Parques de Sintra wins "Best Cultural Destination" in the world

Nominated for the first time in the World Luxury Travel Awards, Parques de Sintra won the international award for "Best Cultural Destination". This distinction, which helps consolidate Sintra as a leading cultural destination internationally, recognises the high quality of the work the company carries out to preserve and enhance Sintra's Cultural Landscape, classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1995.

In the last decade, the parks and monuments managed by Parques de Sintra – the National Palace and Park of Pena, the National Palaces of Sintra and Queluz, the Chalet of the Countess of Edla, the Moorish Castle, the Park and Palace of Monserrate, the Convent of the Capuchos and the Portuguese School of Equestrian Art – have received around 25 million visits, with the company having invested more than 40 million euros in the built and natural heritage under its care. With no recourse to the state budget, Parques de Sintra is committed to a pioneering management model based on leveraging the heritage to generate income which is then reinvested in its recovery and maintenance. Continuing in the same vein, the company plans to invest around 30 million euros in the future to enhance the parks and monuments under its management.

The nominees for the 133 categories of the World Luxury Travel Awards, grouped into the 5 themes of "Air", "Water", "Land", "Destination" and "Lifestyle", are defined by an independent jury, whose choices are based on visitor feedback on their experience. The evaluation takes into account factors such as service excellence, attention to detail and efficiency, among many others.

Winners are subsequently determined through a voting system in which the votes of visitors and tourism industry professionals carry equal weight.

Created in 2019, the World Luxury Travel Awards reward and celebrate companies that stand out for their excellence in the luxury travel segment and the tourism industry, giving them the international recognition they deserve. This year's edition had more than 200 participants from all over the world.