Egyptian Culture Minister Farouk Hosni revealed that the World Travel Awards (WTA) chose the Giza pyramids as the world’s leading attraction in 2007 during its fourteenth annual ceremony held at the Beaches Turks and Caicos Resort and Spa in the Caribbean.

Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA) Secretary General Dr. Zahi Hawwas, who was elated by the award, described the prize as equivalent to the “Tourism Oscar Award”.

Conceived in 1993, the WTA acknowledges, rewards, and celebrates excellence in travel. Awards are especially coveted as the votes are cast globally by 167,000 fellow professionals from 198 countries.

Voted by industry peers, WTA is undoubtedly the world’s most comprehensive awards’ celebration with trophies given in over 1,000 categories. Attended by top tourism executives, the events are highly regarded and well-established as a forum for bringing together many different aspects of travel and tourism in order to recognize achievements in these fields.

The WTA is broadcast by the BBC World and other networks to over 254 million households around the globe making it sort of like the “Oscars of the travel industry.”