Bunaken Oasis, the award-winning destination on Bunaken Island, North Sulawesi, was recognised as Indonesia’s Leading Dive Resort for the third consecutive year at the World Travel Awards 2020.
The World Travel Awards was established in 1993 to acknowledge, reward and celebrate excellence across all key sectors of the travel, tourism and hospitality industries. Today, the World Travel Awards brand is recognised globally as the ultimate hallmark of industry excellence.
For a resort that opened just four years ago, winning the World Travel Awards three times in a row is an incredible achievement.
Under normal circumstances, the gala dinner to announce the winners is a grand ceremony in a five-star hotel, attended by hundreds of people. This year, however, with the travel and hospitality sector having been so badly hit by the pandemic, the ceremony has been refashioned to an online platform.
With the World Travel Awards being recognised globally as the travel industry’s ultimate hallmark of quality, owners Elaine and Simon Wallace are thrilled to have won for the third year in succession.
They said: “When we were told a little over a year ago that we had won the award for Indonesia’s Leading Dive Resort for the second time we were, quite honestly, astonished, not simply because we won, but because we finished ahead of all the other excellent resorts in the voting. And again, the boost this gave to our marketing platform has been incalculable: our website and literature – like every other organisation’s – can make claims to our quality, but when the World Travel Awards tells potential customers that you’re the best in class, it’s impossible to overstate how valuable such an endorsement is. (We’ve also got a very large reception desk at the resort, so there was lots of room for the second statuette…)
“And then, in early October, we received the email telling us we’d won the award for 2020, the best hat-trick imaginable! Then you pause and think: 2020 – the year when so many things have gone wrong; the travel and tourism industry is struggling, with little on the horizon to cheer about; Europe and the US show signs that, with winter approaching, Covid-19 is far from done with us; and the economic fallout from the virus still has some way to go. However, the coronavirus hasn’t changed the fundamentals: people are still desperate to travel, divers simply want to dive, and the sunshine and warm seas of tropical destinations will always be a lure to those from colder climes.
“In the meanwhile, we’ll be working with tour operators, agents, publicists and periodicals to let the world know that Indonesia’s Leading Dive Resort (2018, 2019, and 2020) will be ready to welcome our guests – from wherever they come, and whenever they come – and that the welcome they’ll receive will be better than ever. (Three statuettes on the reception desk might look like overkill, so we’ll space them out a little…).”
Bunaken Oasis Dive & Spa Resort is situated on Liang Beach on the edge of Bunaken's National Marine Park, which is an underwater paradise for divers and snorkellers alike. Bunaken Oasis has redefined diving within Indonesia and helped to put Bunaken on the map as an internationally recognised dive destination.
The luxurious resort prides itself on being an ecotourism destination, with a zero single-use plastic policy, and are proud in the extensive infrastructure that they’ve installed to minimise impact on the environment, and to enhance the island and wider Bunaken National Marine Park.
Offering 12 sumptuous cottages, all with spectacular ocean views and a long list of amenities, including beautiful traditionally handcrafted four-poster beds and organic shower products, as well as the latest in-room tablets and coffee makers, it is no surprise that Bunaken Oasis has been recognised as leading the way.
