Saint Petersburg Committee for Tourism Development will welcome World Travel Awards to Russia for the first time in 2017, with the Europe Gala Ceremony 2017 set to take place in the capital of culture.

Having itself been recognised as Europe’s Leading Destination in 2016 by voters from the World Travel Awards, the city will take hosting responsibilities next year.

World Travel Awards President Graham Cooke said: “It will be an honour for World Travel Awards to visit for Russia for the first time in 2017.

“Saint Petersburg is one of the most famous cities in the world and this is a fantastic opportunity for the city to take its rightful place as a top rank tourism destination.”

A global cultural centre, Saint Petersburg is more than just home to the Hermitage Museum and the Kirov Ballet.

With an exceptionally rich history, centuries-old traditions and a bright future, this fascinating destination is built on more than 45 islands and has been modelled in the French style by some of the world’s great architects.

Saint Petersburg Committee for Tourism Development Chairman, Andrey Mushkarev, said: “We will be honoured to host the leading European tourism industry professionals in Saint Petersburg in 2017.

“We are confident this event will be one of the best in the history of the World Travel Awards and we are pleased to invite everyone to the Europe Gala Ceremony in St. Petersburg; a city that is the pride not only of Russia and Europe, but of the whole world.”

World Travel Awards was established in 1993 to acknowledge, reward and celebrate excellence across all sectors of the tourism industry.

Today, the World Travel Awards brand is recognised globally as the ultimate hallmark of quality, with winners setting the benchmark to which all others aspire.

Each year World Travel Awards covers the globe with a series of regional gala ceremonies staged to recognise and celebrate individual and collective successes within each key geographical region.

World Travel Awards Gala Ceremonies are widely regarded as the best networking opportunities in the travel industry, attended by government and industry leaders, luminaries, and international print and broadcast media.