Rounding off a year of remarkable accomplishments, Yas Island Abu Dhabi has cemented its place as a world-class destination, sweeping up 34 local, regional and international awards and accolades brought home by its highly popular attractions, as well as its infrastructure projects and developments.
Mohammed Khalifa Al Mubarak, Chairman of Miral, said, “As we continue to transform Yas Island into one of the top global destinations, we are both proud and humbled to be recognised for excellence around the world. The long list of local and international accolades and recognitions awarded to our attractions during 2018, including our recently opened Warner Bros. World Abu Dhabi, are a testament to Yas Island’s successful journey this year and our continuous efforts to evolve, bringing new experiences and attractions and welcome more visitors to the island.”
“Today, we reflect and look forward to the future, where we see more accomplishments that will help us move closer to achieving our vision of welcoming 48 million visits by 2022 and becoming a world-class destination for leisure, entertainment and business,” Al Mubarak added.
The island continues to reaffirm its place as a destination of choice for leisure and entertainment seekers, and the awards won in 2018 are a testament to many aspects of the destination experience that strongly resonated with visitors from the UAE and around the world.
Home to the world’s best theme parks, top-notch motorsports and golf venues, versatile hospitality offerings, as well as its impressive portfolio of projects in the pipeline, the island was recognised with the prestigious ‘World’s Leading Tourism Development Project 2018’ at the World Travel Awards.
Yas Waterworld, the popular Emirati-themed waterpark was named the ‘Middle East’s Leading Water Park 2018’ and later the ‘World’s Leading Waterpark 2018’. The waterpark, which has proven to be a visitor favourite time and time again, also earned a place in TripAdvisor’s ‘Hall of Fame’ this year following its fifth consecutive Certificate of Excellence. It was named “‘Best Water Park’ by the Middle East and North Africa Leisure and Attraction Council, MENALAC, and was voted as ‘Favourite Day Out’ and ‘Favourite Ladies Night’ at the What’s On Abu Dhabi Awards.
With the world’s fastest rollercoaster, Ferrari World Abu Dhabi was voted the ‘Middle East’s Leading Theme Park 2018’ for the second year running at the World Travel Awards. It was also named ‘Best Theme Park’ by MENALAC, and earned yet another TripAdvisor’s Certificate of Excellence.
The newly opened Warner Bros. World Abu Dhabi was listed amongst the ‘100 World’s Greatest Places’ in 2018 by Time Magazine within less than six months of operation. Additionally, it was voted the capital’s ‘Favourite Day Out’ at the Pride of Abu Dhabi Awards.
Yas Marina was listed among the top 15 elite superyacht marinas worldwide by Yachting Pages Media Group, while Yas Links Abu Dhabi ranked 44 on the World 100 Greatest Golf Courses by Golf Digest. Yas Marina also scooped the award for ‘Best Event’ at the Pride of Abu Dhabi Awards for their series of activations and events during Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
The Yas Marina Circuit, lauded as one of the most technologically advanced circuits in the world and home to the Formula 1 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, was commended by The Sports Travel Awards 2018 with a gold award for the ‘Best Live Experience at a Professional Sports Event’, and ‘Best Amateur Sport Event of the Year’ for its signature triathlon race TriYAS.
Offering incredible shopping, dining and family entertainment experiences for residents and tourists all under one roof, Yas Mall won a total of six awards from the Middle East Council of Shopping Centres for several initiatives, including the Mosaic Wishes event supporting the Make-A-Wish-Foundation.
Yas Arena, the soon to launch, 18,000-seat indoor entertainment venue, also received the ‘Sustainable Building Design of the Year’ award from the World Green Building Council’s MENA Green Building Awards, which recognises organisations in the region for their innovative and sustainable building principles.
