Qatar Airways has been voted the best airline at the 15th Annual ACPETUR Tourism Awards ceremony in Barcelona.

The Ali Bey award for Best Airline was presented at a gala dinner at the Porta Fira Hotel.

Organized by the Catalonia Tourism Journalist Association, Catalan travel writers and journalists, the show recognized the five-star carrier for its commitment to Barcelona, highlighting the expanded operations from daily to 10 weekly flights, with superior in-flight services to an outstanding global network.

Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al-Baker said he was delighted the airline was being recognized in such a key market linking Barcelona with the Qatari capital Doha.

“2013 will be another big year for Qatar Airways as we continue to expand our worldwide network, welcome more aircraft into our ever-expanding fleet, and of course enter into our new partnership with the World’s Best Club FC Barcelona from the start of the 2013/14 season,” said Al-Baker.

Paul Johannes, Qatar Airways vice president Commercial North South West Europe, said the award was an honor and a testament to the commitment of Qatar Airways to the Catalan capital.

Qatar Airways Country Manager of Iberian Peninsula, Greece and Cyprus, Marimar Laveda, who collected the award on behalf of the airline, added: “This award symbolizes everything we’ve set out to achieve since we started our operations in Barcelona almost three years ago.”

Roman Hereter, vice president of ACPETUR, said: “The judges felt that Qatar Airways’ submission was very impressive, underlining the youth and dynamism of the carrier.”

The past 12 months have seen Qatar Airways honored with a host of several awards from around the world, including being named Airline of the Year for the second consecutive year by the prestigious Skytrax organization.

Qatar Airways has been present in Spain for over seven years, initially launching flights to the capital Madrid, before introducing Barcelona to its network in June 2010.