Gala Edition 2018 of the annual Maldives Association of Travel Agents and Tour Operators (MATATO) Travel Awards has been scheduled to kick off on the 27th of December.
While this edition of the awards will be hosted in Paradise Island Resort, awards will be conferred to winners under 25 categories at the ceremony to be joined by over 200 individuals in the Tourism Industry.
The special edition for hotels, airlines, resorts as well as liveaboard brands will also confer special recognition awards by the association.
According to the association, a record number of nominees have been received for this year’s Gala Edition, with the number of registered nominees exceeding 200. Nominees under the 25 categories were selected upon ratings by a judge’s panel as well as votes collected via SMS and voting via online platforms.
Maldives Travel Awards by MATATO is one of the most prestigious awards conferred on an annual basis to celebrate the outstanding performance and excellence shown in the tourism field.
The Gala Night will also be conferring awards under the People’s Edition.
People’s Edition focused on celebrating leading figures in the industry that has shown excellence over a long period of time.
This year, the seventh consecutive year the Maldives Travel Awards is being held, the award will be conferred to five individuals.
In 2017, the Gala Edition was held at Adaaran Select Hudhuranfushi resort where awards were given to individuals under 27 categories. In the previous year, Velana International Airport had won the “Recognition on Lifetime Achievement” award and owner of Bandos Island Resort, Mohamed Waheeduddin took home the title of “Lifetime Achievement” award.
