Formal presentation of the European Best Destination Award was held in Porto
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The city of Porto wins for the third time this competition for Best Destination in Europe with a record number of votes - about 138 thousand votes - and holds first position ahead of 19 destinations.
"Nearly half a million people voted, one in every 3 voted for Porto. People from the UK, the USA, Germany, Sweden, and Denmark, from more than 174 countries that voted for Porto as their favourite destination in Europe", stated Maximilien LeJeune, European Best Destination CEO.
Maximilien LeJeune, presented the award to Miguel Pereira Leite, President of the Municipal Assembly of Porto who attended the ceremony on behalf of the Mayor, Rui Moreira and mentioned that other cities want to know the secret behind the success of Porto conquering this prize for the third time.
Lejeune also shared that when he was visiting the city of Milan, the month before, the Mayor of that Italian city asked him what the secret of Porto is, on the account of Milan wanting to conquer the distinguished title of best European destination and not being able to.
It is recalled that Milan (Italy) took second place at the competition and Gdansk (Poland) was placed third.
European Best Destination CEO replied that in order to know the secret of Porto, one would have to go there and "discover the sea, the river and the people. Discover the amazing Universities, Casa da Música, the restaurants, the gastronomy, and the architecture", and concluded by saying that "If you have the chance also to meet the Mayor you will understand that Porto has its own European Barack Obama here. This is one of the most beautiful destinations in the world".
Miguel Pereira Leite reaffirmed that Porto won the prestigious title of Best European Destination, for the third time and that the voting was resoundingly in favour of the city of Porto, receiving 138 thousand votes, with three times more votes than the Croatian city of Zadar, winner for 2016.
The President of the Municipal Assembly of Porto said that Porto is today an entrepreneurial cosmopolitan destination, continually genuine and authentic.