London, 30th October 2014

World Travel Awards has revealed it will head to the paradise island of Anguilla in the Caribbean for its annual Grand Final. After touring the globe in search of the world’s best hospitality organisations over the past year, World Travel Awards will host the crème de la crème of the industry at CuisinArt Golf Resort & Spa on Sunday, December 7th.

October 25th should have seen the highly-anticipated World Travel Awards Caribbean & North America Gala Ceremony 2014 take place in Anguilla, however, following Hurricane Gonzalo, and the major damage caused to the island’s infrastructure, World Travel Awards was left with no choice but to postpone that event.

Now, in a move to support the island of Anguilla in its recovery and in a show of solidarity, World Travel Awards will host its Grand Final on the island. The event will be the first time the Anguilla Tourist Board and the luxurious resort will host a World Travel Awards Gala Ceremony.

Joining those receiving the highest honour in travel will be hundreds of dignitaries, luminaries, international media, government, industry leaders, and legends in the industry that have continued to set the standard for excellence in travel.

World Travel Awards President Graham Cooke said: “We have a moral commitment to support our partner destinations in their hour of need and by staging the World Travel Awards Grand Final in Anguilla this year we will give the island, its businesses and its economy a major boost at a time when it is most in need of international support. World Travel Awards will also devote the first part of the Grand Final to showcasing Anguilla and will present the island’s awards during the Gala Ceremony.”

Mr Cooke added: “It will be an honour for the World Travel Awards to visit Anguilla for the first time and I can think of no better place for us to celebrate the best of global tourism than CuisinArt Golf Resort & Spa.

“Our 2014 Grand Tour has been an exhaustive search of the very best of the tourism industry around the world. This is the final stage of our annual programme and I look forward to welcoming our regional winners to Anguilla as they compete for the global titles. Best of luck to you all.”

This year has been one of our most successful to date for World Travel Awards, with the annual Grand Tour beginning with the Middle East Gala Ceremony, which took place at the JW Marriott Marquis in Dubai in May.

This was followed by the Europe Gala Ceremony at Divani Apollon Palace & Thalasso, in Athens, Greece, before the organisation was welcome to Quito, capital of Ecuador, for the South & Central America Gala Ceremony in August.

Most recently World Travel Awards visited The Oberoi, New Delhi, in India, for the Asia & Australasia Gala Ceremony, completing the regional events for the year.

In Anguilla guests will be entertained by a star-studded line up of local and globally renowned hosts, presenters and performers along with a culinary exposition from the island.

“This is a very exciting milestone for Anguilla,” said Hon. Haydn Hughes, Minister of Tourism and Sports. “Tourism is a vital part of our economy, and we have been working closely with local and international businesses to implement a number of groundbreaking initiatives over the last two years to generate tourism growth.

“I am pleased to say that our hard work is bearing fruit with a solid increase in the number of tourists visiting Anguilla over this period. To welcome the World Travel Awards cements our commitment and further provides us with reason to celebrate.”

CuisinArt general manager Stephane Zaharia said the resort will be working around the clock to showcase the prestigious event.

“Recognition by the World Travel Awards is rightly seen as the highest accolade in the tourism sector, and it is an honour for CuisinArt Golf Resort & Spa to provide our luxury accommodations and world-class service as host of this esteemed industry event. We look forward to extending our rich tradition of hospitality to the attending North American and Caribbean travel specialists and invite each of them to experience our renown culinary, wine and golf offerings in this unparalleled setting,” explained Zaharia.

World Travel Awards Gala Ceremonies are widely regarded as the best networking opportunities in the travel industry, attended by government and industry leaders, luminaries, and international print and broadcast media.

A full list of nominees for the Grand Final Gala Ceremony can be seen here.

There is more information on the official World Travel Awards website.

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