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Press release15 September 2022Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs1 min read

European Destination of Excellence 2023 shortlist announced

One Slovenian, one Cypriot and two Greek destinations named on the shortlist for this year’s competition.

Today, the European Commission announced the four shortlisted destinations for the European Destination of Excellence (EDEN) 2023 award. The EDEN initiative rewards the best achievements in sustainable tourism and green transition practices in smaller destinations across Europe. 

Grevena (Greece), Kranj (Slovenia), Larnaka (Cyprus), and Trikala (Greece) convinced the panel of independent sustainability experts with their applications and were chosen among 20 applicant destinations. The shortlist for the 2023 finalists includes four destinations instead of three, as initially mentioned, because two destinations were awarded the same scores by the independent panel of sustainability experts. Find out more about each of the shortlisted destinations.

The European Destinations of Excellence is an EU initiative, implemented by the European Commission. It aims to recognise and reward smaller destinations with successful strategies for boosting sustainable tourism through green transition practices. A core principle of the competition is to promote sustainable tourism development, which brings value to the economy, planet, and people. The initiative covers the EU and non-EU countries participating in the COSME programme. 

To compete for the 2023 European Destination of Excellence award, we asked the destinations to demonstrate their best practices in sustainable tourism and green transition. In the next step, the four shortlisted destinations will have the opportunity to present their candidature in front of the European Jury. The European Jury will select one winner, the European Destination of Excellence 2023, whom we will award in November 2022.

The winning destination will be positioned as a tourism sustainability pioneer committed to the European Green Deal objectives and will receive expert communication and branding support at the EU level throughout 2023.

For all the latest news, visit the European Destinations of Excellence website. 

Contact  

European Destinations of Excellence Secretariat: Antigoni Avgeropoulou, infoatedensecretariat [dot] eu (info[at]edensecretariat[dot]eu), +49 (0) 30 70 01 86 390