More than a thousand of the Middle East’s top travel companies are competing for World Travel Awards, viewed as the world’s most coveted accolade for operators.

The awards event will take place at The Address Dubai Marina, the latest addition to Emaar Hospitality Group's premium hotel brand, on May 3, immediately before Arabian Travel Market, a leading travel industry event for the Middle East and pan Arab region.

The awards, described as the Oscars of travel and tourism, are pledged to help drive up standards of supreme excellence and innovation in all sectors worldwide.

“The World Travel Awards is an international benchmark for excellence in the travel and hospitality sector, and it is our honour to host this Middle East event at The Address Dubai Marina,” said Marc Dardenne, chief executive officer of Emaar Hospitality Group and Emaar Hotels and Resorts.

“Apart from the waterfront location, one of the defining features of the hotel is its rich conference and meeting facilities,” he added.

“We are confident that the modern facilities and impeccable service at the hotel will make the World Travel Awards a memorable event for the travel sector.”

Graham E. Cooke, founder and president, World Travel Awards, said: “Because of its impressive range of state of the art conference facilities, this hotel is already carving a reputation for major events such as this.”

“Much has been said and written about the region in the past year and, like virtually every other area of the world, the global economic downturn has presented many challenges,” Cooke continued.

“But what commentators had not reckoned on was the extraordinary determination, skill and powerful marketability of the Middle East as an outstanding tourist destination. I m delighted that this resulted in a positive end to 2009 with encouraging developments continuing to buck the trend in 2010,” he concluded.

Opened in October 2009, The Address Dubai Marina overlooks the world’s largest man-made Marina and has a prime location in one of Dubai’s most popular lifestyle districts, a statement said. – TradeArabia News Service