At the conclusion of Miss Tourism Queen of The Year International 2017, Katya Yakimova of Russia was declared the winner and crowned by the reigning Miss Tourism Queen of The Year International 2016, Sofía del Rocío Saavedra Valderrama of Chile. With this historic win, she becomes the first woman from Russia to ever win this coveted international title. Katya bested 54 contestants from all over the world to win the title.

Katya Yakimova belongs to Moscow city in Russia while she was born in Siberia. She also lived in Bangkok, Thailand for while in 2016. She is a model by profession and loves travel and explore different places. She believes that in a beauty pageant, it’s not enough to be just beautiful, you have to be able to make friends and communicate, help each other, take an interest, love and respect people with different cultural values. In the national costume round, she stunned everyone in her beautiful red attire and a traditional headgear to go with. Her life’s motto is “Life has the colour that you paint.”

Her court included –

1st runner-up - Oriana Nevora (Argentina)

2nd runner-up - Belvy Naa Teide Ofori (Ghana)

3rd runner-up - Estonia

4th runner-up – Mongolia

Other major awards of the contest were –

Best in National Costume

Winner - Thailand

1st runner-up - Vietnam

2nd runner-up - Cameroon

Miss Popularity - China

Miss Photogenic

Winner - Ivory Coast

1st runner-up - Turkey

Miss Charity - Kenya

Miss Friendship - Japan

Miss Charm - Estonia

Best in Social Media

Winner - Malaysia

1st runner-up - China

2nd runner-up - Singapore

Miss Body Beautiful - Bolivia

Miss Elegance - Mongolia

Best in Talent

Winner - France

1st runner-up - Russia

2nd runner-up - Malaysia

Best in Evening Wear

Winner - Vietnam

1st runner-up - Ghana

2nd runner-up - Panama