European Destination of Excellence 2022 shortlist announced / One Turkish and two Danish destinations named on the shortlist for this year's competition

Brussels (ots) - The European Commission announces the three shortlisted
destinations for the European Destination of Excellence (EDEN)
(https://ec.europa.eu/growth/sectors/tourism/eden_en) 2022 competition. This
initiative rewards the best achievements in sustainable tourism and green
transition practices in smaller destinations across Europe.

Gürsu in Turkey and Middelfart and Thisted in Denmark convinced the panel of
independent sustainability experts with their applications and were chosen ahead
of 40 other applicant destinations. The winner of the 2022 award will be
selected from this shortlist of three. Find out more about each of the
shortlisted destinations here
(https://ec.europa.eu/growth/sectors/tourism/eden/currrent_destinations_en) .

The European Destinations of Excellence is an EU initiative, implemented by the
European Commission. Its aim is to recognise and reward smaller destinations
that have in place successful strategies to boost sustainable tourism through
green transition practices. The competition is founded upon the principle of
promoting the development of sustainable tourism in destinations which brings
value to the economy, the planet and the people. The initiative covers EU
countries as well non-EU countries participating in the COSME programme[1]. The
competition addresses smaller tourism destinations which can showcase their
outstanding achievements in sustainability and inspire other tourism
destinations in their green transition.

In order to compete for the 2022 European Destination of Excellence title,
destinations were asked to demonstrate their best practices in sustainable
tourism and green transition. In the next step, the three shortlisted
destinations will be asked to present their town's candidature in front of the
European Jury. The European Jury will select one winner, the European
Destination of Excellence 2022, which will be awarded in November 2021.

The winning destination will be positioned as a tourism sustainability pioneer
committed to the European Green Deal objectivesand will receive expert
communication and branding support at the EU level throughout 2022.

For all the latest news visit the European Destinations of Excellence website
(https://ec.europa.eu/eden) .

Notes to Editors

1. Since 2007, the European Commission has supported EU Member States and other
countries participating in the COSME programme to reward non-traditional,
emerging sustainable tourism destinations in Europe through the 'European
Destination of Excellence" (EDEN) award. This action aimed to foster sustainable
tourism destination management models across Europe by selecting and promoting
EDEN destinations. To date, 175 destinations from 27 different countries have
received the award under different annual themes.

2. In 2019 the "Study on EDEN evaluation" was carried out to assess the
continued relevance, effectiveness, efficiency and impact of the EDEN initiative
and the various actions implemented in its framework, as well as its coherence
with other EU initiatives. Following the results and recommendations of the
evaluation study, the European Commission relaunched the initiative, taking into
account European Green Deal goals. In addition to the EU countries, it also
covers non-EU countries participating in the COSME programme. The competition
addresses smaller tourism destinations which can showcase their outstanding
achievements in sustainability and inspire other tourism destinations in their
green transition.

3. The EDEN Award was implemented first as a pilot project and as a preparatory
action initiated by the European Parliament and since 2011 has continued under
the CIP/COSME programmes.

4. The 2022 EDEN competition was open to submissions from 22 April 2021 to 16
June 2021. Terms and conditions are available at
https://ec.europa.eu/growth/sectors/tourism/eden_en

5. Eligible applications were evaluated against a set of established assessment
criteria, by a panel of independent sustainability experts. The shortlisted
destinations will be invited to present their candidatures in front of a
European Jury. The European Jury will select one European Destination of
Excellence 2022.

[1]Albania, Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iceland, Kosovo, Moldova,
Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Turkey, Ukraine and United Kingdom.
https://ec.europa.eu/docsroom/documents/39579

Contact:

European Destinations of Excellence Secretariat:
Antigoni Avgeropoulou, mailto:[e-mail], [phone]

Additional content: http://presseportal.de/pm/158681/5023426
OTS: EDEN - European Destinations of Excellence