World Travel Awards 2022: the winners in Latin America

The winners of the 29th World Travel Awards (credit: WTA)

On 11 November, the 29th World Travel Awards ceremony was held in Muscat, the capital of Oman, to celebrate excellence in all key sectors of the travel and tourism industry.

Peru confirms its status

Peru was awarded three major prizes at this year’s World Travel Awards (WTA) 2022: World’s Leading Culinary Destination 2022, World’s Leading Cultural Destination 2022 and World’s Leading Tourist Attraction 2022 for Machu Picchu.

The Machu Picchu site, elected “World’s Top Tourist Attraction 2022” (D.R.)

“This is the fourth time that Peru has been recognised as a top cultural destination in the world and the fifth time that our global wonder, Machu Picchu, has been awarded in the tourist attraction category. It is also the tenth time that Peru has won the ‘top culinary destination’ award in the WTA World Edition, which brings us closer to our goal of positioning Peruvian gastronomy as the best in the world,” Promperu said in a press release.

Peru receives these awards just two months after winning the regional edition, but also after having been included in the list of the best destinations to visit in 2023 by the prestigious publication National Geographic, which named the archaeological site of Choquequirao as “one of the five must-see adventure destinations for next year”.

“These awards are an important recognition of the work of all Peruvians,” said Promperu’s executive president, Amora Carbajal.

Chile, the reference for sustainable tourism

Chile received the award for World’s Leading Green Destination 2022, beating Peru, Ecuador, Madagascar and Norway in this edition.

Torres del Paine National Park (Credit: SERNATUR)

This is the third time in history that Chile has received the award for the best ecological destination on the planet. The award, which has already been given to the country in 2019 and 2020, recognises the existence and promotion of natural destinations, as well as the planning and development of sustainable and environmentally friendly tourism experiences.

“Chile stands out not only for its natural attributes, but also for the experience offered by a sustainable offer consolidated as inclusive, innovative and sustainable,” said the National Tourism Service (Sernatur).

A total of 27 awards have been given to the country by the World Travel Awards since 2015.

There is no doubt that the country is full of attractions, including the fantastic Atacama Desert in northern Chile. It is home to the driest non-polar desert on the planet, the third largest salar on the planet and even the world’s most important astronomical project, ALMA (Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array).

Among the country’s other fascinating destinations, Torres del Paine, in Chilean Patagonia, has several titles that make it one of the must-see destinations for nature lovers. National Geographic chose it as one of the five most beautiful places in the world and the national park was selected as the eighth wonder of the world in 2013.

Two hotels were also awarded, our partner Explora Patagonia National Park as the World’s Leading Sustainable Lodge 2022 and VIK Chile in the O’higgins region as the World’s Leading Wine Region Hotel 2022.

Costa Rica and Ecuador awarded

D.R.

Costa Rica has been awarded the title of World’s Leading Adventure Tourism Destination 2022. With 28 national parks and no less than 116 volcanoes, the country has more biodiversity per square metre than the entire Amazon, making it a paradise for thrill-seekers! In addition, the Gaia Hotel & Reserve is awarded in this edition as the World’s Leading Green Hotel 2022.

In Ecuador, Guayaquil is awarded the title of World’s Leading City Tourist Board 2022 for its promotional work, and the Pikaia Lodge is distinguished with the award for World’s Leading Adventure Hotel 2022.

The full results are available at the following link: World Travel Awards 2022.