Hussein Lirar, deputy minister of tourism, Maldives, celebrates at the World Travel Awards ceremony

The Maldives has won the prestigious title of the Indian Ocean’s Leading Destination at the 23rd annual World Travel Awards Africa & Indian Ocean Gala Ceremony.

The award ceremony took place in Zanzibar, Tanzania.

This is not the first time the Maldives has secured this prestigious title, as the destination also won the title in 2015, after a fierce competition with the Indian Ocean’s top tourist destinations, including Seychelles and Mauritius.

The World Travel Awards are the most comprehensive and prestigious awards program in the global travel industry.

The event was established in 1993 to acknowledge and celebrate excellence in the world’s travel and tourism industry.

The Indian Ocean category was introduced in 2003.

Since then, the Maldives has won several awards in various categories over the years and this year has been, yet again, another tremendous year for the Maldives as a tourist destination, with it also winning the following awards:

• Indian Ocean’s Leading Dive Destination
• Indian Ocean’s Leading Beach Destination
• Indian Ocean’s Leading Honeymoon Destination

Winning these awards in the most prestigious categories truly benchmarks the high profile of the Maldives as a tourist destination.

One of the main events of the Visit Maldives Year 2016 campaign will be the World Travel Awards Grand Finale, hosted by the Maldives later this year.