Big Winners Include Fairmont, Marriott, American Airlines and Host Hacienda Tres Rios; Awards Help Traveling Public Find Best in Class

Hacienda Tres Rios, an all-inclusive luxury resort in Mexico’s Riviera Maya, was the setting for the 2009 World Travel Awards’ North and Central America regional ceremony, held on the warm, tropical evening of September 21, 2009.

The World Travel Awards (WTA), described as the Oscars of the global travel and tourism industry, acknowledge the “best of the best” out of more than 500 nominees. The event was held in partnership with Hacienda Tres Rios, Cancun Convention & Visitors Bureau, Yucatan Holidays, Yucatan Travel, RCI and Vive Mexico. Luminaries attending the event included Mexico Secretary of Tourism Sara Latife Ruiz Chavez, who also serves as governor of the state of Quintana Roo. In a statement appearing in the printed guide to the award festivities, she acknowledged the WTA organizers and sponsors, thanking them for “bringing here this important event which consolidates the image of Mexico and Quintana Roo within the world tourism map.”

The host resort had been nominated for recognition in several categories and proved its world-class status, taking the top nod as Mexico & Central America’s Leading Green Hotel and Mexico and Central America’s Leading All-Inclusive Resort. Opened in November 2008, Hacienda Tres Ríos is the first resort of five at Tres Ríos. Hacienda Tres Ríos Resort boasts 273 suites featuring native materials and offering breathtaking views of the turquoise Caribbean Sea.

The unique onsite Tres Ríos Nature Park is open exclusively for resort guests, who can enjoy guided nature tours through 326 acres of pristine tropical jungle criss-crossed by three fresh-water rivers, dotted by 10 cenotes and home to 90 species of fauna and 120 species of flora.

While it is easy to see why Hacienda Tres Rios was named top all-inclusive, the elements that make an exceptional green operation blend seamlessly into the guest experience, striking a delicate balance of luxury holidays and conservation. This eco-luxury resort, located in a nature preserve, was constructed as part of a master plan that included more than two years of comprehensive environmental studies. The architectural design was based on rigorous environmental criteria and the buildings were placed on areas of lower environmental value. What’s more, in 2006 the Mexican government recognized Hacienda Tres Rios as a “regional and national model for sustainable tourism development.”

“In less than one year since opening,” said Tres Rios CEO Orlando Arroyo Marroquín in the guide, his resort “has become internationally renowned as the first luxury sustainable tourism development in Mexico.”

This commitment to ecological conservation “has garnered the recognition of the Mexican government as well as the major travel industry events in England, Spain and Germany, where we have been invited to share our experience as a case study,” he continued. “With the support of the important international organizations such as Green Globe International, World Heritage Alliance of the United Nations, Sustainable Travel International and Rainforest Alliance, Hacienda Tres Rios is a clear example that Quintana Roo and Mexico are ever working towards improving tourism and a healthy environment.”

Area Well Represented
But Hacienda Tres Rios isn’t the only reason to visit the Yucatan Peninsula. The area was well represented on the awards platform, winning several other WTA honors. Among them were Selvatica Puerto Morelos as Mexico & Central America’s Leading Adventure Park; Tulum, Mexico as Mexico & Central America’s Leading Beach; Terminal Punta Langosta, Cozumel, Mexico as Mexico & Central America’s Leading Cruise Port; Chichen Itza, Yucatan as Mexico & Central America’s Leading Cultural Heritage Destination; and Cancun as Mexico & Central America’s Leading Destination.

In other awards, Fairmont Hotels & Resorts bagged four North American awards including Canada’s Leading Golf Resort, Canada’s Leading Ski Resort, Canada’s Leading Business Hotel and North America’s Leading Golf Resort. The Leading Hotel Brand for North America went to Marriott Hotels & Resorts, and North America’s Leading Destination went to Miami.

WTA crowned American Airlines as North America’s Leading Airline and Mexicana Airlines as Mexico & Central America’s Leading Airline. Dallas Fort Worth International Airport and Benito Juarez International Airport in Mexico City were named North America’s and Mexico & Central America’s Leading Airports, with The Ritz-Carlton in Marina Del Rey (California) and Camino Real Aeropuerto (Mexico City) taking the honors for North America’s and Mexico & Central America’s Leading Airport Hotels.

The full list of winners for the World Travel Awards North and Central Americas can be found by logging on to www.worldtravelawards.com

How Winners Are Chosen
The World Travel Awards were launched in 1993 to acknowledge and recognize excellence in the world’s travel and tourism industry. Thousands of votes are cast by travel professionals from 183,000 travel agencies, tour and transport companies and tourism organizations in over 160 countries across the globe. Votes are cast globally by fellow industry professionals in 919 different categories. In 2009, WTA opened the voting to the traveling public as well.

The inherent principles under which all nominations are judged are:
• Consistent overall business performanceand success
• Understanding visitor needs and expectations for a supreme customer experience
• High levels of customer satisfaction
• Valuing personnel
• Excellent internal and external communications
• Enterprising product expansion and development
• Fostering innovation, creativity and enterprise
• Expansion and development, and
• Team work that helps a company to deliver longer-term corporate vision

In 2009, regional ceremonies have also taken place in Dubai (Middle East region) and Durban, South Africa (Africa region). The European Ceremony is scheduled for October 17 at Praia D’ El Rey Golf & Beach Resort, north of Lisbon, Portugal. South America, Caribbean, Asia, Australasia and the Indian Ocean Ceremonies are slated for November 7 at the Grosvenor House, a JW Marriott Hotel in London.

The 2009 Grand Final of World Travel Awards is set for the following night in the same venue. “This year’s winners can display the official World Travel Awards symbol with pride on their sales and marketing literature,” explained Graham Cooke, president of the World Travel Awards, “offering travelers a cast-iron assurance that what they are buying is a guarantee of travel excellence.”

Travel excellence such as provided at Hacienda Tres Rios. “It seems fitting,” said Cooke, “to celebrate the North & Central Americas awards ceremony in this beautiful destination, which sets the bar for the global travel and tourism industry, and creates hope for many young travel professionals.”

Top 5 Facts About the World Travel Awards

1. 3,600 travel companies, destinations and organizations are nominated every year
2. An average of 167,000 travel agents and industry professionals record their votes every year
3. Ten awards categories are dedicated to sustainable tourism
4. World Travel Awards nominations are decided by an independent panel of industry experts
5. Judging criteria takes into account every aspect of the business including overall performance, product
development, innovation, creativity and customer satisfaction

Perspective magazine Editor Matt McDaniel represented Perspective International at the 2009 World Travel Awards’ North and Central America regional ceremony, held September 21, 2009 at Hacienda Tres Rios, an all-inclusive luxury resort in Mexico’s Riviera Maya.

The World Travel Awards (WTA), described as the Oscars of the global travel and tourism industry, acknowledge the “best of the best” out of more than 500 nominees. The event was held in partnership with Hacienda Tres Rios, Cancun Convention & Visitors Bureau, Yucatan Holidays, Yucatan Travel, RCI and Vive Mexico. Luminaries attending the event included Mexico Secretary of Tourism Sara Latife Ruiz Chavez, who also serves as governor of the state of Quintana Roo.

The host resort had been nominated for recognition in several categories and proved its world-class status, taking the top nod as Mexico & Central America’s Leading Green Hotel and Mexico and Central America’s Leading All-Inclusive Resort.

Opened in November 2008, Hacienda Tres Ríos is the first resort of five at Tres Ríos. Hacienda Tres Ríos Resort boasts 273 suites featuring native materials and offering breathtaking views of the turquoise Caribbean Sea.

While it is easy to see why Hacienda Tres Rios was named top all-inclusive, the elements that make an exceptional green operation blend seamlessly into the guest experience, striking a delicate balance of luxury holidays and conservation. This eco-luxury resort, located in a  nature preserve, was constructed as part of a master plan that included more than two years of comprehensive environmental studies. The architectural design was based on rigorous environmental criteria and the buildings were placed on areas of lower environmental value. What’s more, in 2006 the Mexican government recognized Hacienda Tres Rios as a “regional and national model for sustainable tourism development.”

Feature-length articles appearing in the October editions of Perspective International Ltd’s publications, Perspective and Owners Perspective, further describe eco-luxury master plan at Tres Rios resort, detail the criteria for recognition by the WTA and how it benefits the traveling public, and provide a list of additional winners.