Last week saw the prestigious World Travel Awards come to the Sultanate of Oman’s magnificent Royal Opera House in Muscat for the fabulous 26th edition of this highly respected and thoroughly competitive awards ceremony. Originally created in 1993 to recognize, reward and celebrate excellence in all key sectors in the travel, tourism and hospitality industry, the awards are admiringly referred to as the ‘Oscars of tourism’.
Here, amongst the crème de la crème of the industry convening Oman’s exquisite capital, Madrid as a destination soared to prominence, being awarded one of the most prized and highly contested of the glittering honours bestowed on the nominees; the title of ‘World’s Leading Conference and Meetings Destination’! This victory is indeed rather a large feat, given the calibre of the other destinations vying for this title – Paris, Dubai, Hong Kong and Abu Dhabi no less! On top of this, Madrid managed to end Las Vegas’ incredible, and seemingly unstoppable, 6-year winning streak. Indeed, before reaching the world finals, Madrid also took first place in the “Europe’s Leading Meetings & Conference Destination” category for the second year in a row at the regional edition of the World Travel Awards in June.
All this is testament to what we here at Factor 3 Events already know, namely that Madrid is not only an astounding destination boasting a myriad of diverse attractions, but that it is absolutely at the epicentre of the confluence of culture, business, tech and sustainability, and is fully deserving of the award. It is proud proof and recognition of the sheer success of forward-thinking ventures, the intelligent collaborations between public and private sectors and the brilliance of Madrid’s Convention Bureau. Similarly, the sky-high levels of customer and professional satisfaction have proved to be key aspects in consolidating Madrid’s leadership position worldwide, doing much to strengthen the city’s international business image and dramatically exceed projected figures.
Impressively, and as a result of Madrid’s sharp focus on sustainability and environmental welfare, the city has been chosen to host this year’s monumental COP25 climate summit. This sees 25,000 representatives from 200 countries converge on the capital at IFEMA from the 2nd to the 13th of December, to reach vital agreements and profound commitments between nations to fight against the effects of climate change. This is a stellar reflection of the city’s mindset as a unique, forward-thinking, and sustainable city with a mighty conscience.
Put simply, Madrid is an unstoppable force, and the achievement of this fantastic award serves to firmly underscore the brilliance of this city. Already famous the world over for its inimitable dynamism and illustrious history, the exceptional quality of its culinary scene and legendary nightlife, to name but a few things, it is now on the cusp of welcoming a slew of new and tremendously exciting ventures….You’ll have to stay tuned to find out!
