MUMBAI: BBC World has been voted 'The World’s Leading TV Channel for Travellers' at the 14th World Travel Awards, for the third year in a row.

The World Travel Awards were conceived in 1993 to "acknowledge and celebrate excellence in the world’s travel and tourism industry." The awards are voted for by travel and tourism professionals from 167,000 travel agencies, tour and transport companies and tourism organisations in more than 160 countries across the globe.

BBC World was presented with the award at a ceremony in the Turks and Caicos Islands recently. The channel was the winner of the same award at the World Travel Awards 2005 and 2006.

BBC World travel distribution account director Zina Neophytou said, "It's a very proud achievement for BBC World to win this prestigious award for the third consecutive year. BBC World’s reach within the travel sector continues to grow year-on-year in this immensely important sector of distribution, meaning that the channel can now be seen by travellers wherever they are in the world."

BBC World claims to attract 76 million viewers a week, is available in more than 200 countries and territories worldwide, and reaches 270 million households and more than 1.5 million hotel rooms.