Brussels: Two Spanish cities are vying, alongside five other cities, in the competition for the European Capital of Smart Tourism 2022.
The European Commission said that the seven shortlisted cities in the competition were Bordeaux (France), Copenhagen (Denmark), Dublin (Ireland), Florence (Italy), Ljubljana (Slovenia), Palma (Spain) and Valencia (Spain).
The seven finalist cities were selected from 30 applications from across 16 countries.
The European Capital of Smart Tourism competition recognises outstanding achievements in four specific categories: Accessibility, Sustainability, Digitalisation and Cultural heritage and creativity.
The competition is an EU initiative that aims to celebrate destinations for their smart and sustainable tourism practices, as well as promote the growth of these practices in the EU.
It was open to destinations across both the EU, as well as non-EU countries taking part in the COSME programme.
In the next step, the shortlisted destinations will present their candidatures in front of the European Jury. The European Jury will select two winners to become the European Capitals of Smart Tourism 2022. The winners will be announced in November 2021.
The two European Capitals of Smart Tourism will benefit from communication and branding support throughout 2022. This will include a promotional video, a purpose-built hashtag sculpture to install in a prominent location, diverse promotional activities and visibility at the EU level.
