The year-long search for the leading names in various categories of world tourism ended on a glittering night at Katara Cultural Village, Doha’s awe-inspiring new arts and exhibitions complex. India was voted the leading travel destination in the world in an event that featured more than 5,000 tourism brands in 1,000 categories across 162 countries.

India won the coveted World Travel Award (WTA) for being the “World’s Leading Travel Destination” seeing off the likes of Sidney, New York, Rio de Janeiro, London, and Cape Town. At the gala 19th travel award ceremony saw the presence of the who’s who of the travel and tourism industry from around the globe. 210,000 professionals from the travel industry cast their votes to decide the winners of the prestigious awards in various categories.

India is one of the leading drivers of growth in the global tourism industry and this coveted award in a year in which international arrivals edged closer to the target of one billion travelers by 2016. Also worth mentioning is the commendable endeavor on the part of the Indian Government’s Incredible India campaign.

The Incredible India campaign by the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India to promote India as a global tourist destination in overseas markets was a huge catalyst in the surging number of foreign tourist arrivals in India. This endeavor by the ministry was recognized during the World Travel Awards ceremony as Incredible India was voted “World’s Leading Tourist Board”.

Established 19 years ago, World Travel Awards is committed to raising the standards of customer service and overall business performance throughout the international tourism industry.