The Temple of Literature, one of Hà Nội's tourist attractions. The capital city has been named as Asia's Leading City Destination and Asia's Leading City Break Destination 2024 by WTA. - VNA/VNS Photo Hoàng Hiếu

HÀ NỘI - Việt Nam has collected a raft of prestigious awards including being Asia's leading destination and two special awards for Hà Nội, at the highly regarded World Travel Awards (WTA).

Việt Nam was awarded Asia's leading destination, the leading heritage destination and the leading nature destination, while Hà Nội has been voted the leading city and leading city break destination, at the 31st annual WTA.

HCM City also won awards, taking the titles of Asia's Leading Business Travel Destination and Asia's Leading Festival & Event Destination.

This is the sixth time in the past seven years that Việt Nam has been recognised as Asia's leading destination. Việt Nam beat off many strong contenders to win, including China, India, Japan, South Korea, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and Sri Lanka, to retain the prestigious title this year.

The capital continues to be recognised by the world awards, as a leading city destination and the best place to take a city break.

The titles were presented at an awards ceremony held in Manila, the Philippines, on September 3.

Meanwhile, HCM City Department of Tourism has been honoured as Asia's Leading City Tourist Board, for the second time and Quảng Nam Tourism won the title of Asia's Leading Regional Tourist Board.

Hội An ancient town – the UNESCO World Heritage site – bagged the Asia’s Leading Culture City Destination award for the fifth time in a row, after winning the title in 2019, 21, 22 and 23. Việt Nam's 'green tourism gem' Mộc Châu has been named as Asia's Leading Regional Nature Destination 2024.

Hà Giang, the northernmost province of the country, made its debut in the category of Asia's Leading Regional Cultural Destination 2024. Meanwhile, the province of Hà Nam has been recognised for the first time as Asia's Leading Emerging Tourism Destination 2024.

“It has been a privilege to host our first ceremony in the Philippines – a celebration that has served as a fitting showcase for this incredible destination and its historic capital Manila," Graham Cooke, founder of the WTA, said.

“Our winners are stellar examples of tourism excellence and I congratulate each and every one for helping to raise the collective benchmark across Asia and Oceania.”

Representatives of the management board of Cúc Phương National Park at the World Travel Awards. VNA/VNS Photo

For the sixth consecutive time since 2019, Cúc Phương National Park in the northern province of Ninh Bình has been honoured as Asia's leading national park 2024, by the WTA.

The Vietnamese park triumphed over several strong competitors worldwide, including Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park of Japan, Chitwan National Park of Nepal, Minnieriya National Park of Sri Lanka, Kinabalu and Taman Negara National Parks of Malaysia, as well as Cát Tiên National Park of Việt Nam, to win this year's title.

According to the Director of Cúc Phương National Park, Nguyễn Văn Chính, the award is not only a source of encouragement for the management board, but also reflects the affection of both the domestic and international communities for the persistent efforts over more than 60 years by various generations of park staff.

It also recognises the sacrifices and contributions made by the local community, scientists and millions of visitors.

One of the primate species protected at Cúc Phương National Park. VNA/VNS Photo

In addition, many well-known Vietnamese brands in the fields of hotels, resorts, airlines and travel agencies have also been honoured in various categories of WTA 2024.

The WTA, established in 1993 and often referred to as the Oscars of the travel world, is the premier global accolade in the tourism sector.

They say they serve to acknowledge, reward and celebrate excellence across all sectors of the global travel.

Every year it recognises the leading companies and groups and regions in the industry, it has become a prestigious brand that honours outstanding achievements across all areas of travel and tourism. VNS

Domestic and international tourists participate in the Cúc Phương Park 2023 race held in Ninh Bình Province. -- VNA/VNS Photo