There are few cities better suited to staging a grand tourism gala than Hong Kong, a city that has long mastered the art of showing off with taste. On this particular night, beneath chandeliers glittering like a thousand camera flashes, Asia and Oceania’s finest in travel, tourism, and hospitality gathered for the World Travel Awards 2025.
The room was heavy with perfume, expectation, and pride, a crowd of people who knew the value of applause and how to earn it.
Vietnam Steals the Spotlight
It was Vietnam’s evening in many ways. The country, long admired for its quiet confidence, finally had its moment in the full glare of international recognition. Asia’s Leading Destination, declared the envelope. Hanoi, its capital, added Asia’s Leading City Destination, while the ruggedly beautiful Dong Van Karst Plateau UNESCO Global Geopark was named Asia’s Leading Regional Cultural Destination.
For a nation once considered a footnote in regional tourism, this was a literal and symbolic arrival. The applause was long, genuine, and loud enough to drown out the clinking of glasses.
Nearby, the Philippines took home the title of Asia’s Leading Tourist Board, and Bali, predictably but deservedly, was crowned Asia’s Leading Wedding Destination. The Indonesian island has long turned romance into an export commodity. teamLab Planets TOKYO, that dazzling union of technology and imagination, was hailed as Asia’s Leading Tourist Attraction, proving that the future of travel can, in fact, be a digital hallucination.
Australia and Oceania Stand Tall
If Asia brought the drama, Oceania brought the pedigree. Australia reaffirmed its position as the region’s heavyweight, claiming Oceania’s Leading Destination, while Melbourne, that cultured, coffee-fuelled city of trams and art, walked away with Oceania’s Leading City Destination.
At the continent’s fiery red heart, Wintjiri Wiru – Ayers Rock Resort, Uluṟu earned Oceania’s Leading Tourist Attraction. The show, a breathtaking fusion of Indigenous storytelling and modern light technology, reminds us that heritage, when handled with respect and imagination, doesn’t need to compete with innovation. It is innovation.
Across the Tasman, InterContinental Auckland was named Oceania’s Leading New Hotel, a nod to New Zealand’s growing reputation for understated luxury. If Australia sometimes shouts, New Zealand whispers somehow, the message carries just as far.
Hotels and Legends
There was much clinking of glasses among the hotel fraternity. The Oberoi, New Delhi, long a sanctuary of civility in a chaotic capital, took Asia’s Leading Hotel. Sofitel Bali Nusa Dua Beach Resort was named Asia’s Leading Resort, its mix of Balinese grace and French precision proving irresistible. Discovery Primea, the Makati landmark, won Asia’s Leading Business Hotel — proof that corporate travellers appreciate a well-made martini as much as Wi-Fi speed.
The Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts empire claimed Asia’s Leading Luxury Hotel Brand 2025. Postcard Hotels & Resorts took Asia’s Leading Boutique Hotel Brand, a victory for individuality in a world of sameness.
Singapore’s Pan Pacific Orchard was honoured as Asia’s Leading Green Lifestyle Hotel, balancing eco-credentials with comfort — a rare feat in an industry fond of token greenery. And from the Philippines’ own Amanpulo, a private island as close to heaven as money allows, came the inevitable win: Asia’s Leading Private Island Resort.
Airlines, Airports and Altitude
The aviation crowd, ever punctual, had its turn. AirAsia walked away with Asia’s Leading Low-Cost Airline, an award it probably deserves simply for keeping half the continent airborne. Royal Brunei Airlines took Asia’s Leading Cabin Crew, which was recognised for its service and was as graceful as it was grounded.
And of course, the host’s pride and joy, Hong Kong International Airport, was crowned Asia’s Leading Airport, a recognition as predictable as deserved. With its new three-runway system and ambitions for an “Airport City”, it’s less a terminal these days than a self-contained planet.
“We are pressing full steam ahead with our Airport City blueprint SKYTOPIA,” said William Ho, Executive Director of Corporate Development at Hong Kong International Airport.
“It will integrate commerce, pop culture, art, and leisure for the entire Asia market.”
One could almost picture a future where people fly to Hong Kong to stay at the airport.
A Toast to Leadership
When Mrs Paddy Tang Lui Wai Yu, Group Co-Managing Director of K. Wah Holdings and Managing Director of Stanford Hotels International, was named recipient of the Outstanding Contribution to the Travel and Hospitality Industry, the applause was not polite; it was heartfelt.
Her decades of leadership and quiet vision have shaped Asian hospitality in ways that defy press releases. There was genuine admiration in the room, and that’s saying something in an industry that trades on appearances.
“Our winners represent the very best in tourism excellence,” said Graham Cooke, Founder of the World Travel Awards. “They have raised the benchmark of achievement across this remarkable region.”
The InterContinental: Old School Glamour
At the evening’s centre stood John Drummond, General Manager of the InterContinental Grand Stanford Hong Kong, who summed up the event and the city with perfect diplomacy.
“The energy and elegance of the evening reflected the very spirit of Hong Kong dynamic, welcoming, and world-class,” he said.
And he wasn’t wrong. Hong Kong remains a city built on ambition and adorned with confidence. Like the city, the night was perfectly polished, not flawless, but gloriously alive.
For the complete list of winners, visit World Travel Awards.
Postscript
As the last glasses were cleared and the lights dimmed, one couldn’t help but sense that this year’s awards were about more than trophies. They were about momentum. Asia and Oceania have weathered the storms of recent years and are striding forward not to reclaim their place in global tourism but to redefine it.
For a few glittering hours in Hong Kong, the travel world came together, applauded itself, and you felt it was deserved for once.
