The Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority been named as the World’s Leading Tourist Board at the World Travel Awards held on Sunday.

Over 180,000 industry professionals voted in the largest polling in the awards’ 16 year history.

Giving a speech at the World Travel Market, Ahmed Hussein, deputy director general of the ADTA said the award was a great honour for the Authority.

He said that the award was recognition of the work that the ADTA had done in just five years of promoting Abu Dhabi as one of the world’s leading tourism destinations.

He said that they always had a strong market in business travel, but now being recognised as a leisure destination, and now have many new hotels opening in the coming months, including the Qasr al Sarab, which will be build in the middle of the emirate’s Empty Quarter, about 240 kilometers from Abu Dhabi.

The resort will feature a combination of rooms, suites and villas, as well as a spa and a number of restaurants.

The city also has an increasing number of events taking place next year, after the success of the highly successful Formula 1 race.

ADTA expects tourism numbers to be the same as last year at 1.5 million hotel guests. Next year it is aiming for 10% growth in hotel guests, with 15% slated both for 2011 and 2012 bringing the total to 2.3 million by year end.

Much of that growth is fuelled by the emirate’s airline Etihad which won two awards at last Sunday’s World Travel Awards.