In total, Portugal received 36 awards at the annual World Travel Awards Europe Gala Ceremony which took place on Saturday in Athens, Greece. Known as the Oscars of Tourism, these awards are often seen as a tool to predict future increases in tourists, with the 2018 awards once again highlighting Portugal as one of the best travel destinations in the world and the best in Europe.
TAP Air Portugal, which is also investing heavily in fleet and service upgrades, was named “Europe’s Leading Airline to Africa”.
Hotels in the Algarve meanwhile received eight awards at the 2018 World Travel Awards European Gala. The Ria Park Hotel & Spa was the most outstanding unit, with two European prizes collected. Other winners included Vila Joya, Conrad Algarve, Quinta do Lago Hotel, Vila Vita Parc, Monte Santo Resort and the Dunas Douradas Beach Club.
Loulé was overall, the Portuguese municipality with most awarded hotels.
Other major awards won by Portugal include Europe’s Leading Tourism Development Project 2018: Passadiços do Paiva; Europe’s Leading Adventure Tourist Attraction 2018: Passadiços do Paiva; Europe’s Leading City Destination 2018: Lisbon, Portugal; Europe’s Leading Cruise Port 2018: Lisbon Cruise Port, Portugal; Europe’s Leading Airline to Africa 2018: TAP Air Portugal and Europe’s Leading Airline to South America 2018: TAP Air Portugal.
The ceremony evening marked the second leg of the WTA Grand Tour 2018 – a series of regional events to acknowledge the world’s outstanding travel brands.
The tour began in April with WTA’s Middle East Gala Ceremony in Ras al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates.
WTA is also staging ceremonies in Hong Kong, Montego Bay (Jamaica), Guayaquil (Ecuador), Durban (South Africa) and Lisbon (Portugal).