Jamaica emerged as the winner in several categories at the 2021 World Travel Awards, the top authority charged with recognizing and rewarding excellence in the travel and tourism sector. Jamaica received three destination awards: the World’s Leading Cruise Destination, the World’s Leading Family Destination, and the World’s Leading Wedding Destination.
Its 2021 award as the World’s Leading Cruise Destination Award was the second in that category for Jamaica as it won the same award in 2020. The Port Authority of Jamaica regarded that first win as a major achievement, especially at a time when the international cruise industry faced serious challenges arising from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Jamaica was a repeat winner in all of three categories it won in 2021. It was previously named the World’s Leading Wedding Destination in 2020, 2017, 2016, and 2014. Jamaica won the award as the Caribbean’s Leading Destination in 2021 and every previous year dating back to 2006. It also won the award in 2002 and 2001 and from 1999 to 1996. as well. The island nation also won the award for being the Leading Adventure Tourism Destination in 2021. The Jamaica Tourist Board was named the Caribbean’s Leading Tourist Board in 2021, repeating its wins in this category every year back to 2008.
The World Travel Awards were established in 1993 to recognize and reward excellence in the tourism industry. It is currently recognized around the world as the ultimate quality brand, and its winners are believed to set the benchmarks against which all others in the industry are measured. The Awards celebrate with a series of regional galas at which individual and collective success in each geographical region are recognized. These events offer the best opportunities for networking in the travel industry, and they are attended by government and industry leaders as well as global print and broadcast media.
The results announced at the World Travel Awards represent the culmination of a year-long search for the top travel brands in the world. Professionals in the travel industry and the public cast votes for the brand they considered most deserving, and the candidate with the greatest number of votes in a category was named its winner. According to Graham Cooke, the founder of the World Travel Awards, the winners represent the best in global travel and tourism and are leading the way in the recovery of the industry after the challenges imposed by COVID-19.
Photo courtesy of Obi Onyeador on Unsplash
