Madeira was elected “Europe’s Leading Island Destination” 2013 and 2014 by the World Travel Awards, having competed in this category alongside major tourist destinations such as the Canary Islands, Balearic Islands, Sardinia, Malta and Cyprus.
The World Travel Awards also known as the “Tourism Oscars” are held once a year and are intended to ”recognize, reward and celebrate excellence across all sectors of the tourism industry” on a global scale. Created in 1993, the World Travel Awards recognize the best examples of good practices in the Tourism sector globally.
In 2013, the organization of the World Travel Awards (WTA), in addition to electing the best European hotels, also nominated the best hotels in each country, and the hotels Choupana Hills Resort & Spa, Quinta da Bela Vista, The Vine, Reid’s Palace and Pestana Porto Santo Beach Resort & Spa shared nominations in various categories. In 2014 the following hotels were recongnised: Pestana Porto Santo, Choupana Hills hotel & resort and The Vine Hotel.
In the 2013 edition Madeiran hotel The Vine won the award for the Category World’s Leading Design Hotel, at a gala held in Qatar, in Doha.
Hotels in Turkey, Dubai, Indonesia, Thailand, Scotland, South Africa and Florida also competed in this category.
It is not the first time that hotels in Madeira are distinguished with a WTA award. Between 2005 and 2008 Europe’s Leading Boutique Hotel award was attributed to Quinta da Bela Vista and, in 2004, Choupana Hills Resort & Spa won Portugal’s Leading Spa Resort.
Source: http://www.visitmadeira.pt/en-gb/madeira/acknowledgments/madeira-voted-the-best-island-destination-in-europe