Hailed as ‘the Oscars of the travel industry’, World Travel Awards celebrates its 21st anniversary this year and South America’s hottest city Quito, Ecuador will host WTA’s South & Central America Gala Ceremony on August 9th 2014.
The red-carpet evening is being held in partnership with the Quito Turismo, and will include a gala dinner and top entertainment, as well as the presentation of the most coveted awards in the industry. It will take place at Centro Cultural Itchimbía, a magnificent glass-and-iron building which forms the centrepiece of Quito’s Parque Itchimbia.
Graham E. Cooke, President & Founder, WTA, explained: “We are delighted to host our first ceremony in Ecuador, a decision that reflects the crucial contribution that tourism makes to the national economy. The Ecuadorian tourism sector is enjoying solid growth as a result of the government programme to improve tourism-related infrastructure, most notably Quito’s new state-of-the-art airport.”
Augusto Barrera, Mayor of Quito, said: “As Mayor of the City of Quito it is an honour to welcome World Travel Awards to the very first city to be declared a World Cultural Heritage Site by UNESCO over 35 years ago, not only for its incredible and priceless architecture, but also because it is home to a richly-evolving heritage.
“It is a privilege to bring this event to Ecuador for the first time."
The ceremony will mark the third leg of WTA’s 2014 Grand Tour, a year-long global search for the world’s finest travel tourism and hospitality organisations, covering seven continents.
