Representatives from the Department of Culture and Tourism — Abu Dhabi (DCT — Abu Dhabi) arrived in Muscat to receive the award for World’s Leading Sports Tourism Destination at the 26th edition of the World Travel Awards (WTA) Grand Final Ceremony 2019. The award is the latest in several prestigious accolades gained by Abu Dhabi this year, including being selected as the Middle East’s Leading Business Tourism Destination at the Middle East edition of WTA and Best City Break at the UK’s Selling Travel Agents’ Choice Awards.

Nabeel M. Al-Zarouni, regional promotions manager, Middle East and Africa, who received the award on behalf of DCT — Abu Dhabi, said: “We are very grateful to have Abu Dhabi recognized at one of the world’s leading tourism industry awards. This award is a culmination of the hard work that our team and partners have put in to promote tourism in the UAE capital and to position Abu Dhabi as a global hub for business, sports, leisure and culture. We thank the World Travel Awards and look forward to achieving more success within this field in the future.”

Abu Dhabi shined as a premium destination for sports tourism in 2019 after hosting some of the world’s top sporting events, such as the FIFA Club World Cup 2017 and 2018, the first edition of the UAE Tour, the AFC Asian Cup 2019, the Special Olympics World Games 2019, the UFC 242 showdown and the Brazil vs South Korea international friendly match.