Hong Kong leads winners at World Travel Awards Asia & Australasia Gala Ceremony

Hong Kong has been recognised as Asia's Leading City Break Destination at the World Travel Awards Asia & Australasia Gala Ceremony 2017 in China.

Hosted by the luxury Grand Kempinski Hotel Shanghai, the prestigious event was attended by 250 hospitality leaders from across the regions.

Also celebrating was Deer Jet, which took the title of Asia’s Leading Private Jet Charter and China’s Leading Private Jet Charter, and Gaia Retreat & Spa.

Co-owned by Gregg Cave and Australian actress Olivia Newton-John, the wellness resort was recognised as Australasia’s Leading Boutique Hotel.

World Travel Awards Vice President, Chris Frost, said: "What a fantastic evening it’s been here at Grand Kempinski Hotel Shanghai.

“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, Michael Henssler - Kempinski chief operating officer, Asia - took home the trophy for Asia’s Leading Travel Personality 2017.

Also among the winners was The Ascott Limited which walked away with the title of Asia's Leading Serviced Apartment Brand (The Ascott Limited) and Asia's Leading Serviced Apartments (Ascott Raffles City Chengdu).

Staying in Asia, Vinpearl Da Nang Resort & Villas was named Vietnam's Leading Beach Resort while the Grand Kempinski Hotel Shanghai scooped two trophies: Asia's Leading Conference Hotel and China’s Leading Business Hotel.

In Australasia, Air New Zealand was hailed Australasia's Leading Airline and Australasia's Leading Airline Brand.

Partners for the Asia & Australasia Gala Ceremony 2017 included TV5 Monde, Shanghai Municipal Tourism Administration, SriLankan Airlines, Bookingee.com and Vietravel.

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.

A full list of winners from the World Travel Awards Asia & Australasiia Gala Ceremony can be seen here.

Notes to Editors

About World Travel Awards

World Travel Awards celebrates its 24th anniversary this year and is acknowledged across the globe as the ultimate travel accolade.

Attended by senior executives from major travel companies, operators, destinations, World Travel Awards events are universally respected as providing established, top level networking opportunities, regionally and globally.

The brand aims to celebrate those organisations who push the boundaries of industry excellence.