On Saturday, September 30, the World Travel Awards ceremony took place at the Ethnographic Museum in St. Petersburg. St. Petersburg won the "Most Attractive City for Tourism in Europe 2017" category.
100 cities from around the world competed with each other. Participants included leading tourist destinations and popular destinations such as Barcelona, Rome, Paris, London and Amsterdam.
Incidentally, this isn't the first time Russia's northern capital has won a World Travel Award. Two years ago, St. Petersburg was named Europe's Best Tourist Destination. A year later, it won the "Leading Cultural and Tourism Destination" category. For this reason, the awards ceremony was held in Russia—the first time in the competition's history.
"I think it's truly remarkable how people here in St. Petersburg embrace the preservation of history and culture," said Graham Cook, head of the competition's organizing committee. He also noted that one of the northern capital's advantages is the cleanliness and well-maintained streets.
The World Travel Awards were founded in 1993. Tourism experts often refer to them as the "Oscars" of travel. Airlines, hotels, travel companies, and others are evaluated in various categories.
Source: news.turizm.ru