2012 National Geographic Traveler Awards
The 2012 National Geographic Traveler Awards ceremony based on readers’ voting was held on Sept. 5 in the Atrium shopping center. Volkswagen Group Rus acted as general sponsor to the event.
Readers cast their votes in 14 categories from May through September on the website. More than 20,000 people weighed in with their votes for the best travel destinations — twice the number of people who participated in last year’s event.
Delegates from travel agencies of different countries as well as the directors of major online travel agencies and Internet services gathered in the main hall of the Atrium shopping center on Sept. 5 to learn the results of the voting. Prior to the start of the ceremony, guests could sample traditional Italian appetizers offered by the organizers of Italy Week in Moscow. They were also treated to a Chinese tea ceremony performed by the Confucius Institute that featured the delicate flavors of exclusive varieties of green, white and red teas.
When all of the guests were assembled, master of ceremonies Igor Lantratov took the stage, welcomed everyone and invited National Geographic Traveler editor-in-chief Alexander Zheleznyak to announce the results of the voting. Delegates and directors from the 16 winning travel agencies came to the stage to accept prizes in 14 categories.
The winners are:
Best Beach Vacation – Thailand;
Best Vacation with Excursions – Rome, Italy;
Best Winter Vacation – Austria;
Best Ecotour – Iceland;
Best Adventure Tour – Altai, Russia;
Best Tourism in Russia – Kamchatka;
Best Cruise – the Norwegian Fjords;
Best Tourism for Health – the Dead Sea, Israel;
Discovery of the Year – Cambodia;
Best Airline – Lufthansa;
Best Hotel Chain – Radisson;
Best Internet Service – Oktogo.ru;
Best Travel Blog – Sergei Dolya (National Geographic Traveler Editor’s Choice);
Best Travel Blog – Marat Khasanov and Denis Yevlakhov (National Geographic Traveler Readers’ Choice);
Best Road Trip – Valentine Ryabtsev’s “Beautiful Europe” route: Paris – Nice – Zurich (Volkswagen Company’s Choice);
Best Road Trip – Pavel Fyodorov’s “Alpine Vacation” route (National Geographic Traveler Reader’s Choice).
The results of the voting were displayed on a plasma screen provided by Samsung, technical partner to the ceremony.
A program of live entertainment accompanied the awards ceremony. Guests enjoyed electrifying Indian dancing in the spirit of Bollywood as performed by Indance School soloist Anastasia Kruzhnova, a hot-blooded tango by stars of Argentinean tango Vlada Zakharova and her partner, sparkling flamenco dancing by Yulia Belyayeva, winner of the Viva Espana 2011 festival and director of the Romancero Studio, traditional Chinese singing by Lin Yuan Xue of the Confucius Institute, and an energetic musical dance performance by the Afromania group.
Friday’s restaurant provided a buffet for everyone after the close of the official part of the ceremony.
A photo exhibition by National Geographic chief editor Alexander Zheleznyak devoted to the best travel destinations was also on display in the Atrium shopping center. The exhibition will run until Oct. 5.
Event details and winners of the voting can be found in the November-December 2012 issue of National Geographic Traveler magazine.
