Emirates has won the Gold award in the inaugural Best Travel, Leisure and Experience Campaign category at the 2026 Global Performance Marketing Awards.

The airline received the award for transforming its affiliate marketing programme in the Asia Pacific (APAC) region, a market where airlines, online travel agencies and travel agents compete for affiliate partnerships. 

According to Emirates, the programme was restructured to focus on a smaller group of partners, strengthen direct relationships and expand into new affiliate categories. The airline said the changes contributed to a 31 percent increase in revenue from performance marketing in APAC over a period of one year. 

Emirates said that performance marketing plays a key role in customer acquisition and revenue growth. The airline's performance marketing operations include affiliate marketing, paid search and metasearch campaigns managed by a team based in Dubai, supported by digital marketing personnel and partners worldwide. 

“We’re proud to be recognised at the Global Performance Marketing Awards. This accolade underscores the team’s commitment to deliver real value for our customers and for the business," said Boutros Boutros, Executive Vice President, Corporate Communications, Marketing and Brand for Emirates Group.

"Performance marketing is a fundamental commercial growth driver for Emirates, and the team’s rigorous, data-led approach combined with smart automation, delivers substantial value back to the business. Their success is driven by clear strategy, well-defined objectives and disciplined execution, and we’ve improved both the quality of our bookings and revenue outcomes in APAC. It’s a win-win, and congratulations to all the teams involved.”

The Global Performance Marketing Awards recognize campaigns that demonstrate measurable growth through performance and partnership marketing. Emirates said the latest achievement follows its recent shortlisting at the Global Search Awards for Best Use of Search in the travel and leisure category.