The prestigious prize was awarded after a vote by travel agents in more than 200 countries.

CEO John Watson received the award at a gala ceremony in the Turks and Caicos Islands, attended by the global travel industry's most influential figures.

"This is a great honour for our company and all those who have made it possible," said Watson.

The World Travel Awards have been dubbed the Oscars of the travel industry. They were established in 1993 to reward excellence in this fast-growing industry. More than 160,000 travel professionals, including 110,000 travel agents, voted in the awards.

Power supply : Business as usual at Energy Ministry

Energy permanent secretary Pornchai Rujiprapha said yesterday that following Tuesday's coup, the Energy Ministry's operations would proceed as normal in order to ensure undisrupted power supplies.

He said all committees previously chaired by the energy minister could still call for meetings, with Pornchai himself as chairman. After the establishment of the provisional government, the panels should be ready to submit their plans, including the proposed flotation of the price of cooking gas.

The ministry will also proceed with the policies on renewable and alternative fuels, he said, which means the ban on octane-95 petrol will start on January 1, 2007, as planned.

The Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand also expects no change in electricity purchases from foreign power producers, given the promise from the Administrative Reform Council that there will be no change in the country's foreign policy.