The prestigious 9th Annual World Travel Awards Ceremony, the most exhilarating event in the travel calendar, will make its debut visit to the stunning location of Simply Beautiful St. Lucia, on 25 October 2002. The unique ceremony will be held in the luxurious surroundings of the new all-inclusive Sandals Grande St. Lucian Spa & Beach Resort. This Four Diamond resort, set on its own peninsula surrounded by the sea on both sides, makes it the ultimate setting for the 9th Annual World Travel Awards Ceremony. 

The World Travel Awards was set up in 1993 to acknowledge and celebrate excellence in the world?fs travel and tourism industry. Now in its ninth year, travel professionals and discerning travellers alike have come to regard the World Travel Awards as the best endorsement that any travel product could hope to receive.

Nominees for the World Travel Awards are determined by the number of votes received from the previous year.  Travel agents from across the globe are then invited to select their favorite across a range of 152 different categories. The worldwide voting campaign launches on 10 September 2002 and closes on 20 October 2002 and can be accessed by visiting the World Travel Awards voting website at http://www.worldtravelawards.com/vote
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For the first time, World Travel Awards has created national categories for travel professionals to vote for their preferred choice within their own country. This initiative adds a new national dimension to the world`s most comprehensive travel awards ceremony with trophies awarded across the whole spectrum of the industry. To ensure global participation, this year the voting forms will be made available in 12 different languages.

The 2001 World Travel Awards received unanimous approval from the leading lights of the travel industry. Virgin Airline`s Richard Branson stepped into World Travel Awards` Hall of Fame as “Travel Personality of the Year”. British Airways, Sandals Hotels & Resorts, the Burj Al Arab, Air Jamaica, and Cathay Pacific were also amongst World Travel Award winners.

As the host of this year`s event, Peter Hilary Modeste, Director of Tourism for St. Lucia commented: “The St. Lucia Tourist Board is proud to host the World Travel Awards 2002. Our cultural diversity and St. Lucia`s stunning physical beauty together with its friendly population will provide our visitors with an enjoyable and memorable experience”.

He added: “We expect the hosting of this prestigious event in St. Lucia will provide the destination with additional international exposure and give us the opportunity to host some of the world`s leading travel executives. We feel that this event will expose St. Lucia not only as a tourism destination to participants of this event, but also expose the island to potential investors in the travel industry”.

Graham Cooke, President of the World Travel Awards expressed his excitement; “We are thrilled to bring the World Travel Awards 2002 to St. Lucia. We could not think of a more idyllic location to host this year`s event, than that of the Simply Beautiful St. Lucia, the World`s Leading Honeymoon Destination.

“This year`s event will be more technologically evolved, including a live webcam and virtual tours of the Ceremony, up-to-the-minute news and information on the each of the winners posted online on the very night of the event. Our enhanced online voting system provides us with a secure and accurate system to manage this global and complex operation”.

Since it`s inception, the World Travel Awards has established itself as a forum that brings together all areas of travel and tourism in celebration and recognition of their achievements. The event also provides a formal and informal networking opportunity for leading decision makers and thought leaders in the travel industry.

World Travel Awards web site is available at http://www.worldtravelawards.com

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