World Travel Awards highlight quality of UAE holidays

Dubai featured prominently at the recent World Travel Awards (WTAs), which further highlighted the city's status as one of the best holiday hotspots on the planet.The WTAs are widely referred to as the “Oscars of the travel industry” and only the very best destinations, hotels, resorts, airlines and attractions are capable of winning one of the coveted accolades.Le Royal Meridien Resort & Spa Dubai hosted the Middle Eastern leg of the awards last week (May 5th) and it was no surprise to see so many of the emirate's hotels receiving prizes.Atlantis – The Palm, Dubai had a very successful evening, as the establishment scooped the Dubai's Leading Resort, Dubai's Leading Hotel Suite and Middle East's Leading Resort awards.JW Marriott Marquis, Dubai – which has only been open for a few months – also earned recognition, as it landed the Middle East's Leading New Hotel gong.The twin-towered resort was recently named as the tallest hotel on earth and the colossal 77-metre building is just 26 metres short of the imposing Empire State Building in New York.Dubai was also named the Middle East's Leading Destination, fending off competition from some excellent tourism hotspots such as Abu Dhabi and Doha.This is the 20th anniversary of the WTAs and organisers are keen to ensure this year's version of the ceremony is extra special.President and founder of the prize-giving Graham Cooke said: “The Middle East was the perfect region to mark the start of the World Travel Awards 2013 Grand Tour, setting the highest possible bar for the rest of the world to raise the standards of excellence in travel and tourism.”The competition is structured in a way that sees all winners of the regional ceremonies battle it out in the grand final towards the end of the year. It will certainly be very interesting to see how Dubai's fine hotels and resorts fare in what is likely to be a star-studded and glamorous affair in Las Vegas in late 2013. Taylor Scott International