Portugal won the award for Best Tourist Destination in the World at the World Travel Awards, becoming the first European country to win this distinction, beating competitors such as Brazil, Greece, Maldives,
USA, Morocco, Vietnam or Spain.
The Secretary of State for Tourism said in a statement that, in Europe, "only London and Paris" have won this award, while Dubai is the destination that has won the World Travel Awards (WTA) the most times (six), internationally considered to be the "Oscars of Tourism".
Lisbon: `World's Best City Break Destination`
In the final of the WTA 2017 - which took place today in Phu Quoc, Vietnam - the city of Lisbon also came out on top by winning, for the first time, the prize for `World's Best City Break Destination`, awarded "for its attractiveness and offer of excellence with regard to short-term stays".
Parques de Sintra: `World's Best Conservation Company`
Parques de Sintra - a publicly-owned company that receives no funding from the state budget - won for the fifth year running in the `World's Best Conservation Company` category, where it was once again the only European nominee and was distinguished for its work in recovering and restoring the parks and monuments under its management.
Portugal has joined the list of 17 candidates for `Best Tourist Destination in the World' in the final of the World Travel Awards 2017 after winning the prize for `Best European Destination' in September, having competed for first place in today's final with countries such as Brazil, Greece, Maldives, USA, Morocco, Vietnam or Spain, among others.
Considering this to be a "unique moment for tourism in Portugal", the Secretary of State for Tourism, Ana Mendes Godinho, said that it was "recognition of the work that has been done over the years by everyone who is in any way connected to tourism".
"But it's also recognition for the country we have. An authentic, innovative country that has been able to reinvent itself, which brings together a wide variety of experiences and landscapes, a country that combines cosmopolitanism, history, tradition, sun, nature and gastronomy. A country that knows how to welcome everyone," said Ana Mendes Godinho.
Describing Portugal as "a tourist destination of excellence", she said it was now necessary to "continue this work of showing all the diversity that Portugal has to offer".
Turismo de Portugal: `Best Official Tourism Organization in the World`
In addition to the award for `Best Tourist Destination in the World`, Portugal also won the distinctions for `Best Official Tourism Organization in the World`, awarded to Turismo de Portugal, and `Best Official Tourism Website`, awarded to the country's official information portal, `visitportugal.com`.
Stressing that this is the first time "in ten years of history" that Turismo de Portugal has been recognized "with awards of a global scope", the president of this body, Luís Araújo, believes that seeing "the tourism strategy distinguished" gives "added motivation in pursuing the objectives until 2027, to affirm Portugal as a tourist destination of excellence".
Created in 1993, the World Travel Awards recognize the work carried out in the tourism industry at a global level, in order to stimulate the competitiveness and quality of tourism, and the selection of nominees is made annually on a global scale by the general public and more than 200,000 tourism professionals from 160 countries.
The nominees for the award's grand final are the winners of the regional galas, joined by others nominated by the WTA itself.
Lusa/DI