Turismo de Portugal won the destination category at the Routes Europe 2024 awards.. The finalists in the category were:
- Cyprus Deputy Ministry of Tourism: Cyprus aims to welcome nearly 4m tourists in 2024, focusing on lengthening the tourism season and balancing source flow by offering schemes to tour operators and incentives for rural and mountainous area development. The Ministry experienced success in 2023 through cooperation with partners, resulting in a record number of collaborations and achievements towards common goals.
- Jordan Tourism Board: Jordan saw a surge in tourism revenue in 2023, reaching $7.4bn, with a significant rise in tourist arrivals to landmarks like Petra, the Dead Sea, and the Wadi Rum desert. The tourism sector contributes about 15.6pc to Jordan’s GDP, fueled by a growing interest in the country’s cultural, historical, and natural attractions.
- Malta Tourism Authority: In 2023, Malta recorded a record number of inbound tourists exceeding 3m, with Italy becoming the top tourism market for the first time. Other top markets for Malta include England, France, Germany, Poland, and Spain, and there was also a record-breaking number of overnight stays exceeding 20m.
- Turismo de Portugal: Portugal has experienced significant success in route development and sustained connectivity growth through incentives, marketing campaigns, and identifying market gaps. Recovering rapidly post-COVID, Portugal saw a 14pc increase in traffic in 2023, contributing 9.5pc to the country’s GDP and supporting 6.6pc of its direct total employment.
- Visit Valencia organizes over 400 promotional activities annually to boost traveler demand and has facilitated rapid traffic recovery at Valencia Airport, with international traffic growing by 27pc in 2023. Collaboration with key stakeholders resulted in securing 30 new routes with over 10 different carriers, positioning the airport for over 15pc growth and potentially surpassing 11m passengers.
