December 28, 2021 - In the 28th edition of the renowned World Travel Awards, the distinction of the best European cruise destination went to Dubrovnik, surpassing other cities such as Amsterdam, Oslo, Lisbon, and Athens.

The award for the leading European cruise destination went to Dubrovnik as part of the 28th edition of the World Travel Awards, reports HrTurizam. It is an organization that awards the best in the travel, tourism, and hospitality industry every year, and the awards are given at the global, regional, and national levels.

The winners are chosen by experts from each field, but also by users who also participate in the selection. The World Travel Awards, also known as the Oscar of the World Tourism Industry, is an esteemed award in the tourism sector and is globally recognized as a top feature of excellence in the industry.

Dubrovnik has been declared the leading destination for cruises in Europe, where there is no lack of competition. Also nominated were Amsterdam, Athens, Lisbon, Venice, Copenhagen, Oslo, Cannes, St. Petersburg, the Scottish cities of Edinburgh and Forth, and as many as three Turkish destinations: Bodrum, Izmir, and Kusadasi.

Dubrovnik has also entered the selection for the world's best cruise destination. A total of 14 destinations from all continents were nominated, and Jamaica was re-elected as the best. In addition to this, Dubrovnik was nominated for the award of the leading European city destination at sea, which also included Barcelona, ​​Lisbon, Porto, Istanbul, and Venice.

The cruise industry around the world, including Croatia, has experienced a slight recovery this year. In the first nine months of this year, according to the Central Bureau of Statistics, 24 foreign cruise ships sailed into Croatian ports with 134 cruises. Of that number, most cruises were realized in Dubrovnik, a total of 111.

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The hotels of the largest Croatian tourism company, Valamar Riviera, are the winners of the most prestigious global tourism awards this year. Namely, four Valamar hotels in three destinations have won the most prestigious tourism award in the world - the World Travel Awards. A ceremony and gala dinner was held in Madeira, Portugal where representatives of Valamar were proud to receive their newest recognition, reports Poslovni.hr on June 10, 2019. 

For seven years in a row, the status as one of the best was confirmed by Poreč Hotel Valamar Riviera 4*, which won the best Croatian boutique hotel, while Valamar Collection Girandella Resort 4*/5* in Rabac received recognition as the leading Croatian resort for the third year in a row.

In Dubrovnik this year are two significant recognitions: Hotel Valamar Lacroma Dubrovnik 4* was proclaimed the leading Croatian business hotel for the sixth consecutive time, while the title of the leading hotel in Croatia went to the Valamar Collection Dubrovnik President 5* hotel.

"When you win this prestigious award for the seventh time in a row, it really confirms that you are doing a good job and are going in the right direction. We in Valamar continuously work on raising the quality and standards of our services, because we want our guests to feel comfortable and to provide them with diverse content in all our destinations. But without employees, who are the firm foundation of our company, we would not be where we are, and we would not win such awards,” said Valamar Riviera hotel director Marko Miš.

"We are exceptionally honored that professionals from all over the world, for the third year in a row, recognized our many years of investment in the quality of services we provide to our guests in the destination. This award is another added incentive for future successes, and the whole Valamar team is credited to it,” said Carmen Višković, director of the Valamar Collection Girandella Resort.

Vlaho Sabljić, director of the hotel Valamar Lacroma Dubrovnik, said: “For the sixth consecutive year, this award has confirmed our status as the leader and the leading hotel in the region when it comes to congress tourism. Our congress capacities are one of the largest in the region, we have a high level of service, and we strive to set high standards to maintain various events, whether for smaller meetings or larger congresses and gatherings. And here, the effort paid off again, and it is a great honor to be recognized by professionals.”

"Dubrovnik is recognized worldwide as a hit destination for holidays, and the quality of service in hotels certainly contributes to this. This prestigious award is one of the great acknowledgments of our teamwork and continuous investment, but it is certainly a great responsibility to maintain excellence. We will continue to work hard on this, and we look forward to future successes, which we believe will be even more,” concluded Ivan Sabljić, director of the hotel Valamar Collection Dubrovnik President.

The World Travel Awards, recognized by the world-renowned Wall Street Journal magazine as the ‘Oscar’ of the travel industry, has been awarded since 1993 and for the 26th consecutive year, honoring and rewarding worldwide achievements in the tourism sector, with a wide range of categories.

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Valamar Riviera Hotel, Valamar Club Tamaris, and Valamar Lacroma Dubrovnik hotels brought home awards in various categories from the World Travel Awards. The awards ceremony took place in Sardinia on September 5, and further confirms Valamar as a leader in Croatian hotels.