Our team stands out for its strong combination of technical expertise, practical experience, and strategic vision. With solid competencies in tourism planning and management, we bring 19 years of dedicated experience in astrotourism and over 28 years in sustainable development projects, including international initiatives and certification processes in this field. This trajectory enables us to understand territories in an integrated way, their dynamics, and the potential to create value through the night sky.
Complementing this foundation is our versatility and ability to mobilize a wide network of specialized partners, adapting each project to its specific needs. We integrate expertise in areas such as astrophotography, geology, light pollution mitigation, and tourism research, among others, ensuring multidisciplinary, innovative approaches focused on concrete and sustainable results.
Apolónia Rodrigues
President
Apolónia Rodrigues (Aveiro, 1973) holds a degree in Tourism Management and Planning from the University of Aveiro and is one of Europe’s most recognised strategists in the creation of sustainable tourism destinations. A defender of animal welfare and deeply connected to nature, she has always found in innovation and sustainability the pillars for imagining the tourism of the future.
She began her professional career at the Évora Tourism Region in 1998, where she led and implemented several structural projects until 2007. Driven by a vision to enhance the territory through the night sky, she conceived and founded the Dark Sky® brand and the Dark Sky® Alqueva destination, now a global reference in astrotourism and dark-sky preservation.
She is currently President of the Dark Sky® Association, President of the Alentejo Village Tourism Network, and has coordinated the European Sites of Peace Network since 2010. Between 2010 and 2016 she served as co-leader of the Task Force Indicators of NECSTouR – the Network of European Regions for Sustainable and Competitive Tourism. From 2014 to 2016 she was a member of the European Commission’s ETIS Pool of Experts (DG GROW), contributing to the development of the European Tourism Indicator System for sustainable destination management. Between 2005 and 2014 she participated in the Tourism Sustainability Group, responsible for the European Agenda for Sustainable and Competitive Tourism, where she co-led the Indicators Working Group. She was also a member of the European Tourism Advisory Committee Eureka (2009–2013).
Under her leadership, the Dark Sky® Alqueva destination has become a global benchmark, distinguished with more than 60 international awards, including:
- 16 World Travel Awards, considered the “Oscars of Tourism”, including the three awards won in 2025, reinforcing the destination’s international positioning,
- distinctions from the World Confederation of Businesses (WORLDCOB), with special emphasis on The Peak of Success 2025 award,
- World Luxury Travel Awards 2025 recognising excellence and world-class tourism experiences.
In Portugal, the destination has also received broad recognition, including distinctions from Mais Alentejo, Fundação INATEL, and Cinco Estrelas Regiões, reflecting the impact of Dark Sky® Alqueva on the territory’s sustainable, cultural, and tourism development.
Additional personal and institutional international distinctions include:
- the Ulysses Award of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (2007), awarded to the European Village Tourism Network,
- the Dark Sky Defender Award from the International Dark-Sky Association (2016),
- World Businessperson (2020) and WORLDCOB distinctions,
- Gamechanger of the Year by the ACQ5 Global Awards,
- CTW Chinese Welcome Award (Bronze) and international recognition in responsible tourism.
A visionary strategist with a deep passion for planning, Apolónia Rodrigues has devoted her life to proving that protecting the night sky can illuminate the future of territories, inspiring communities, travellers, and decision-makers to regard the universe as a shared heritage of humanity.
Click here to meet the team at the Official Dark Sky® Alqueva Observatory.