Anoud Al Khalifa, of the Abu Dhabi Authority for Tourism & Culture, left, and Mariam Al Shamsi, a UAE student who helped at the pavilion, accept the ITB awards

Abu Dhabi marked its record-breaking appearance at the ITB Berlin travel trade fair by scooping double honours in the Cologne Business School show awards.

The authority, which mounted a pavilion shared by 63 stakeholders, took the award for ‘Best Exhibit & Attractions’ recognising the cultural attractions of a calligraphy, henna design and perfumery which proved popular with visitors.

The authority then went on to take the blue-ribbon award of ‘Best of The Best’ after being judged to top all award-winners.

The awards followed a survey of all stands at the show by students from the Cologne Business School which ranked the pavilions on quality of stand construction, information content, service quality as well as friendliness and special effects.