Portuguese
river cruise operator DouroAzul has won a prestigious World Travel Market
Global Award in recognition of its expansion in the Douro Valley region and the
city of Porto, over the past 12 months.
World
Travel Market, Head of Marketing & Communications, Micaela Juarez presented
the award to DouroAzui Owner Mário Ferreira alongside Publituris Editorial
Director Carina Monteiro yesterday, 4 November, at WTM Global Awards.
The Awards
give WTM’s Official Media Partners – which represent key travel industry media
around the world – an excellent platform to congratulate and recognise those
companies and individuals that have made the greatest contributions to travel
and tourism in their region for that year.Three
nominations from each media partner were judged in September by a panel of
three, including an independent body, a representative of WTM and the relevant
media partner.
The award
for Portugal was judged by Micaela Juarez, Head of Communications, WTM; Tom
Jenkins, Chief Executive, European Tour Operators’ Association; and Publituris
Editorial Director Carina Monteiro -
Portugal, the Official Media Partner.
DouroAzul
offers a wide range of services, including luxury river cruises, sightseeing
tours to cities such as Porto and Lisbon and helicopter trips. Founded in 1993
with one ship, DouroAzul has become the leading river cruise operator in
Portugal and one of the top 10 river cruise operators worldwide.
In 2012,
DouroAzul’s hotel-ships carried 14,000 tourists from 39 countries, helping the
Douro become one of the top river cruise destinations in the world.
The company
also invests in promoting the Douro region and at the christening gala of its
two new ships in May, it featured stars Sharon Stone and Andie MacDowell as the
ships’ godmothers, and singer Michael Bolton.
“We are always looking for different,
innovative products and DouroAzul has successfully integrated river cruising
with an escorted tour programme. This is an achievement to be celebrated,” said
Juarez.
Source: World Travel Market
