Middelfart selected as the 2022 European Destination of Excellence

BRUSSELS, Oct. 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Middelfart been selected as the winner of the 2022 European Destination of Excellence (EDEN)  competition, following a European Jury meeting in Brussels on 26 October 2021. The winner will receive the 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, 43 destinations competed, out of which 3 shortlisted destinations were invited to present their candidatures in front of the European Jury. Middelfart impressed the European Jury not only with their remarkable achievements in sustainable tourism, but also with the outstanding programmes of activities they intend to implement during 2022, as well as their notable capacity to act as a role model for other destinations.

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.

Middelfart 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 2022.

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

Contact

European Destinations of Excellence Secretariat:
Antigoni Avgeropoulou, [email protected], +49 (0) 30 70 01 86 390

Notes to Editors

1. Since 2007, the European Commission 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, which is renewed, 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 competition for the European Destination of Excellence 2022 opened on 22 April 2021. Details on how to apply and terms and conditions can be found at https://ec.europa.eu/eden. The deadline for applications was 16 June 2021 at 17:00 CET.

SOURCE European Destination of Excellence