The Maldives has been named the Indian Ocean’s Leading Destination for the seventh time. In addition to this award, the Maldives won awards in four other categories, while the Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (Visit Maldives) was named the Indian Ocean’s Leading Tourist Board.
The World Travel Awards Asia, Oceania & Indian Ocean Gala Ceremony 2026 was held at Crossroads in conjunction with World Tourism Day. The Maldives won five awards at the ceremony.
The most notable award was the Maldives being named the Indian Ocean’s Leading Destination for the seventh consecutive time. In addition, the Maldives won the titles of Indian Ocean’s Leading Dive Destination 2026, Indian Ocean’s Leading Green Destination 2026 and Indian Ocean’s Leading Honeymoon Destination 2026. Visit Maldives also received the title of Indian Ocean’s Leading Tourist Board.
Visit Maldives said that more than 15 Maldivian tourism brands received awards in various categories across the Indian Ocean region at the ceremony. These included resorts, luxury hospitality, aviation, diving, family and honeymoon travel, private island experiences, superyacht tourism and responsible tourism.
The Maldives has held the title of the world’s leading destination for six consecutive years, from 2020 through 2025. The country has also achieved success in categories including the World’s Leading Tourist Board, Leading Green Destination and Leading Beach Destination.
Tourism industry leaders from more than 40 countries attended this year’s gala ceremony. Participants included tourism boards, hotels and resorts, airlines and tourism media.
The ceremony was attended by Minister of Tourism and Civil Aviation Mohamed Ameen.
The World Travel Awards is one of the most prestigious awards programmes in the global tourism and travel industry and has been held annually since 1993.
