The Mena Travel Awards, which recognises excellence in Mena’s growing travel industry, will once again be held in 2012 and organisers have called January 28 as the deadline for nominations for the awards in 15 categories.

“There is a need to recognize the significant contributions of the travel, tourism and hospitality industry,” said Dr Sam Saker, president of CHA (Consultants of Hospitality Administrators) International, the organiser.

“We would like to change the widely held perception or stereotype that the five-star hotels in Middle East are equivalent, in service and product quality, to the four-star hotels in Europe and North America. We have better products and services in the region and we are out to prove it.”

“We are also encouraging hotels, airlines, rent car companies to work together towards enhancing the service in our region,” Dr Saker said.

“While looking forward to the 2012 MENA travel awards winners of platinum, gold and silver, CHA is proud of the region's dynamic spirit and the evenhanded end users assessments,” he added.

The 2012 event slogan is “Champions of Service Quality”. The CHA teams are estimating over 182,000 – 192,000 votes from the industry's end users / guests in the upcoming race for “excellence”.

The Mena Travel Awards “Champions of Service Quality” Award ceremony will be held at the Arabian Travel Market on May 3, 2012 in Dubai. – TradeArabia News Service