The World Travel Award, one of the most important awards in the tourism sector in the world, elected Rio de Janeiro as the best destination in South America. The awards, held last Saturday in London, also elected the Ipanema Beach as the best in the entire South American continent.

In the list of 27 categories highlighted in South America, Brazil is also in other 11, including best hotel (Copacabana Palace) and the best airline (TAM). The Ponta dos Ganchos hotel, in Santa Catarina state, was named best boutique hotel in the South America and the JW Marriott in Copacabana, the best brand hotel.

Last week, the city of Rio was voted the best gay destination in the world. The election, which occurred a day after the 14th Gay Parade in Rio, was sponsored by the Logo, an MTV channel for the homosexual public. Five other cities were disputing the title: Buenos Aires, Barcelona, London, Montreal and Sydney.

With this achievement, Rio de Janeiro and Brazil gradually firm as a gay-friendly destination. In 2008, the Ministry of Tourism, in partnership with the Brazilian Association of Gay Travel (Abrat GLS), trained and qualified professionals of tourism in Rio de Janeiro, Florianopolis, Sao Paulo and Salvador, to receive tourists classified as LGBT.