India’s Best Awards 2017 by Travel + Leisure India & South Asia was a glorious evening of celebrations at ITC Maurya, New Delhi. The hosts of the event were none other than Massimo Monti, Bjorn Rettig, and Parineeta Sethi. There were a number of celebrities among the guests. Those include Former Indian Women Cricket Team Captain Anjum Chopra, Entrepreneurs Navin Ansal and Raseel Gujral Ansal, Designer Reynu Tanndon, Indian business Woman Priya Paul, Designer Raghavendra Rathore, and Entrepreneur and Beauty Expert Shahnaz Husain. In fact, every winner was no less than a celebrity in any regard. And logically, those who don’t win the race but do their best while performing their duty are no less than a winner. Keeping in mind that this was an international award ceremony. There were various categories of awards and everything was in the context of travel and leisure.
A Ballet Performance at the Awards
India’s Best Awards 2017 Reader’s Poll as part of results of Travel + Leisure India and South Asia declare many tops on global and domestic front. These include top hotels, cities, destinations, airlines, and a lot more. These results come straight through thousands of Travel + Leisure Magazine readers across the globe. As a matter of fact, these readers include industry experts, travelers, professional photographers, individuals, etc. The year 2017 witnesses the 11th anniversary of this prestigious magazine and this is the sixth edition of these awards. In fact, the polling was live on their website for two months during September and October this year. For statistics purposes, there were around 150,000 votes that were 30% higher than the previous year. Press Department and Official spokesman of the German Embassy, Hans Christian WINKLER was the guest of honor at the award ceremony at Nandiya Gardens, ITC Maurya, New Delhi.
Former Indian Women’s Cricket Team Captain Anjum Chopra
Best Awards 2017 Reader’s Poll Results
Other prominent guests were Inaki Vitorika, Cultural Counsellor of the Embassy of Spain, and Sujit Banerjee, Secretary-General, World Travel and Tourism Council were some of the esteemed guests who graced the occasion. Among 57 categories there were 97 awards to announce. In fact, there were more than 450 nominees in these categories. These categories belong to every possible range that connects to travel and leisure. Like, cruise, business hotel, best country, best cities, honeymoon destinations, destination spa, airport, emerging destination, and so on in domestic and global spectrum. In fact, the competition in Best Awards 2017 was quite close in many categories. Among celebrities and public figures, there were beautician Shenaz Hussain, Priya Paul (Chairperson of the Appejay Surendra Park Hotels), fashion designer Raghvendra Rathore, and Kalyani Chawla (Founder, Lulu & Sky).
Bjorn Rettig CEO India Burda Asia and Social Entrepreneur Kalyani Chawla
Björn Rettig, CEO Burda India says, “Travel+Leisure India & South Asia is undoubtedly the market leader in the luxury travel segment in India. Travel+Leisure is entirely devoted to connecting high net worth individuals to the world’s most extraordinary places and curate unmatched premium experiences, whether in print or digital. For our readers traveling is their lifestyle, and we are proud that so many of them voted for their favourites to make them win accolades at this year’s spectacular Travel+ Leisure awards.”
Parineeta Sethi,Designer Raghavendra Rathore and Indian Business Woman Priya Paul
Parineeta Sethi, Director, Exposure Media Marketing Private Ltd. says, “It is with great pleasure that we host India’s Best Awards every year. Over the past two months, our team has tabulated the votes that over 450 nominees have received in 57 categories through our online voting process on travelandleisureindia.in. In our sixth edition of India’s Best Awards this year, we introduced 10 new categories so that due credit is given to destinations and hotel brands that have re-positioned themselves anew. These include awards for the Best Luxury Hotel Chain-India, which went to ITC Hotels, Best Domestic Food Destination which went to West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh, and Best International Adventure Destination which went to Canada and South Africa.”
A complete list of winners is as below:
India’s Best Awards List 2017
INTERNATIONAL
Best Country – Switzerland
Best City – Dubai, UAE & Melbourne, Victoria
Best Emerging Destination – Korea & Bahrain
Best Heritage Destination – Israel & Mexico
Best Honeymoon Destination – France & Thailand
Best MICE Destination – Hong Kong & Japan
Best Wedding Destination – Abu Dhabi & Macau
Best Food Destination – Rome, Italy & Madrid, Spain
Best Family Destination – Austria
Best Luxury Destination – Baden Baden, Germany & Monte Carlo
Best Adventure Destination – South Africa & Canada
Best Business Hotel – Jumeirah Emirates Towers Hotel, Dubai
Best Heritage Hotel – The Fullerton Hotel, Singapore
Best Luxury Resort – Taj Exotica Resort & Spa, Maldives & The Venetian Macao
Best Hotel Group – Hyatt Hotels Corporation & AccorHotels
Best Destination Spa – Palazzo Versace Dubai & Anantara Bophut Koh Samui Resort
Best Hotel Loyalty Programme- SPG – World of Hyatt
Best Golf Resort- Address Montgomerie, Dubai
Best Luxury Safari Resort- Ulusaba Private Game Reserve, South Africa
Best Amusement Park- Dubai Park & Resorts
Best Theme Park- Universal Studios Singapore
Best Integrated Resort- Resort World Sentosa, Singapore
Best Cruise- Regent Seven Seas Cruises
Best One-Stop Shopping Destination – Bicester Village, UK & Fashion Island California
DOMESTIC
Best State – Gujarat & Tamil Nadu
Best Emerging Destination – Assam
Best Heritage Destination – Madhya Pradesh & Odisha
Best Honeymoon Destination – Kerala & Jammu & Kashmir
Best Wedding Destination – Goa & Rajasthan
Best Family Destination – Himachal Pradesh
Best Spiritual Destination – Bihar
Best Adventure Destination – Sikkim
Best Food Destination – Andhra Pradesh
Best New Hotel – The LaLit Mangar, Faridabad & Andaz Delhi
Best Heritage Hotel – Taj Falaknuma Palace, Hyderabad & The Imperial New Delhi
Best Boutique Hotel – Namah & Niraamaya Retreats Cardamom Club, Kerala
Best Hotel for Women Travellers – The Leela Ambience Gurugram Hotel & Residences & Park Hyatt Hyderabad
Best Business Hotel – Novotel Hyderabad Convention Centre & Le Méridien New Delhi
Best Family Hotel – Fairmont Jaipur & InterContinental Chennai Mahabalipuram Resort
Best Luxury Business Hotel – Park Hyatt Chennai & The St. Regis Mumbai
Best Luxury Hotel – The Oberoi Amarvilas, Agra & ITC Grand Bharat, Gurugram
Best Luxury Resort – Park Hyatt Goa Resort and Spa & Kumarakom Lake Resort, Kerala
Best Destination Spa – Shamana Spa, Grand Hyatt Goa & Ananda Spa, Ananda in the Himalayas, Rishikesh
Best Hotel Group – The Park Hotels
Best Luxury Hotel Chain – ITC Hotels
Best Airport-International- Singapore Changi Airport
Best Airline- International- Singapore Airlines and Emirates
Best Airport-India- Indira Gandhi International Airport, Delhi
Best Airline-Domestic- Vistara
Best Airport Lounge- Etihad, Abu Dhabi & Lufthansa, Frankfurt
Best Duty-Free Shopping- Delhi Duty Free & Munich Airport Duty Free
Best Luxury Travel Curator- TUI & Cox & Kings India
Best Travel Photographer (Tripoto Powered) – Aamir Wani
Best Travel Writer (Tripoto Powered)– Sreshti Verma
Best Digital Influencer – Rufus Reynolds
