THE World Travel Awards are among the travel industry's most prestigious awards, and the winners of the European categories were crowned at the thirty-first edition of the ceremony in Berlin.
Leaders in the tourism, airline, hospitality and hotel industries are all included in the program, but it's the destinations themselves that excite us most.
And to win the award for Europe's Next Emerging Destination, a title won by Batumi in Georgia for the past five years, it was Bragaa town not far from the coast nestled in the northwest Portugal.
Braga is characterized by its young student population and vibrant nightlife, but also by its historic buildings and sites – after all, it is one of the oldest cities in Portugal. The city has even been nicknamed the “Portuguese Rome” and is full of dazzling religious monuments to explore, such as the century-old Sameiro Sanctuary.
Braga beat teams like Ljubljana in Slovenia and Matera in Italy and Tartu in Estonia in the emerging destination category, but Portugal had a pretty big night overall. Madeira has been designated as the main island destination, and the Azores won the first adventure tourism destination.
The top destination crown went to Greece. To learn more about the rewards, you can take a look at the full list of winners on the site here.
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