Maldives has won 4 prestigious awards in the Indian Ocean category in World Travel Awards - the most prestigious honors programme in global travel and tourism, established in 1993 and recognized globally as the ultimate hallmark of industry excellence.

Maldives has won the following categories this year:

          1. Indian Ocean's Leading Beach Destination 2020

          2. Indian Ocean's Leading Cruise Destination 2020

          3. Indian Ocean's Leading Destination 2020

          4. Indian Ocean's Leading Dive Destination 2020

Despite the tremendous challenges experienced by the tourism industry over the course of 2020, this year’s World Travel Awards is a remarkable testament to the love and extraordinary effort of tourists from around the world - World Travel Awards has reported a record number of visitor traffic and engagement from public voters. This shows that as travel resumes and the tourism sector recovers, the appetite for travel has never been bigger. Tourists are constantly seeking the very best tourism products from across the world. As Maldives has won four categories, these awards have never been more valuable in the marketing of the island nation as one of the safest and top travel destinations in the world.

On winning the Indian Ocean’s Leading Destination Award, the Managing Director of Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC) stated, “Everyone knows the value of World Travel Awards, and we are extremely proud to have received Indian Ocean’s Leading Destination award, which brings us one step closer to becoming the world’s leading tourist destination. Thank you for voting for us. We hope to see you soon. Indeed, our island nation is one of the safest destinations to travel to during this time.”

Instead of the traditional gathering of the Indian Ocean Gala Ceremony, this year, the chosen winners will be virtually uniting as the World Travel Awards launches its inaugural Indian Ocean Winners Day on 10th November 2020. To coincide with this, the Indian Ocean Winners Day will showcase the best of the region’s travel and tourism sector to the world.

As Maldives reopened its borders on 15th July 2020, these prestigious wins at the 27th World Travel Awards will aid in strengthening the image and increase the brand presence globally. Additionally, Maldives has secured multiple awards in various categories over the years including the World's Leading Airport Resort, World's Leading Beach Destination, World's Leading Honeymoon Resort, World's Most Romantic Resort and World's Leading Luxury Island Resort in 2019.

The destination had also won the famed Indian Ocean’s Leading Destination award 12 times within the past 16 years, this year being the 13th time.

Links to the acceptance speeches: