As the UAE celebrates its Golden Jubilee, Yas Island Abu Dhabi, a leading leisure and entertainment destination, is rounding off a triumphant year having received 50 awards, plaudits and accolades in 2021. 

 

The destination and its portfolio of world-class developments, renowned attractions, immersive technology, diverse experiences, hotels, resorts and restaurants were recognised across multiple international, regional and local platforms.

 

Marking a record-breaking year with 50 awards and accolades, Yas Island has continued to evolve as one of the world’s premier leisure and tourism destinations. Its portfolio of theme parks, attractions and experiences include Ferrari World Abu Dhabi, Yas Waterworld, Warner Bros. World Abu Dhabi and Clymb Abu Dhabi. 

 

Miral Chairman Mohamed Khalifa Al Mubarak said: “We are honoured with these 50 plus accolades and awards as we witness yet another year of international recognition from leading industry bodies. This is a testament to Yas Island’s steadily growing position as a top destination for leisure, entertainment and business. 

 

"Home to award-winning attractions and experiences, Yas Island is an integral part of the overall growth of Abu Dhabi’s tourism industry.”

 

Global recognition at the World Travel Awards

 

Yas Island and its world-class theme parks, experiences and attractions were recognised in seven categories at the World Travel Awards in 2021. 

 

In addition to the ‘World’s Leading Theme Park Destination 2021’, Yas Island received the ‘Middle East's Leading Tourism Development Project’ award for the third consecutive year, Ferrari World Abu Dhabi - the world’s first Ferrari-themed park - was named ‘World’s Leading Theme Park 2021’ and ‘Middle East’s Leading Theme Park 2021’, while the Emirati-themed waterpark Yas Waterworld was recognised as ‘Middle East’s Leading Water Park 2021’ and Warner Bros. World Abu Dhabi, was named as ‘Middle East’s Leading Tourist Attraction 2021’. 

 

As part of the ceremony, the adventure hub Clymb Abu Dhabi was once again honoured as ‘Middle East’s Leading Adventure Tourist Attraction 2021’.

 

Taking centre stage at the International Travel Awards

 

Yas Theme Parks and attractions were commended in four regional categories at the International Travel Awards, which honours global tourism destinations, attractions and hotels.

 

Ferrari World Abu Dhabi was named the Best Tourist Attraction in the Middle East, Yas Waterworld received Best Waterpark in the Middle East and Warner Bros. World Abu Dhabi was recognised as the Best Theme Park in the Middle East, while Clymb was awarded the Best Indoor Adventure Park in the UAE.

 

Leading motorsports, golfing, lifestyle and dining destination

 

Yas Island’s portfolio of hotels, resorts, and lifestyle offerings have received plaudits during 2021 across multiple categories including dining, entertainment as well as motorsports and golf. 

 

Yas Marina Circuit and Formula 1 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Abu Dhabi won gold for Best Live Experience at a Professional Sports Event in the Sports Industry Awards (SPIA), while Yas Marina Circuit took home a silver trophy for the ADNOC Yas in Schools – Best Youth Development Project of the Year. The entries were selected by a panel of judges, made up of industry experts, as well as some publicly voted categories by fans.

 

World Golf Awards celebrated Yas Links, as the Middle East’s Number One 9-hole golf course. Similarly, industry website Top100GolfCourses ranked Yas Links as the Middle East’s Best Golf Course.

 

Yas Island’s lifestyle and culinary offerings were also recognised by consumer magazines such as What’s On, naming Warner Bros. World as Favourite Attraction, and Clymb as Favourite Fitness Facility.

 

In addition, hotels and resorts received multiple accolades for their culinary offerings at the FACT Dining Awards Abu Dhabi 2021, recognising excellence in the food and beverage industry. W Abu Dhabi – Yas Island received a host of trophies including Best Friday Brunch of the Year, Best Beach/Pool Bar and Best All Day Dining Restaurant. Additionally, Radisson Blu Abu Dhabi, Yas Island was awarded Favourite Casual Italian for Filini Garden. 

 

With a welcoming environment for pets, W Abu Dhabi – Yas Island was recognised as the runner-up in the Favourite Pet-Friendly Hotel category of the Animalia Pet Industry Awards 2021.

 

Garnering industry recognition

 

Warner Bros. World received industry recognition at the International Association of Amusement Parks (IAAPA) Awards, which mark achievements of excellence throughout the global attractions industry. The theme park was celebrated for its rides and attractions and awarded the Brass Ring Award – Spirit Award for the ‘Global Launch of Looney Tunes as DC Superheroes’.  

 

Yas Island’s attractions and amusement parks earned multiple plaudits for Yas Theme Parks during the annual Stevie Awards. It recognised Ferrari World with a bronze trophy for ‘Winter on Italian Street’, while  Bugs Bunny's 80th anniversary and Warner Bros. World’s new logo reveal received bronze trophies. 

 

In recognition of Yas Island’s efforts to keep visitors to its theme parks safe during the pandemic, Yas Island received a bronze at the Stevie Awards for ‘Internal Community Engagement during the Global Pandemic’.

 

Yas Marina, at the heart of Yas Island’s sailing, marine, watersports and dining community, was awarded the Five Gold Anchor Platinum accreditation by The Yacht Harbour Association (THYA) - one of the industry’s oldest and most respected governing bodies. 

The award positions Yas Marina as the first marina in the UAE and GCC to be awarded the industry’s highest accolade and recognises Yas Marina’s facilities, amenities and service levels.

 

Recognised by consumers worldwide

 

Yas Theme Parks and attractions also garnered accolades across consumer review platforms such as TripAdvisor. Ferrari World, Yas Waterworld, Warner Bros. World and Clymb each earned the ‘Travelers Choice Award 2021’. Based on reviews and opinions from travellers, the TripAdvisor Awards recognise and reward tourism establishments in terms of service, quality and customer satisfaction.

 

Raising the bar for customer experience

 

Experience Hub, Yas Island's destination partner and Yas Concierge, the customer experience arm for Yas Island and a subsidiarity of Experience Hub triumphed among international and regional peers, drawn from a pool of global brands and was presented with four trophies at the International Customer Experience Awards.

 

Experience Hub received two gold trophies including Best Customer Service SME, recognising Yas Island’s efforts in pioneering customer focused enhancements to deliver seamless client interactions across multiple channels. Meanwhile, Fergus Bugg, Director of Customer Experience and Products at Experience Hub, was the Gold Winner for Customer Experience Leader of the Year award. In addition, it received two bronze trophies for Best Digital Customer Experience and Best Contact Centre.

 

Yas Concierge, was the winner of the CX Pioneers Award at the Genesys G Summit in June 2021, recognising the destination’s client-centric experience and digital and technology enhancements.

 

Setting the gold standard with technology and experiences

 

Yas Island’s technological advances and attractions were recognised in the 2021 edition of the Blooloop Innovation Awards, which celebrate the global theme park industry. It debuted FacePass contactless technology in 2021 at its theme parks as part of its promise of creating a world-class wall-less destination using the latest technology. As such, Farah Experiences received the gold award for technology. 

 

In addition, Ferrari World Abu Dhabi’s Roof Walk and Zip Line experiences, were recognised with a gold award in the ‘Spectacular’ category, while the underwater VR experience at Yas Waterworld earned a bronze in the ‘Splash’ category. 

 

Guinness World Record success

 

Yas Island’s waterpark held its first Guinness World Records live event where guests broke six world titles in two days including the record of the most water moved using a sponge in one minute and the fastest time to collect five balls in the water on a waterbed. 

 

Marketing excellence

 

The marketing efforts of Yas Island were recognised as its destination communications team received the gold award for Consumer Services in the Middle East Public Relations Association (MEPRA) Awards for its consumer communications campaign ‘Stayin’ on Yas’ which amassed more than 16 million views globally. 

 

In addition, its family marketing campaign ‘Toy Talks’ was acclaimed for demonstrating that toys and games need a holiday too, with a Bronze trophy awarded in the New Products or Service Introduction category.-TradeArabia News Service