EU Launches European Destination of Excellence (EDEN) 2022 Competition

The European Commission has launched the European Destination of Excellence (EDEN) 2022 competition, an initiative that rewards the best achievements in sustainable tourism and green transition practices in smaller destinations across Europe.

EDEN was first introduced by the European Commission in 2007 as an initiative to reward non-traditional, emerging sustainable tourism destinations in Europe based on national competitions. The initiative has been redesigned and updated in view of the European Green Deal goals in order to contribute to the recovery and resilience of tourism destinations impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

It covers EU countries as well non-EU countries participating in the COSME program, Europe’s program for small and medium-sized enterprises.

The 2022 EDEN competition addresses smaller tourism destinations which can showcase their outstanding achievements in sustainability and inspire other tourism destinations in their green transition.

The process

In order to compete for the 2022 European Destination of Excellence title, destinations are asked to demonstrate their best practices in sustainable tourism and green transition. Applications will first be evaluated by a panel of independent sustainability experts.

In the second step, three shortlisted cities will be asked to present their city’s candidature in front of the European Jury.

The European Jury will select one winner, the European Destination of Excellence 2022, which will be announced in November 2021.

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 2022.

To apply, destination representatives are asked to complete an online form.

The deadline for applications is on 16 June, 2021, at 17:00 CET.