Going for Gold! Yas Island Rounds off Triumphant Year with 50 Awards and Accolades during the UAE’s Golden Jubilee Year

by Suman Gupta

Mumbai, 24th December 2021: As the UAE celebrates its Golden Jubilee, Yas Island Abu Dhabi, one of the world’s leading leisure and entertainment destinations, is rounding off a triumphant year having received 50 awards, plaudits and accolades in 2021. The destination and its portfolio of world-class developments, internationally renowned attractions, immersive technology, diverse experiences, exceptional hotels, resorts and restaurants and intuitive customer service 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 and has become one of the most recognised in the region. Yas Island’s unique portfolio of theme parks, attractions and experiences include Ferrari World Abu Dhabi, Yas Waterworld, Warner Bros. World™ Abu Dhabi and CLYMB™ Abu Dhabi.

HE Mohamed Khalifa Al Mubarak, Chairman of Miral, said: “We are honoured with these 50 plus accolades and awards as we witness yet another year of international recognition from leading industry bodies, which reflects our ongoing commitment to excellence.  This is a testament to Yas Island’s steadily growing position as a top global 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 in the globally renowned World Travel Awards in 2021. In addition to scooping the accolade of ‘World’s Leading Theme Park Destination 2021’, Yas Island received the flagship ‘Middle East’s Leading Tourism Development Project’ award for the third consecutive year, testament to the global reputation of the leisure and entertainment hub.  In addition, Ferrari World Abu Dhabi the world’s first Ferrari-themed park was named the ‘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 record-breaking adventure hub CLYMB™ Abu Dhabi, boasting the world’s largest indoor flight chamber and the region’s tallest indoor climbing wall, was once again awarded the accolade of ‘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 in 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.

On the world stage as a 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 an independent panel of judges, made up of industry experts, as well as some publicly voted categories by fans.

World Golf Awards celebrated Yas Links Abu Dhabi, as the Middle East’s Number One 9-hole golf course. Similarly, leading industry website Top100GolfCourses ranked Yas Links as the Middle East’s Best Golf Course, reinforcing its strong reputation regionally and internationally.

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

In addition, hotels and resorts received multiple accolades for their line-up of culinary offerings at the FACT Dining Awards Abu Dhabi 2021, the consumer awards 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™ Abu Dhabi was proud to receive 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 world’s class 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 continued to dazzle on the industry stage during 2021 with multiple plaudits received for Yas Theme Parks during the annual Stevie Awards. The Stevie Awards which celebrate the best in business recognised Ferrari World Abu Dhabi with a bronze trophy for ‘Winter on Italian Street’, while  Bugs Bunny’s 80th anniversary and Warner Bros. World™ Abu Dhabi’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 esteemed Five Gold Anchor Platinum accreditation by The Yacht Harbour Association (THYA) – one of the industry’s oldest and most respected governing bodies. The coveted 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 exceptional facilities, amenities and excellent service levels.

Recognised by consumers worldwide

Yas Theme Parks and attractions continue to surprise and delight visitors while garnering guest accolades across popular global consumer review platforms such as TripAdvisor.  Ferrari World Abu Dhabi, Yas Waterworld, Warner Bros. World™ Abu Dhabi and CLYMB™ Abu Dhabi each earned the ‘Travelers Choice Award 2021’. Based on millions of reviews and opinions from travellers from around the world, the TripAdvisor Awards recognise and reward the very best tourism establishments in terms of service, quality and customer satisfaction.

Raising the bar for customer experience

Experience Hub,  the Yas Island 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 an elite pool of leading global brands and was presented with four trophies at the prestigious International Customer Experience Awards which recognise outstanding customer experience.

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 recognised as the Gold Winner for Customer Experience Leader of the Year award. In addition, Experience Hub was received two bronze trophies for Best Digital Customer Experience and Best Contact Centre.

Yas Concierge, was the proud winner of the CX Pioneers Award at the Genesys G Summit in June 2021, recognising the destination’s client-centric experience and pioneering digital and technology enhancements, which deliver seamless consumer interactions across multiple channels.

Setting the gold standard with innovative technology and seamless experiences

Striving to offer tech-savvy visitors the latest innovative experiences and attractions, Yas Island’s technological advances and groundbreaking attractions were recognised on the global stage in the 2021 edition of the Blooloop Innovation Awards, which celebrate the global theme park industry. Yas Island 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 at the Blooloop Innovation Awards . In addition, Ferrari World Abu Dhabi’s Roof Walk and Zip Line experiences, were recognised with a gold award in the ‘Spectacular’ category, while UAE’s first-ever underwater VR experience at Yas Waterworld earned a bronze award in the ‘Splash’ category.

Splashing to Guinness World Record success

Yas Island’s iconic waterpark, which promises legendary adventure for all ages held its first ever 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. With over 40 rides, slides and attractions, Yas Waterworld continues to make a splash globally!

Marketing excellence

The marketing efforts of Yas Island were recognised as the Yas Island destination communications team received the gold award for Consumer Services in the Middle East Public Relations Association (MEPRA) Awards for the roll-out of its consumer communications campaign ‘Stayin’ on Yas’ which amassed more than 16 million views globally.  In addition, Yas Island’s family marketing campaign ‘Toy Talks’ was acclaimed for demonstrating that much cherished toys and games need a holiday too, with a Bronze trophy awarded in the New Products or Service Introduction category.

Attracting tourists from across the globe, Yas Island’s immersive hospitality and leisure attractions help reinforce its position as a world-class destination for leisure, entertainment and business, offering memorable experiences unlike anywhere else in the region.

About Experience Hub and Yas Island: Experience Hub (http://www.experiencehub.com) is the one-stop destination partner and promotional arm of one of the world’s fastest growing leisure and entertainment destinations: Yas Island in Abu Dhabi. Through its network of local, regional and international offices, the company works with travel partners to design holiday packages that provide the best entertainment value for travellers to the UAE. Based in Abu Dhabi, Experience Hub brings together expert travel and tourism professionals to manage its wide reaching trade network. The company currently operates offices serving the GCC, India, China, Europe and the CIS markets.

Yas Island is one of the world’s fastest-growing leisure and entertainment destinations, located on the golden shores of Abu Dhabi – just 20 minutes from downtown Abu Dhabi and 50 minutes from Dubai.  Yas Island offers holidaymakers a diverse mix of award-winning leisure and entertainment experiences, from one-of-a-kind theme parks, world-class shopping and superb dining, to a links golf course, exciting water and motorsports, and spectacular musical, entertainment and family events… all within the 25 sq km Island. Today, Yas Island is home to the award-winning theme parks Ferrari World Abu Dhabi, Yas Waterworld Abu Dhabi, Warner Bros. World™ Abu Dhabi, the record-breaking CLYMB™ Abu Dhabi, Yas Marina Circuit (home to the FORMULA 1 ETIHAD AIRWAYS ABU DHABI GRAND PRIX™), Yas Marina, the award-winning Yas Links golf course, as well as Abu Dhabi’s largest mall, Yas Mall, Yas Bay Waterfront – Abu Dhabi’s vibrant day to night destination featuring Pier71, a three-kilometre Boardwalk, and a variety of world-class dining, leisure and entertainment brands.  With ten hotels, including W Abu Dhabi – Yas Island, Hilton Abu Dhabi Yas Island, The WB™ Abu Dhabi, the World’s first Warner Bros. themed hotel, DoubleTree by Hilton Abu Dhabi Yas Island Residences, Crowne Plaza Yas Island Abu Dhabi, Yas Island Rotana, Centro Yas Island by Rotana, Radisson Blu Hotel Abu Dhabi Yas Island, Park Inn by Radisson Hotel Abu Dhabi Yas Island and Staybridge Suites Abu Dhabi Yas Island,  plus more than 165 dining experiences, the destination also features indoor and outdoor concert venues including MAD and Etihad Arena – all of which are complemented by a range of visitor services that connect all attractions to one another.