The DP World Tour had a memorable evening at the annual Middle East Sport Industry Awards, picking up two Gold Awards for Major Event of the Year and Excellence in Sustainability at the region’s flagship awards for the sports industry.

Established in 2012, the Middle East Sports Industry Awards (SPIA), supported by Abu Dhabi Sports Council, is an official celebration of the leaders, decision-makers, organisations, facilities and campaigns that have contributed to the development of sports in the region.

The DP World Tour collected a first place Gold Award in the Major Sport Event of the Year category for the 2024 DP World Tour Championship. This category celebrates standout major sporting events held in the Middle East that have demonstrated excellence in execution, impact, and legacy. The DP World Tour Championship attracted the highest ever number of spectators for a golf tournament in the UAE, aided by a sector-leading marketing strategy and new fan focused innovations that attracted a diverse range of patrons – with female spectators comprising a record 29% of fans. In addition, over 30% of ticket purchasers in 2024 were international visitors, confirming that the Rolex Series event drives significant international tourism to Dubai.

The DP World Tour also picked up the first place award in the Excellence in Sustainability category for its Green Drive programme. This category recognises organisations, events, or initiatives within the Middle East sports industry that have demonstrated exemplary commitment to sustainable practices. Judges evaluated entries based on the scope, effectiveness, and innovation of sustainability measures.

Through Green Drive, the DP World Tour is the only professional golf Tour to commit to achieving net zero carbon by 2040. Rolling out innovative energy efficient technologies at events is a key part of the Green Drive strategy – with flagship Rolex Series tournaments in the Middle East acting as key test beds. One example commended by the judges was the willigness to embrace more sustainable forms of power supply at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship and the DP World Tour Championship, as well as launching a new platform for ticketholders to calculate and offset their travel emissions – a sporting first.

The Tour is also establishing a credible leadership position by finding ways to share learnings with the wider sports industry and tournament suppliers – as seen with the launch last year of a new Sustainability Awards programme for suppliers to tournaments in the Middle East.

Speaking about the award wins Tom Phillips, Director of Middle East at the DP World Tour, said: “These two Awards make it 12 prestigious sports industry awards won by the DP World Tour globally in the past 18 months, showing that our commitment to innovation is being acknowledged by our peers.  We would like to thank our Title Partner DP World and all our partners and suppliers for helping us to deliver a memorable experience for fans and leave a positive legacy within local communities.”