforts in training the professional employees and working with industry partners such as PCO, DMC, Hotels and Airlines to bid various international meetings and conferences to Shanghai.” said Patrick Chen, Deputy Director at ICCA of International Tourism Promotion department.

“It is with great pride that we receive this renowned award, Shanghai Municipal Tourism Administration (SMTA), under the Shanghai Municipal Government, is a regulating arm in charge of drafting the master plans and strategies for developing the city's travel and tourism industry, implementing the trade policies and regulations, and coordinating the operations of related organs and businesses in the industry. It is also responsible for promoting the travel industry and travel products in both domestic and overseas markets.”

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.

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 successes within each key geographical region.