Queenstown, New Zealand and Malaysia emerged the big winners at the World Travel Awards Asia and Australasia over the weekend, after being crowned the leading destinations in their respective regions.
Industry leaders gathered at the InterContinental Danang Sun Peninsula Resort in Vietnam to recognize the best in Asian travel over the weekend.
Award winners are voted upon by major players in travel and tourism including senior executives, travel buyers, tour operators, agents as well as the general public.
In the category of airlines, Chinese carrier Hainan took the coveted title of Asia's leading airline, while Air New Zealand trumped Qantas and Virgin Australia to take the same title for Australasia.
Malaysia was named Asia's leading destination over Macau, Singapore and Thailand, while the waterfront city and mountain scenery of Queenstown, New Zealand helped it nab the title of leading destination for Australasia.
The winners of the regional awards will go on to qualify for the World Travel Awards grand finale, which takes place December 2 in the Maldives.
Here are a few of the major winners:
Asia
Asia's leading beach destination: Philippines
Leading boutique hotel: The Sarojin, Thailand
Leading city break destination: Hong Kong
Leading hotel brand: InterContinental Hotels & Resorts
Leading luxury hotel: The Peninsula Hong Kong
Leading hotel: The Oberoi Udaivilas, India
Leading new resort: Studio City Macau
Leading resort: Four Seasons Resort Bali at Sayan, Indonesia
Australasia
Leading hotel: The Hotel Windsor, Melbourne, Australia
Leading resort: Pacific Resort Aitutaki, Cook Islands
Leading romantic resort: The Remote Resort, Fiji Islands
Leading boutique hotel: Gaia Retreat & Spa, Australia
