World Travel Awards honor Sun Group projects

Hotel de la Coupole – MGallery (Sa Pa), InterContinental Danang Sun Peninsula Resort (Da Nang) and JW Marriott Phu Quoc Emerald Bay Resort (Phu Quoc) received awards for being the World’s Leading Design Hotel, World’s Leading Green Resort and World’s Leading Luxury Wedding Resort, respectively.

Sun World Fansipan Legend, the compound of cultural tourist attractions in Sa Pa, was recognized for the fourth consecutive year with two honors – World’s Leading Cultural Tourist Attraction and World’s Leading Natural Landscape Tourist Attraction.

Sun World Ba Na Hills in Da Nang was also recognized with three titles: World’s Leading Cable Car Ride, World’s Leading Iconic Tourist Attraction, and World’s Leading Iconic Tourist Bridge (for Golden Bridge).

Golden Bridge was named the World’s Leading Iconic Tourist Bridge by WTA 2022. Photo by Sun Group

The World Travel Awards (WTA) was established in 1993 to acknowledge, reward and celebrate excellence across all key sectors of the travel, tourism and hospitality industries.

The award was dubbed “the Oscar of the travel industry” by the Wall Street Journal. Businesses and destinations that are honored have numerous implications for national tourism development.

Dang Minh Truong, chairman of Sun Group, said this is not the first time WTA has honored Sun Group’s projects. The group’s first project, InterContinental Danang Sun Peninsula Resort, was awarded the World’s Leading Luxury Resort by WTA in 2014.

“These awards will be a source of inspiration for Sun Group to bring Vietnamese people quality and distinctive projects, as well as contribute to raising and affirming Vietnam’s tourism position in the world,” said Truong.

A representative of Hotel de la Coupole-MGallery (L) receives a 2022 WTA award. Photo by Sun Group

Over the years, Sun Group’s tourism, resort and entertainment infrastructure projects have been recognized by many international organizations.

InterContinental Danang Sun Peninsula resort has won many awards over the past 10 years. The resort and JW Marriott Phu Quoc Emerald Bay in Phu Quoc are among the first options in Vietnam for politicians and billionaires worldwide.

Sun World Ba Na Hills has become a symbol of Da Nang tourism. Many domestic and international travelers have made Da Nang a must-visit destination thanks to the Golden Bridge, a special project of this complex.

In Sa Pa, Hotel de la Coupole-MGallery’s unique design is highly appreciated by international organizations and the press. This is also a destination frequented by luxury visitors.

Hotel de la Coupole-MGallery. Photo by Sun Group

Since the opening of Sun World Fansipan Legend in 2016, Sa Pa tourism has experienced growth in both visitor numbers and tourist-related earnings.

After 4 years, Lao Cai saw a 144% rise in tourists. At the end of 2019, revenue from tourism reached VND19,200 billion, four times higher than in 2016.

The total number of visitors to Sa Pa as of September this year was estimated to be two million, an increase of 242% over the same period in 2021. Tourism revenues reached nearly VND6,000 billion, an increase of 222.3% over the same period in 2021, equal to 70.8% over the same period in 2019.

In addition to Sun Group, other Vietnamese enterprises were also honored at WTA 2022 – Vietnam Airlines as World’s Leading Cultural Airline and Vietravel as World’s Leading Group Tour Operator.

At the awards ceremony, several Vietnamese destinations were honored for the first time this year.

Hanoi, Moc Chau and Tam Dao were named World’s Leading City Break Destination, World’s Leading Regional Nature Destination and World’s Leading Town Destination respectively.

Phu Quoc was named the World’s Leading Nature Island Destination. The island is renowned for its beauty on par with popular tourist destinations like the Maldives or Boracay.

It features a pleasant climate throughout the year, white sand beaches, clear turquoise water, pristine rapids, and ancient forests with rich flora.

Phu Quoc’s natural beauty. Photo by Sun Group

TIME magazine from the U.S. put Phu Quoc in the Top 100 destinations in 2021. In 2022, the island was honored among Top 25 beautiful islands by Travel+Leisure magazine.

With the title of the World’s Leading Nature Island Destination, Phu Quoc is expected to become new island paradise in Asia.

According to Graham Cooke, chairman of WTA, over the past decade, Vietnam’s tourism industry has developed differently than most regions in the world. Some ideas have been realized by groups such as Sun Group.

“This has demonstrated Vietnamese knowledge and macro-thinking in the strategy of developing tourism products. I believe that Vietnam’s tourism industry will rise to new heights,” said Graham Cooke.