The second edition of the TOURISE Awards is officially underway, with destinations around the world invited to compete across six categories celebrating excellence in culture, adventure, gastronomy, shopping, entertainment and wellness.
As global destinations compete for travellers increasingly seeking meaningful, high-quality and memorable experiences, the TOURISE Awards 2027 have opened nominations to identify the places setting new standards for the future of tourism.
Now entering their second cycle, the TOURISE Awards recognise destinations delivering purposeful and unforgettable visitor experiences while demonstrating innovation, sustainability, cultural preservation and positive visitor impact. The programme ultimately culminates in the flagship Best Overall Destination award, recognising an outstanding destination capable of delivering excellence across multiple aspects of the visitor journey.
Nominations opened on 1 September and will remain open until 19 November 2026, giving travellers, tourism professionals, destination organisations and other industry stakeholders the opportunity to put forward destinations they believe are helping shape the next era of international travel. Everyone can nominate, including individual travellers, industry professionals, destinations and organisations.
The six TOURISE Awards 2027 categories are:
* Best Arts & Culture Destination
* Best Adventure Destination
* Best Food & Culinary Destination
* Best Shopping Destination
* Best Entertainment Destination
* Best Wellness Destination – new for 2027
The addition of wellness reflects one of the most significant developments within contemporary tourism, recognising destinations that have successfully developed restorative travel experiences encompassing areas such as spa retreats, healing practices and holistic wellness. Elsewhere, the awards examine everything from world-class cultural institutions and distinctive culinary cultures to outdoor adventures, retail districts, marketplaces, nightlife, sporting events and entertainment attractions.
Together, the categories demonstrate just how broad the modern destination experience has become. Travellers are no longer necessarily choosing a city, region or resort area simply because of its traditional attractions. Food, wellbeing, culture, retail, entertainment and access to nature can increasingly become destination-defining reasons to travel in their own right.
For tourism authorities, this evolution also provides opportunities to build stronger international identities around particular strengths, potentially encouraging longer stays, attracting new visitor segments, stimulating investment and spreading tourism expenditure across a wider range of local businesses and communities.
Setting a new benchmark for destination excellence
The scale of the inaugural programme provides an indication of TOURISE’s ambitions. The 2025 awards attracted more than 1,000 eligible nominations from every region of the world, with winning destinations representing four continents.
His Excellency Ahmed Al-Khateeb, Minister of Tourism for Saudi Arabia and Chairman of TOURISE, describes the awards as part of a broader effort to identify destinations changing the way tourism is developed.
He said the awards recognise destinations of different sizes and stages of development, including established and emerging tourism markets, while placing particular emphasis on experiences providing “authentic, meaningful, and lasting value” for travellers and local communities.
The 2027 programme is also designed to go beyond popularity alone.
Eligible destinations must have a defined geographical scope, such as a city, region or site; demonstrate a strong and distinctive identity; provide a compelling visitor experience; and be supported by a governing or tourism authority.
Destinations will then be examined across 14 assessment criteria, including authenticity, accessibility, safety, sustainability and visitor experience. Judges will consider both what makes an entrant particularly strong within its nominated category and the universal standards expected of an outstanding tourism destination.
Independent global jury
A significant element of the TOURISE Awards is its independent judging structure.
The international jury brings together senior figures from tourism, hospitality, gastronomy, fashion, arts, culture, wellbeing and adventure. Members include Albert Read, former Managing Director of Condé Nast; Filip Boyen, former CEO of Forbes Travel Guide; Bernold Schroeder, former CEO of Kempinski Hotels; and Fiona Jeffery OBE, former Chair of World Travel Market and Tourism for Tomorrow.
They are joined by Michael Ellis, former Global Director of Michelin Guides; mountaineer, polar explorer and UN Goodwill Ambassador Omar Samra; former Givenchy CEO Renaud de Lesquen; Tate Modern founding director Lars Nittve; former British Fashion Council CEO Caroline Rush; and former Accor Hotels Vice President of Global Well Being Andrew Gibson.
Albert Read, Jury Panel Chair, said the rigour of the awards process and calibre of its judges had established a strong benchmark for recognising leadership within global travel. Looking towards the second cycle, he highlighted an opportunity not only to identify outstanding destinations but eventually to track their development and long-term tourism impact.
Following the public nomination period, shortlisted destinations will be assessed by the jury before one winner and two distinguished finalists are selected within each category. Destinations can also be nominated in multiple categories, meaning an exceptional tourism destination could appear on more than one shortlist.
Road to Riyadh
Once nominations close on 19 November 2026, the TOURISE Awards shortlist will be announced on 7 January 2027, followed by the finalists on 28 February.
Attention will then turn to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where the winners will be revealed at the TOURISE Awards Ceremony on 23 March 2027, held alongside the TOURISE Summit. The event will bring together destination representatives with leading figures from travel, investment, culture and technology before culminating in the presentation of the Best Overall Destination award.
The awards form part of TOURISE’s wider year-round platform connecting governments, investors, tourism organisations and technology leaders around innovation and the future development of the global visitor economy.
With international tourism continuing to evolve around changing traveller expectations, sustainability, technology and increasingly experience-led decision making, the TOURISE Awards 2027 provide destinations with a global platform on which to demonstrate what makes them distinctive.
For the destinations themselves, recognition could extend well beyond receiving a trophy. It offers an opportunity to place their culture, cuisine, landscapes, wellness credentials, retail environments or entertainment ecosystems before an international tourism audience — while demonstrating how those assets are being transformed into compelling visitor experiences and sustainable economic opportunity.
Nominations for the TOURISE Awards 2027 remain open until 19 November 2026, with the awards ceremony taking place in Riyadh on 23 March 2027.
