World Travel Awards 2026: Winners So Far, Grand Final Date and Who Is in the Running

The World Travel Awards 2026 have one ceremony left. Five regional galas, in Zanzibar, Dubai, the Maldives, Jamaica and Kotor, have already named their winners. The Grand Final, where the “World’s Leading” titles are decided, takes place on 12 December 2026 in Tanzania. The latest gala, held on 17 October at the Hyatt Regency Kotor Bay Resort in Montenegro, made Portugal Europe’s Leading Destination, Lisbon Europe’s Leading City Destination and Turkish Airlines Europe’s Leading Airline.

This guide explains what the awards are, lists the 2026 calendar and the Europe winners by theme, and covers the winners in the other nine regions and the ten contenders for World’s Leading Destination. It also lists the Baltic and Nordic winners, shares a few facts we found in the data (Portugal took 30 of Europe’s 157 titles), looks honestly at how the votes work, and links to our latest cheap flights to the winning places.

What are the World Travel Awards?

The World Travel Awards (WTA) is an annual awards programme for the travel, tourism and hospitality industry. According to its own About page it was established in 1993, and its founder and president is Graham E. Cooke. 2026 is the 33rd annual edition. It is sometimes nicknamed the “Oscars of travel”, a label we come back to below.

The official How It Works page explains that awards are given at three levels:

• Country awards, such as “Latvia’s Leading Hotel” or “Portugal’s Leading Tour Operator”.
• Regional awards, such as “Europe’s Leading Airline”. In 2026 there are ten regions: Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Mexico and Central America, Europe, the Indian Ocean, the Middle East, North America, Oceania and South America.
• World awards, the top tier. The shortlist for each world award is made up of the winners of the matching regional award plus a small number of approved WTA commendations.

Each year the regional ceremonies travel around the world as the Grand Tour, and the regional winners then compete at the Grand Final. On the official 2026 winners pages we counted about 3,500 titles across the ten regions. Europe alone has 770: 157 Europe-wide awards and 613 national ones across more than 50 country and territory lists.

How the voting works

Votes are cast online. A standard vote has a weight of one, while votes from verified travel professionals count double. To earn the upgrade a voter must complete the travel-industry section of the registration and submit at least 10 votes. WTA says votes come from qualified executives working in travel and tourism and from consumer travel buyers, and that each vote is audited internally.

The same organisation also runs sister programmes: World Golf Awards, World Ski Awards, World Spa Awards, World Culinary Awards, World MICE Awards, World Travel Tech Awards, World Sustainable Travel & Hospitality Awards and World Creator Awards.

The 2026 World Travel Awards calendar: five galas and a Grand Final

Two details from the official pages are worth knowing. The Europe gala was billed as the 20th anniversary edition of the Europe ceremony, and it was the first World Travel Awards event in Montenegro in the awards’ 33-year history. For the Grand Final, the official site lists only “Tanzania, Saturday 12 December 2026”. No venue had been published when we checked on 20 October, and world voting is open until 30 October.

The Grand Final moves around. The official events archive lists Lisbon in 2018, Muscat in 2019 and 2022, Dubai in 2023, Madeira in 2024 and Bahrain on 6 December 2025, so Portugal has hosted it twice. The 2025 event in Bahrain named 308 winners, according to a Karryon report that WTA republished.

Europe’s 2026 winners: the headline results

The Europe Gala Ceremony took place on Saturday 17 October 2026 at the Hyatt Regency Kotor Bay Resort, on Montenegro’s Bay of Kotor, with a black-tie gala dinner. These are the headline results from the official winners page, grouped by theme. The full list, including national awards, is on the official Europe winners page.

Destinations

Airlines, airports and travel brands

Turkish Airlines took three Europe-wide titles: Leading Airline, Leading Airline Brand and Leading Airline Lounge (its Istanbul lounge). Lufthansa, the 2025 winner of the main title, still takes Economy Class and Airline to Asia this year.

Hotels and resorts

Attractions and experiences

• Leading Tourist Attraction and Responsible Tourism Award: Dark Sky Alqueva, Portugal. The Alentejo reserve says it was the first place in the world certified as a Starlight Tourism Destination, a claim Euronews repeated in May 2026.
• Leading Adventure Tourist Attraction: Passadiços do Paiva, Portugal. The wooden walkway runs for about 8 km one way along the Paiva river in the Arouca UNESCO Global Geopark, from Areinho to Espiunca. Sources give lengths between 8 and 8.7 km, and booking is advised in high season.
• Leading New Tourist Attraction: V&A East Storehouse, England.
• Leading Theme Park and Theme Park Resort: Puy du Fou España, Spain, and Disneyland Paris, France.
• Leading Academic Tourist Attraction: Trinity College Dublin, Ireland.
• Leading Football Stadium Tourism Experience: Real Madrid, Tour Bernabéu.
• Leading Superyacht Marina: Porto Montenegro.
• Drinks tourism: Pilsner Urquell (beer, Czech Republic), ARARAT (brandy, Armenia), Martell (cognac, France), Bombay Sapphire Distillery (gin, England), AS Liviko (vodka, Estonia), The Singleton of Glen Ord (whisky, Scotland) and The Johnnie Walker Experience on Princes Street, Edinburgh.

Portugal’s big night: 30 of Europe’s 157 titles

Count the 157 Europe-wide winners by the place named in each listing and Portugal leads easily, with 30 titles, almost one in five. Greece has 17, Italy 15, Spain 8 and France 7.

The Portuguese winners cover almost every part of a trip:

• Places: Portugal (destination), Lisbon (city and cruise destination), Porto (cultural city destination), the Algarve (beach), Madeira (island), the Azores (regional adventure tourism) and Turismo de Portugal (tourist board).
• Getting there: TAP Air Portugal (to Africa and to South America), Azores Airlines (to North America) and SATA Air Açores (regional airline).
• Staying: Estoril Vintage Hotel (Leading Hotel), Renaissance Porto Lapa (business), 1908 Lisboa Hotel (design), Pestana Palace Lisboa (luxury business), Pine Cliffs Residence, Hyatt Regency Vilamoura Algarve (lifestyle), Pousada Mosteiro Amares (most romantic resort) and more.
• Doing: Dark Sky Alqueva, Passadiços do Paiva and Aquashow Water Park.

Our count assigns each winner to a place from its own listing, so treat 30 as a close approximation. Forty-four winners, mostly airlines, car-rental firms and tour operators, name no place and are left out, and one lifetime-achievement award is excluded. Portugal is also the defending champion: it won Europe’s Leading Destination in 2025 too.

If Portugal is on your list, our guide to the friendliest cities in Europe in 2026 compares Porto and Lisbon in detail, including tourist tax (€4 a night in Lisbon, €3 in Porto) and the train between them.

What changed since 2025

Comparing the 2026 Europe list with the 2025 list on the official site shows a few notable swaps:

• Lisbon and Porto traded places. Porto was Europe’s Leading City Destination in 2025 and Lisbon takes it in 2026. Lisbon was Leading City Break Destination in 2025; Athens takes that title in 2026. Porto is now Leading Cultural City Destination.
• Turkish Airlines replaced Lufthansa as Europe’s Leading Airline.
• The Algarve replaced Costa Navarino (Greece) as Leading Beach Destination.
• Italy replaced France as Leading Cultural Destination.
• Turismo de Portugal replaced the Madeira Promotion Bureau as Leading Tourist Board, although Madeira keeps the Island Destination title.
• Kotor replaced Eastern Macedonia and Thrace (Greece) as Leading Emerging Tourism Destination.
• Estoril Vintage Hotel replaced Çırağan Palace Kempinski Istanbul as Leading Hotel. Çırağan Palace is still a winner, as Leading Luxury Hotel.
• Familiar names stayed: Volotea, Zurich Airport, Forte Village Resort, Disneyland Paris, Norwegian Cruise Line, Madeira and Dark Sky Alqueva all won again.

Winners tend to come back

Of the 148 Europe-wide categories that exist in both years, 93 (63%) went to the same winner again. On the world ballot the pattern is stronger still: in 282 of 297 categories last year’s world champion is among the 2026 nominees. That is partly by design. The How It Works page says the shortlist for each country and regional award includes the previous year’s winner and two runners-up.

Montenegro’s moment: Kotor and the bay

Montenegro was the first-time host, and it took two of the headline “discovery” titles: Kotor was named Europe’s Leading Emerging Tourism Destination and Montenegro Europe’s Leading Nature Destination. The organisers pointed to Kotor’s UNESCO-listed Old Town and to the mountains and Tara River Canyon in Durmitor National Park. The event announcement also said tourism accounts for around a quarter of Montenegro’s GDP and that international arrivals rose almost 8% year on year in the first half of 2026. That is the organisers’ figure, and we have not checked it independently.

Montenegro’s national winners include the Hyatt Regency Kotor Bay Resort (Leading Resort, Beach Resort and Conference Hotel), Merit Starlit Hotel & Residence & Casino (Leading Hotel), Villa Geba Boutique Hotel (Boutique Hotel), Mamula Island by Banyan Tree (Boutique Resort) and Dukley Hotel & Resort (Family Resort). Porto Montenegro won Europe’s Leading Superyacht Marina.

Getting there: Tivat is the closest airport to Kotor, roughly 10 km and a 15-minute drive away, according to Turkish Airlines’ destination guide. Our latest fare is Riga to Tivat non-stop from €122 return with Norwegian, posted on 15 October 2026. More fares are on our Montenegro deals page.

Winners across the rest of the world

The other nine regions held their galas between 28 August and 11 October. This table shows each region’s winner in four headline categories, taken from the official 2026 winners pages.

A few more results from the same lists:

• Africa: Zanzibar won Leading Beach Destination, Serengeti National Park Leading National Park, Cape Town Leading City Destination and the Selous Game Reserve Leading Tourist Attraction.
• Asia: Vietnam was also named Leading Heritage Destination, while the Philippines won Leading Beach Destination, Leading Island Destination and Leading Tourist Board. Bangkok is the Leading City Destination, Sri Lanka won Cultural and Nature Destination and Japan Adventure Tourism Destination.
• Middle East: Riyadh is the Leading City Destination, Saudi Arabia won Cultural and Heritage Destination, Oman Honeymoon Destination and the Burj Khalifa Leading Tourist Attraction.
• Caribbean: Jamaica won Destination, Cruise Destination, Cultural Destination, Tourist Board, Airport (Sangster International) and Tourist Attraction (the Rose Hall Great House Tour). Turks & Caicos won Beach Destination, Dominica Nature Destination and Saint Lucia Adventure Tourism and Honeymoon Destination.
• Mexico and Central America: Cancún won both City Destination and Beach Destination, and Chichén Itzá Leading Tourist Attraction.
• South America: Peru took Destination, Cultural Destination and Nature Destination, with Machu Picchu as Leading Tourist Attraction. Rio de Janeiro won Beach Destination and Quito City Destination.
• North America: New York City is the Leading City Destination, Miami Beach the Leading Beach Destination and Vancouver International the Leading Airport.
• Oceania: Sydney won City Destination, the Cook Islands Island Destination, and Ayers Rock Resort in Australia won both Resort and, through its Wintjiri Wiru experience, Tourist Attraction.
• Indian Ocean: the Maldives won Destination, Tourist Board and Honeymoon Destination, the Seychelles Beach Destination and Cruise Destination, and Madagascar Nature Destination.

Browse our fares to the Maldives, Zanzibar, Jamaica and Dubai.

Grand Final 2026: who is in the running for World’s Leading Destination

At the Grand Final, regional winners meet on the world ballot. World voting is open until 30 October 2026 and the ceremony is on 12 December in Tanzania. For World’s Leading Destination the ten nominees are the ten regional winners:

Tanzania, the host of the Grand Final, is among the ten nominees. The Maldives is the defending champion. Jamaica (Cruise Destination) and Peru (Cultural Destination) also won world titles in 2025.

The world ballot has 297 categories. A few of the races to watch:

• World’s Leading Airline has 19 nominees, including Turkish Airlines (Europe’s winner), Qatar Airways (the 2025 champion), Emirates, Etihad Airways, Singapore Airlines, Korean Air, Kenya Airways, Delta Air Lines, LATAM Airlines and Air New Zealand.
• World’s Leading Beach Destination has 19 nominees. The Algarve is the 2025 champion, and it faces Cancún, Zanzibar, the Seychelles, Maui, the Philippines, Costa Navarino and others.
• World’s Leading City Break Destination has Athens as the 2025 champion, up against Lisbon, Porto, Dubai, New York City, Tokyo and Singapore among its 20 nominees.
• World’s Leading Island Destination: Madeira Islands (the 2025 champion) against Bali, the Cook Islands, Fiji, Hawaii, Mauritius, Saint Lucia, Tahiti and Zanzibar, among others.
• World’s Leading City Destination has 23 nominees. Manila is the 2025 champion, and Lisbon, Porto, London, Dubai, New York City and Sydney are on the list.

The Baltic and Nordic winners

If you fly from Riga, Vilnius or Tallinn, these are the 2026 country-level winners for your neighbourhood. They are national awards, and several hotels are international chains (Kempinski, Radisson Blu, Hilton, InterContinental, Waldorf Astoria), so read them as a guide to quality, not to value for money.

Fun facts from the 2026 winners lists

1. Switzerland has the longest national list in Europe. Its country-level awards have 46 winners, ahead of Greece (36), Spain (33), Portugal (29), Italy (26), England (24) and France (21).
2. Lisbon won twice on the night. It took both City Destination and Cruise Destination, a title that went to Dubrovnik in 2025.
3. Dark Sky Alqueva won two titles (Tourist Attraction and Responsible Tourism Award), after winning the World’s Responsible Tourism Award in 2025.
4. Nordic Visitor won twice: Europe’s Leading Tour Operator and Iceland’s Leading Tour Operator.
5. The awards include trains, ferries and marinas: the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express, DFDS and Porto Montenegro all won Europe-wide titles.
6. Greece has 17 Europe-wide winners, many of them resorts: Ikos Odisia, Sani Resort, Elounda Beach, Domes Miramare, Grand Resort Lagonissi and AMOH Rhodes among them.
7. Madrid appears in two forms: the city is Europe’s Leading Meetings & Conference Destination, and Real Madrid’s Tour Bernabéu is the Leading Football Stadium Tourism Experience.
8. Armenia won three Europe-wide titles: Leading Heritage Destination, Leading Brandy Distillery Tour (ARARAT) and Leading Entertainment Hotel (Seven Visions Resort & Places, The Dvin).

How seriously should you take the World Travel Awards?

The awards deserve a fair hearing. The methodology is published, the voting tiers are explained, votes are audited, and the programme has run for more than three decades. A global shortlist like this is a useful way to discover places and brands you might not have searched for. Here is what to keep in mind as you read it.

• It is a vote, not an inspection. The methodology page describes online voting and an internal audit. It does not describe inspectors or technical scoring, so a title says “popular with voters”, not “tested and ranked”.
• Incumbency is built in. The previous winner and two runners-up are shortlisted automatically, which helps explain why 63% of Europe-wide titles went to the same winner again.
• Organisations can enter themselves. The shortlist includes “vetted and approved entries”, and WTA ran an open call for 2026 entries.
• It is a commercial business. Each gala page lists tickets and “non-attendee winner packages”. Critics argue that results reflect marketing reach and paid participation. A December 2025 Times of Madeira opinion piece calls the awards a “commercial ecosystem” and repeats claims about nomination fees that it says cannot be independently verified. We have not verified any payment claims, and WTA says its votes come from industry professionals and consumers.
• Hosts do well. At all five 2026 regional galas the venue won at least one title: Hyatt Regency Kotor Bay Resort (Montenegro’s Leading Resort), Princess Grand Jamaica (Caribbean’s Leading Resort), One&Only One Za’abeel (Middle East’s Leading Luxury City Hotel), Diamonds Bijoux (Africa’s Leading New Resort) and, in the Maldives, The Marina @ CROSSROADS Maldives (Indian Ocean’s Leading Superyacht Marina). In four of the five regions the host destination also took Leading Destination (Tanzania, Dubai, the Maldives and Jamaica). That may simply mean that big, well-marketed places host and win, but it is a pattern worth knowing about.

Our view: use the winners as a shortlist and a conversation starter, then check recent traveller reviews, prices and dates before you book.

How to use the winners to plan a trip

1. Start from your airport. The cheapest winner for you is the one with a good fare from where you live. The table below lists our latest finds.
2. Check the extras before you commit. Lisbon charges a tourist tax of €4 per person per night and Porto €3, both for up to seven nights.
3. Look for the value end of the lists. Not every winner is expensive. Volotea (Europe’s Leading Low-Cost Airline), DFDS (ferries) and Europcar (car rental) are practical winners, and our latest fares to Madeira and Montenegro start at €92 one way from Vilnius and €122 return from Riga.
4. Treat hotel winners as a quality signal, not a price tip. Many national Leading Hotel winners belong to international chains (see the Baltic and Nordic table above). Compare them with traveller reviews on the booking site you use.
5. Book flights when the fare appears. Prices change daily, and the best fares can disappear quickly.

Cheap flights to this year’s winners: our latest finds

These are fares we published for places and regions that won World Travel Awards in 2026 or are on the Grand Final ballot. They are “from” prices at the time of posting, so check the dates on each page.

Fares go out of date quickly, and the last row is from March, so it may have expired. It shows which airlines serve the route.

Related reading: the friendliest cities in Europe in 2026 (Porto first, Lisbon second), what Lufthansa’s winning bid for a stake in TAP Air Portugal means for fares, the sleep tourism guide and the new EU air passenger rights that apply from 23 October 2027. Browse deals by destination: Portugal, Lisbon, Athens, Turkish Airlines and Madeira.

FAQ: World Travel Awards 2026

When is the World Travel Awards 2026 Grand Final?

On Saturday 12 December 2026 in Tanzania, according to the official World Travel Awards events page. No venue had been published when we checked on 20 October 2026. Voting for the world categories is open until 30 October 2026.

Who won Europe’s Leading Destination at the World Travel Awards 2026?

Portugal. It also won the title in 2025. Lisbon was named Europe’s Leading City Destination and Cruise Destination, Athens Leading City Break Destination, the Algarve Leading Beach Destination and Madeira Leading Island Destination.

Where was the World Travel Awards Europe Gala 2026 held?

At the Hyatt Regency Kotor Bay Resort in Kotor, Montenegro, on 17 October 2026. It was the 20th anniversary edition of the Europe gala and the first World Travel Awards event in Montenegro in the awards’ 33-year history.

Who won Europe’s Leading Airline in 2026?

Turkish Airlines, which also won Europe’s Leading Airline Brand and Leading Airline Lounge. Lufthansa won the Leading Airline title in 2025. Volotea was named Europe’s Leading Low-Cost Airline and Zurich Airport Europe’s Leading Airport.

Who won World’s Leading Destination in 2025?

The Maldives, at the Grand Final held in Bahrain on 6 December 2025. The Maldives is again a contender in 2026 as the Indian Ocean winner.

Which countries are nominated for World’s Leading Destination 2026?

Costa Rica, Dubai, Jamaica, the Maldives, New Zealand, Peru, Portugal, Tanzania, the USA and Vietnam. They are the ten regional winners, one from each of the ten regions.

Where were the 2026 regional ceremonies held?

Zanzibar, Tanzania (28 August, Africa), Dubai (13 September, Middle East), the Maldives (27 September, Asia, Oceania and Indian Ocean), Jamaica (11 October, Caribbean and The Americas) and Kotor, Montenegro (17 October, Europe).

How do the World Travel Awards work?

Awards are given at country, regional and world level. Shortlists combine the previous year’s winner and two runners-up, approved entries and approved commendations. Votes are cast online, with a standard vote weighted at one and votes from verified travel professionals weighted at two. World nominees are the winners of the matching regional awards plus approved commendations.

Who runs the World Travel Awards?

The World Travel Awards was established in 1993 and its founder and president is Graham E. Cooke. The 2026 edition is the 33rd. The same organisation runs World Golf Awards, World Ski Awards, World Spa Awards, World Culinary Awards and other programmes.

Are the World Travel Awards credible?

They are a widely reported, long-running programme with a published voting method, but they are an online vote run by a commercial company, not an inspection scheme. Last year’s winners are shortlisted automatically, and critics say results reflect marketing reach and paid participation, a claim we could not verify. Use the winners as a shortlist, then check recent reviews and prices.

What did Montenegro win at the World Travel Awards 2026?

Kotor won Europe’s Leading Emerging Tourism Destination and Montenegro won Europe’s Leading Nature Destination. Porto Montenegro won Europe’s Leading Superyacht Marina, and the Hyatt Regency Kotor Bay Resort was named Montenegro’s Leading Resort.

Where can I see the full list of 2026 winners?

On the official World Travel Awards website, which has a winners page for each of the ten regions. We counted about 3,500 titles across them.

What is the cheapest way to fly to this year’s winners from the Baltics?

Our latest published fares include Riga to Tivat (for Kotor) from €122 with Norwegian, Riga to Porto from €122 with Norwegian, Riga to Lisbon from €185 with SAS / CityJet and Vilnius to Madeira from €92 one way with GetJet. Prices change daily, so open the deal pages above to see the dates.

Sources

• World Travel Awards: 2026 Grand Tour events and the Europe Gala Ceremony 2026 page
• World Travel Awards: 2026 winners (all ten regions) and Europe winners 2025
• World Travel Awards: World nominees 2026 and World winners 2025
• World Travel Awards: How it works and About us
• Breaking Travel News: Europe’s winners celebrated at first World Travel Awards Ceremony in Montenegro (19 October 2026), as republished by World Travel Awards
• Travel Daily News: World Travel Awards Europe Gala 2026 names European winners (19 October 2026), as republished by World Travel Awards
• Euronews: Lisbon named Europe’s best city and cruise destination for 2026 (19 October 2026), as republished by World Travel Awards
• Karryon: All 308 of the World Travel Awards 2025 Grand Final winners (12 December 2025) and Travel Daily News: Grand Final 2025 in Bahrain (8 December 2025), as republished by World Travel Awards
• Times of Madeira: World Travel Awards: A Commercial Ecosystem Disguised as Prestige (8 December 2025, opinion)
• Euronews: Europe’s best stargazing destination is in Portugal (28 May 2026)
• Chiruca: Passadiços do Paiva trail guide (13 May 2026)
• Turkish Airlines: flights to Kotor (Tivat) destination guide
• Postal: Lisbon’s tourist tax at €4 (June 2025) and Rádio Renascença: Porto’s tourist tax at €3 (1 December 2024)

Winners, dates, nominees and the counts above were checked on the official World Travel Awards site on 20 October 2026. Our counts (for example Portugal’s 30 titles) are our own tallies of the published lists, and the winners and the Grand Final programme can change. We are not affiliated with World Travel Awards. Fares are “from” prices at the time of posting. Photos: featured image of Kotor and its bay by Jaakko Luttinen / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0; other photo credits are under each image.