Bordeaux and Valencia selected as 2022 European Capitals of Smart Tourism

EU announces the two 2022 European Capitals of Smart Tourism for their excellence as tourism destinations in accessibility, sustainability, digitalisation, and cultural heritage & creativity

BRUSSELS, Oct. 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Bordeaux (France) and Valencia (Spain) have been selected as the winners of the EU's 2022 European Capital of Smart Tourism competition, following a European Jury meeting in Brussels on 26 October 2021. The two winners will receive their official award at the Award Ceremony during the European Tourism Forum gala dinner on 16 November 2021, an event co-organised by the Slovenian Presidency of the Council of the EU together with the European Commission.

In total, 30 cities from across 16 countries competed, out of which 7 shortlisted cities were invited to present their candidatures in front of the European Jury. Bordeaux and Valencia impressed the European Jury not only with their remarkable achievements across all four categories of the competition, but also with the outstanding programmes of activities they intend to execute during 2022, as well as their notable capacity to act as a role model for other cities.

The European Capital of Smart Tourism is an EU initiative, currently financed under the COSME Programme. It is built on the successful experience of the Preparatory Action proposed by the European Parliament and implemented by the European Commission. It aims to contribute towards raising the profile of Europe as a smart tourism destination and to setting up a platform to share best practices in the field of tourism among European cities.

It recognises exceptional performance by European cities as tourism destinations in four categories: Accessibility, Sustainability, Digitalisation along with Cultural heritage and creativity.

The two European Capitals of Smart Tourism will benefit from communication and branding support during 2022. This will include a promotional video, a purpose-built sculpture for their city centres, as well as bespoke promotional actions designed to raise the profile of the awarded cities and boost visitor numbers.

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For further press information, contact:

European Capital of Smart Tourism Secretariat:
Antigoni Avgeropoulou, info@SmartTourismCapital.eu, +49 (0) 30 70 01 86 390

Notes to Editors:

1.  The 2022 European Capital of Smart Tourism competition was open to submissions from 22 April 2021 to 16 June 2021. Terms and conditions are available at www.SmartTourismCapital.eu

2.  In the first stage of the competition, a panel of independent experts evaluated the applications. As the result of the evaluation, a shortlist of 7 finalist cities was established.  All finalist cities demonstrated excellence across the four competition categories combined.

3.  In the second stage, representatives of the 7 finalist cities presented their candidatures and the programme of activities planned for 2022 in front of the European Jury. The European Jury met on 26 October 2021 in Brussels and selected two cities to hold the title of the European Capitals of Smart Tourism in 2022.

4.  Helsinki and Lyon won the inaugural competition in 2019, and the following year Gothenburg and Málaga jointly held the titles of 2020 European Capitals of Smart Tourism. No competition was launched for 2021.

5.  A selection of the most innovative projects, ideas and initiatives, submitted by cities competing for the 2019 and 2020 European Capital of Smart Tourism competitions can be found in the Compendium of Best Practices, the go-to guide to smart tourism in the EU.