Athens won three major distinctions from this year’s World Travel Awards, an annual international event hailed as the “Oscars of tourism”. The ceremony, named Athens – Europe's Leading City Break Destination for 2018. The Acropolis, meanwhile, was named Europe’s Leading Tourist Attraction, taking the gold from sites such as Buckingham Palace, the Eiffel Tower and the Colosseum. The World Travel Awards were founded in 1993 in the UK and are designed to reward excellence in all sectors of tourism.
Last but not least, Athens’s municipal tourism services center also reaped the award for Europe`s Best Tourism Board for its efforts to promote the Greek capital as a city break destination. That award was received by Athens Mayor Giorgos Kaminis, who spoke of an “explosion” in the city’s popularity and noted a rise in visitor numbers of 648 percent between 2013 and 2018, with a record 5 million visitors recorded last year.
