The award was given in this year's edition of the World Travel Awards, widely considered to be the most prestigious awards in the tourism and travel industry.

The Algarve managed to win the award despite stiff competition in the category, including Cannes (France), Corfu (Greece), Majorca (Spain), Marbella (Spain), Sardinia (Italy) and also Porto Santo.

“This award consolidates the perception of the differentiated quality of our destination's offer compared to its main competitors”, said João Fernandes, President of Turismo do Algarve. “To the region's natural beauty, the Algarve has known how to associate a set of experiences that transform the days of those who travel to this destination into surprising and emotional stays, and it is these value propositions that are being recognised and generating a growing interest among visitors and tourists,” he added.

These new accolades follow on from last week’s crowning of Portugal as Best Country in the World by Conde Nast Traveller.

As Portuguese national and Sales Director of Kronos Homes, Alda Filipe, commented on the awards: “Portugal is a wonderful country, so full of charm and with so much to discover. It is lovely to see that my home nation is recognised with these awards. It feels very well deserved.”


Another win for Madeira

Meanwhile, Madeira has taken the award for Europe's Best Island Destination for the eighth time.

The regional secretary for Tourism and Culture of Madeira, Eduardo Jesus, said that this is "a remarkable achievement".

He went on to highlight the number of times Madeira has won this award, which contributes "to give more consistency to the recognition that the region has achieved worldwide in recent years", including the "confidence generated with the security presented by the destination in the pandemic control".

In Eduardo Jesus' opinion, the attribution of this award "should fill all those who work in Tourism in the region with pride, as well as the residents, who see their land being continuously valued internationally and the thousands of visitors who value their holiday destination even more".

The results follow a year-long search for the world’s top travel, tourism and hospitality brands. Votes were cast by travel industry professionals and the public, with the nominee gaining the most votes in a category named as the winner.

Graham Cooke, Founder, World Travel Awards, says: “Our winners represent the very best of the Europe’s travel and tourism sector and my congratulations to each of them. They are all playing starring roles in leading the travel and tourism recovery.”

Despite the challenges that the tourism industry faced in 2020, this year's edition of the World Travel Awards was highly attended in terms of voting, revealing that the desire to travel and interest in quality destinations continues to manifest itself strongly.

The World Travel Awards were created in 1993 and are awarded annually to recognise, reward and celebrate excellence in all key sectors of the travel, tourism and hospitality industries.