The finest travel brands in Africa and the Indian Ocean have been unveiled at a star-studded gala ceremony in Mauritius.

The elite of the travel industry assembled for the World Travel Awards Africa & Indian Ocean Gala Ceremony at Sugar Beach – A Sun Resort to find out who among them would be crowned best of the best.

Winners at the red-carpet reception included Kenya, home to some of the world’s greatest tourist attractions, which was voted Africa’s Leading Destination.

Meanwhile the lush forests, wild waterfalls, unique wildlife and paradise beaches of Mauritius helped it lift the title of Indian Ocean’s Leading Destination, as well as the new category of Indian Ocean’s Leading Adventure Tourism Destination.

Hundreds of the leading travel industries figureheads from across Africa and the Indian Ocean attended the ceremony at Sugar Beach – A Sun Resort, which borders the vast sands of Flic-en-Flac Beach.

Graham Cooke, founder, World Travel Awards, said: “Our inaugural ceremony in Mauritius has proved an incredible success.

“We have had the privilege of recognising the leading destinations, hotels, resorts, airlines and travel providers from across Africa and the Indian Ocean and my congratulations to each of our winners.”

In the aviation sector, Ethiopian Airlines was voted Africa’s Leading Airline, while Africa’s Leading Airpor’ went to Cape Town International Airport.

In the Indian Ocean, Air Mauritius claimed the titles of Indian Ocean’s Leading Airline and Indian Ocean’s Leading Airline – Business Class.

South Africa’s Table Mountain was named Africa’s Leading Tourist Attraction.

Kenya enjoyed a strong showing, with Kenya Tourist Board named Africa’s Leading Tourist Board, capital Nairobi winning the new category Africa’s Leading Business Travel
Destination, and Kenyatta ICC picking up Africa’s Leading Meetings & Conference Centre.

In the Indian Ocean categories, the Maldives cemented its reputation as the definitive romantic nation by being named Indian Ocean’s Leading Honeymoon Destination, while Seychelles picked up Indian Ocean’s Leading Sustainable Tourism Destination.

The ceremony marked the third leg of the World Travel Awards Grand Tour 2019 – a search for the finest travel and tourism organisations in the world.

Other 2019 regional ceremonies include Montego Bay (Jamaica), Abu Dhabi (UAE), Madeira (Portugal), La Paz (Bolivia), Phu Quoc (Vietnam), with the winners progressing to the Grand Final in Muscat (Oman).

Find a full list of winners on the official World Travel Awards website.