From “keep travelling” to “travel solves problems”, winners at the World Travel Awards Asia, Oceania & Indian Ocean Gala Ceremony 2026 share their messages for an industry built on people, experience and connection.
There was a simple message running through the World Travel Awards Asia, Oceania & Indian Ocean Gala Ceremony 2026 in the Maldives: keep travelling.
As winners from across Asia, Oceania and the Indian Ocean gathered at CROSSROADS Maldives, Breaking Travel News asked some of the people behind the region’s leading hotels, resorts, destinations and travel companies a deceptively simple question: what is your message to the world?
Their answers ranged from calls for peace and stability to reminders of why people travel in the first place.
Taken together, they offered something more than an industry soundbite. They revealed an enduring belief in travel as a force for experience, understanding, human connection and hope.
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The ceremony, held on 27 September at CROSSROADS Maldives, brought together tourism and hospitality leaders from more than 40 countries and took place as the Maldives hosted the regional World Travel Awards ceremony for the first time in a decade.
For many of those interviewed, the answer was immediate.
“Keep on travelling,” said Shiny Vermeulen, Executive Director of Within Earth Holidays, which was named Malaysia’s Leading Destination Management Company.
“Whatever happen in the world, it happens. But keep on traveling, keep exploring.”
For Emily Humphrey, Global Marketing Manager at Inspiring Vacations, the message was even shorter.
“Keep traveling. Don’t stop.”
Travel is about what remains
Tony Regan, CEO of PPG Tours and Curated Experiences, reduced the philosophy of travel to something increasingly valuable in an uncertain world: experience.
“You can’t take money with you,” he said. “Take experiences with you. Take memories. Take legacy. That’s what travel is all about, right?”
For Nick Flynn, General Manager of Conrad Maldives Rangali Island, the privilege of working in tourism lies precisely in creating those memories.
“Tourism. Best job in the world,” he said. “We get to create memories for people, and that’s a very precious attribute to be able to give back to people.”
The idea was echoed by Barun Jolly, Senior Vice President and Business Unit General Manager of Robinson Hotels and Resorts in the Philippines.
“I think we in the service industry love to delight people. We love to create memories,” he said.
“And I think I can replace everything, but not a lived experience. And that’s what our industry delivers.”
It is a powerful description of what tourism offers beyond the transaction: something experienced, remembered and carried home.
Travel connects people
Rajiv Kohli, Joint Managing Director of JungleSutra, took the argument further.
“Travel is the biggest form of communication,” he said. “Travel builds communities. Travel solves problems.”
For Kohli, that makes travel important regardless of budget.
“No matter how much money you can or cannot spend, every little bit counts,” he said, adding: “Leave the money on the ground where the communities make a difference.”
His message places tourism within a much larger social context: travel brings people into contact with places and communities they might otherwise never encounter.
A similar sentiment came from Manda Razakavonison, Managing Director of Cactus Tours Madagascar, who described tourism as something that brings people together.
“Tourism makes people united. Peaceful, enjoying life and growing love,” she said.
The human touch still matters
For all the talk across the industry about transformation and technology, several winners returned to an older and simpler idea: hospitality is fundamentally human.
Sabry Bahaudeen, Director of Classic Destinations, put it particularly clearly.
“There will be technology coming in, AI coming in, but travel will last with human touch,” he said.
That belief was echoed by Upul Gedarakumbura, General Manager of Heritance Aarah, who argued that even as automation transforms hospitality, the defining qualities of service remain personal.
“I strongly believe you can’t replace the human touch,” he said. “The human touch will make the biggest difference. The personalised service, the smile, the service from your heart matters.”
His conclusion was particularly pertinent for an industry navigating rapid technological change:
“Let’s keep automation transformation on our hot button without forgetting the human touch, which makes the difference.”
For Calvin Lim, Resident Manager of Capri by Fraser Bukit Bintang, the same principle is even more fundamental.
“We are in the people business,” he said.
His message for an industry facing challenges was equally straightforward: “I believe everyone to stay together. Hospitality industry will continue blooming.”
Resilience is built by people
Behind many of the awards celebrated in the Maldives was a less visible story of persistence.
Elaine Wallace, Owner of Bunaken Oasis Dive Resort & Spa in Indonesia, recalled the extraordinary disruption caused by the pandemic.
Her resort was closed for two and a half years. Yet the business kept 80 people employed throughout that period despite having no income.
“When we were ready to open, we could open,” she said.
The result, she suggested, was not simply the survival of a business but the preservation of the people and relationships needed to bring it back to life.
Her message was simple:
“Get out and explore. Get out and travel.”
The same resilience appears in the answers of Zakaria Tamni, General Manager of Somerset City Centre Atyrau, who spoke about operating through political uncertainty.
“Despite our region always a little bit in trouble because of the political situation… we keep doing our best to motivate our team and to keep our guests happy.”
Asked for his message to the world, he answered:
“Be in peace. We can travel, see the world. Our beautiful planet is so beautiful.”
Success starts with the team
Perhaps the most striking consistency among the winners was how rarely they described success as an individual achievement.
Tony Regan offered the most direct formulation.
“Hard work. Finally, enough modesty. Just getting on with it. Keep your head down. Work hard.”
But he immediately moved away from the individual.
“It’s not about me. It’s about the team.”
Shiny Vermeulen similarly described her World Travel Award as a team achievement after more than three decades in the industry.
“We are people centric,” she said. “We are very much close to our partners… we know what they want. We know what they need.”
Nick Flynn was even more emphatic.
“Passion. Passion. Dedication. But also being fully engaged with your team. It’s all about the team.”
For Flynn, that means communication, empowerment, trust, guidance and nurturing — because, ultimately, “they’re the ones that are delivering the amazing experiences every day.”
At Robinson Hotels and Resorts, Barun Jolly identified diversification as one element of the group’s success, but returned again to its service philosophy: “hospitality by heart.”
“Let’s deliver true, genuine, empathetic service and let people remember the time you spend with us,” he said.
A reason to keep looking outward
The World Travel Awards ceremony celebrated organisations that have achieved recognition at the highest level across Asia, Oceania and the Indian Ocean. The 2026 winners included destinations, airlines, airports, hotels, resorts, tour operators and tourism organisations, with the Maldives itself taking five Indian Ocean honours including Leading Destination, Leading Dive Destination, Leading Green Destination and Leading Honeymoon Destination.
But away from the trophies, the interviews revealed something less tangible.
For an industry accustomed to talking about arrivals, occupancy, growth, connectivity and revenue, the people on the ground repeatedly returned to the reasons those numbers matter.
People want to experience something.
They want to discover somewhere new.
They want to feel welcomed.
They want to make memories.
And they want to meet other people.
As the world continues to navigate instability and rapid change, the message from the vanguards of the travel industry was remarkably consistent.
Keep moving.
Keep exploring.
Keep connecting.
And, above all, keep travelling.
