Winners of Destination of Sustainable Cultural Tourism Awards 2021 celebrated in Athens
For the fourth year in a row, Europa Nostra co-organised the Destination of Sustainable Cultural Tourism Awards with the European Cultural Tourism Network (ECTN), the European Travel Commission (ETC) and the Network of European Regions for a Sustainable and Competitive Tourism (NECSTouR), which are all members of the European Heritage Alliance. The winners of the 2021 edition of the Awards were announced and celebrated during a ceremony held on 21 October in Athens, Greece, in the framework of the ECTN 14th International Conference for Cultural Tourism in Europe.
The Destination of Sustainable Cultural Tourism Awards enhance the visibility of European cultural tourism destinations, create a platform for sharing experience and knowledge, and promote networking between destinations. The 2021 edition focused on the theme of ‘Regenerating European Tourism through Culture, Heritage and Creativity’.
The winners and runners-up were selected by a Jury composed of representatives of ECTN, the European Travel Commission, Europa Nostra, NECSTouR and the Directorate General for Education and Culture of the European Commission, out of 36 applications received from 14 European countries. Among the Awards Jury, Europa Nostra was represented by Piet Jaspaert, Vice-President, and Jimmy Jammar, Head of the Brussels Office.
Winners of the Destination of Sustainable Cultural Tourism Awards 2021
ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES AND MUSEUMS AS CULTURAL TOURISM ATTRACTIONS
1st prize:
Krapina Neanderthal Museum and and Site Hušnjakovo
by Museums of the Croatian Zagorje, Croatia
2nd prize:
Nerezinac Lugger – sailing interpretation center of maritime heritage of the island of Lošinj
by Mali Lošinj Tourist Board, Croatia
3rd prize:
Zenica City Museum
by Zenica City Museum, Bosnia and Herzegovina
WALKING TOURISM AND SLOW TRAVEL – SYNERGIES WITH CULTURAL TOURISM
1st prize:
Rab Archaeological (T)races – open-air museum
by Lopar Cultural Centre, Croatia
2nd prize:
Feel Good – Campaign to promote sustainable tourism products and services in Germany 2020
by German National Tourist Board, Germany
3rd prize:
Breakfast at Margina
by Association for the Promotion and Development of Tourism (APDT) in Timis County, Romania
DIGITALISATION IN SUSTAINABLE CULTURAL TOURISM, TOWARDS SMART DESTINATIONS
1st prize:
Old Vine House Renovation and Digitalisation
by Maribor Tourist Board, Slovenia
2nd prize:
Digitalisation of Cultural Heritage throughout Slovenia
by Ministry of Economic Development and Technology, Slovenia
3rd prize:
Digital story-telling on coastal and maritime cultural heritage in Marsaxlokk, Malta
by Wageningen University & Research, Netherlands
TRANSNATIONAL THEMATIC TOURISM PRODUCTS, INCLUDING EUROPEAN CULTURAL ROUTES
1st prize:
Development and Sustainability Strategy of the Way to Santiago in Barcelos
by Barcelos City Council, Portugal
2nd prize:
Cultural Tourist Route of the Wooden Churches in Romania and the Republic of Moldova
by Ministry of Economy, Business Environment and Tourism, Romania
CULTURAL AND CREATIVE INDUSTRIES (CCIS) CONTRIBUTION TO CULTURAL AND CREATIVE TOURISM DEVELOPMENT
Joint 1st prize:
Enhancing Cultural restructure of Sustainable Tourism’s Perspectives on Kimolos Island
by “Kimolistes” NGO, Greece
Joint 1st prize:
ReGeneration Festival 2020 in the Boboli Gardens, Florence
by Fondazione Mascarade Opera ONLUS – The New Generation Festival, Italy
3rd prize:
Naoussa Strategy as “The City of Wine” and Grape Harvesting Week Festival
by Municipality of Naoussa, Greece
RAILWAY HERITAGE ASSETS FOR CULTURAL TOURISM
1st prize
“Railway and Steam” Educational and Interactive centre
by Gulbene Municipality Agency “Gulbene Tourism and Cultural Heritage Center”, Latvia
2nd prize:
Baťa under the Tatras Museum in the Svit railway station
by Museum Baťa under the Tatras, Slovakia
SPECIAL JURY PRIZE – ADDRESSING THE IMPACT OF THE PANDEMIC
National level:
WanderlustGermany campaign to discover the nature highlights on walking and cycling tours
by German National Tourism Board, Germany
Regional level:
Maramureș Museum Heritage Trail – Cultural Tourist Route
by Maramureș County Council, Romania
Local level:
ReGeneration Festival 2020 in the Boboli Gardens, Florence
by Fondazione Mascarade Opera ONLUS – The New Generation Festival, Italy
The 2021 edition of the Awards was supported by the Via Francigena Cultural Route of the Council of Europe, the European Association of Archaeologists (EAA), the Creative Tourism Network, FEDECRAIL and E-FAITH. The Awards contest was open to tourist destinations across Europe, to showcase their results and outputs in sustainable cultural tourism under seven categories.
Piet Jaspaert, Vice-President of Europa Nostra, actively took part in the ECTN Conference and presented the Venice Call to Action: “For a New European Renaissance” recently released by Europa Nostra.
A video presentation of the European Cultural Heritage Green Paper “Putting Europe’s shared heritage at the heart of the European Green Deal” by its Lead Author Andrew Potts, Coordinator of the ICOMOS Climate Change and Heritage Working Group, was shown on the third day of the Conference.
The European Cultural Heritage Green Paper, released in March 2021, was produced by Europa Nostra in close cooperation with ICOMOS and the Climate Heritage Network, with the input of other members of the European Heritage Alliance. It was supported by the European Investment Bank Institute and the Creative Europe programme of the European Union.
Watch some highlights of the Awards Ceremony
