The new Conrad Algarve Hotel located in Quinta do lago will be going head to head for the title of ‘Europe’s Leading Hotel’, ‘Europe’s Leading Resort’ and ‘Europe’s Leading Golf Resort’.

Then there’s the exclusive Vila Joya Hotel located in Albufeira which is a contender in the categories of ‘Europe’s Leading Boutique Hotel’ and ‘Europe’s Leading Boutique Resort’ – the latter is an award that it has been winning every year since 2005.

The Martinhal beach Resort & Hotel in Sagres is competing for the ‘Europe’s Leading Family Resort’ and ‘Europe’s Leading Villa Resort’ awards.

Other nominees from the Algarve include the Club med da Balaia in Albufeira – ‘Europe’s Leading All-Inclusive Resort’ – the Sheraton Pine Cliffs Resort, also in Albufeira – ‘Europe’s Leading Resort’ – and the Dona Filipa Hotel & San Lorenzo Golf Resort in Vale do Lobo – ‘Europe’s Leading Golf Resort’; then there’s the Longevity Wellness Resort in Monchique – ‘Leading Spa and Wellbeing Resort’ – and the Quinta do Lago Hotel – ‘Europe’s Leading Golf Resort’.

The head of the Algarve Toursim Board – Desiderio Silva – commented that these many nominations are further ‘proof of the quality of our region – a region of excellence’.

Portugal was chosen as ‘Europe’s Leading Golf Destination’ in the 2012 World Travel Awards, and this year it is defending that award from very stiff competition coming from England, France, Germany, Scotland and neighboring Spain.

The other heavies that the Algarve is contending with in the ‘Leading Beach Destination’ awards are Cannes – France, Corfu – Greece, the Emerald Coast – Italy, Formentera – Spain, Marbella – Spain and Oludeniz – Turkey.

This year will be the 20^th anniversary of the World Travel Awards, and the awards are given by professionals from the travel and tourism sectors from around the world.

This is the second time running that the Algarve golf region gets the top spot, ahead of Turkey and Murcia, getting forty-three percent of the votes. On the whole the Algarve was also the one to get the most awards – six in total.

This means that the Algarve also got the top awards in categories such as Best Golf Course in Portugal and Best Hotel/Resort in Portugal – the awards went to Oceanico Old Course in Vilamoura and Vale do Lobo respectively.

The award-winning Oceanico Old Course – located in the heart of Vilamoura – is one of the oldest courses in the region and is well-known all around the world. The Oceanico Golf CEO was thrilled with the news of winning the award and commented that it is testament to the hard work of the entire team that works there. It would indeed appear that many golfers continue to grace its perfectly maintained classic layout, despite the very strong competition from newer courses.

The president of the Algarve Tourism Board also commented on the new awards saying that the Algarve golf has around forty golf courses and that more than one million rounds are played on these coruses each year. That’s not a coincidence, the courses having garnered many international awards during the years and these latest ones only add to the reputation of the region.

Today’s Golfer has only been giving out the Travel Awards for two years, however the magazine reaches more than two-hundred thousand British golfers each month in total, and that is the most important tourist market for the Algarve, not necessarily the golfers – although they are important – but the UK market in general.