The Africa and Indian Ocean Gala Ceremony took place on Saturday, June 28, 2025.
Johari Rotana Hotel, a 5-star business property located along the Indian Ocean shoreline of Dar-es-salaam City, hosted the event. The property was not among the nominees of the WTA 2025 awards.
However, Johari Rotana Hotel has been now nominated to vie for the 2026 World Travel Awards in any of the hospitality categories.
This is the first time that Tanzania got to host the World Travel Awards (WTA), albeit the Africa and Indian Ocean Gala Ceremony, where all the winners from the continent will be announced.
Tanzania has a total of 50 nominated entries into the World Travel Awards in almost all categories.
Incumbent attractions such as Serengeti National Park, Mount Kilimanjaro, the Tanzania Tourist Board, Zanzibar and Ngorongoro Conservation have managed to retain their previous victories and winning new awards in the WTA 2025.
After the Africa and Indian Ocean awards were presented in Dar-Es-Salaam, the WTA will now move to Cancún, Mexico for the Latin America Gala Ceremony to be held on the 27th of September 2025.
Later, the World Travel Award fete will again be held in Saint Lucia for the Caribbean and North America Gala Ceremony to be staged on the 3rd of October 2025.
The WTA Gala Ceremony for Asia and Oceania winners comes up on 13th of October 2025 in Hong Kong.
Italy will host the WTA Europe Gala Ceremony on the 22nd of October 2025, in Sardinia.
The WTA Gala Ceremony for the Middle East winners will be held in the Dubai City of United Arab Emirates on the 27th of October 2025.
WTA Grand Finale for 2025
The Grand Final Gala Ceremony, for the global winners is scheduled for December 9, 2025, at the Exhibition World Bahrain.
This prestigious event will celebrate excellence in the global travel and tourism industry, bringing together leaders and innovators from various sectors.
World Travel Awards has announced plans to stage the first-ever WTA ceremony in Bahrain.
The WTA Grand Final Gala Ceremony will take place at the landmark Exhibition World Bahrain on 9 December 2025, bringing together global travel and tourism leaders to recognise and celebrate the industry’s best of the best.
Latin America Gala Ceremony:
Set to take place in Cancún, Mexico, on September 27, 2025. This event will also recognize outstanding contributions in the travel sector within the Latin American region.
World Travel Awards has announced that Cancún, Mexico has been selected to host its Latin America Gala Ceremony 2025.
The world-class city will welcome travel and tourism figureheads for the red-carpet event on 27 September. The announcement was made at a VIP signing in Madrid, organised by Secretaría Municipal de Turismo Cancún, on the eve of FITUR International Tourism Trade Fair 2025.
Next year, the World Travel Awards grand finale for 2026 will be held in Tanzania.