Romania, Moldova, Estonia Celebrate Destination Of Sustainable Cultural Tourism Awards Of This Year As The Best Practices In Its Eco-tourism, Gastronomy And Cultural Preservation

Published on October 8, 2025

The Destination of Sustainable Cultural Tourism Awards, organized each twelvemonth by starring institutions specified arsenic nan European Travel Commission (ETC) and nan European Cultural Tourism Network (ECTN), person go nan modular for sustainable tourism successful Europe. The 2025 event, organized successful Sibiu, Romania, was a ceremony of nan finest innovations successful culturally promoting tourism, eco-tourism, and practice conservation connected nan continent. This year’s forum placed peculiar accent connected processing tourism models based connected equilibrium betwixt maturation and responsibility, wherever section cultures and earthy environments are preserved while tourism flourishes.

Key Themes of nan 2025 Awards: Sustainability, Smart Tourism, and Cultural Heritage

The awards focused connected nan taxable “Visitor Experiences and Authenticity for Sustainable, Smart, and Resilient Cultural Tourism Destinations”, highlighting nan evolving domiciled of digitalization and smart tourism technologies successful enhancing visitor experiences. Winners were selected for their expertise to blend authentic taste experiences pinch sustainable practices, leveraging innovative solutions to amended nan tourism experience while ensuring nan preservation of taste heritage.

Resilience successful Sustainable Cultural Tourism: Leading Examples of Community and Heritage Preservation

The Resilience successful Sustainable Cultural Tourism Destinations class showcased initiatives that prioritize community engagement and heritage preservation. The Transylvanian Highlands task successful Romania received nan first prize for its efforts to beforehand responsible tourism that fosters community resilience while preserving nan Saxon Cultural Landscape. Other notable entries included DescOpera Festival successful Moldova, a exemplary for sustainable taste tourism, and Krka National Park successful Croatia, which combines natural beauty pinch sustainable tourism practices.

Wine and Gastronomy Tourism: A Delicious Journey of Local Flavors and Culinary Traditions

Wine and gastronomy tourism has go a cardinal portion of cultural tourism, arsenic it allows visitors to prosecute pinch nan culinary heritage of a region. The Tasty Tartu show successful Estonia won first prize for its innovative attack to food tourism by offering a month-long ceremony of location flavors and promoting off-season travel. Other winners, for illustration Tiramisù World Cup successful Italy, and Vrsar Amareti successful Croatia, emphasized nan value of preserving local nutrient traditions while attracting international tourists done unsocial culinary experiences.

Digitalization successful Smart Tourism: Enhancing Visitor Engagement done Technology

In nan Digitalization successful Smart Tourism category, projects that leverage technology to heighten visitor experiences were celebrated. The Time Travel task from Portugal won first spot for its usage of augmented reality to create interactive, immersive experiences. In Romania, nan Biertan Audio Quest and Sibiu’s Digital Heritage Preservation were besides recognized for their efforts to digitally prosecute visitors pinch nan region’s rich | taste history. These projects underscore nan imaginable for technology to thrust innovation successful cultural tourism, making it much accessible, interactive, and educational.

Transnational Thematic Tourism Products: Strengthening Cultural Routes Across Europe

The Transnational Thematic Tourism Products class recognized initiatives that link cultural destinations crossed nationalist borders. The European Route of Historic Gardens received nan apical grant for its effort to create a pan-European taste route that links gardens and historic landscapes crossed aggregate countries. This task fosters a shared appreciation for Europe’s horticultural heritage while promoting cross-border tourism. The People’s Portal Dublin and Via Dinarica: Green Trail projects were besides recognized for their innovative attack to connecting group and cultures done transnational tourism routes.

Cultural Tourism Services for All: Inclusive, Authentic, and Accessible Tourism

The Cultural Tourism Services for All class recognized initiatives that make cultural tourism accessible to everyone, sloppy of inheritance aliases beingness ability. The Living Heritage for All task successful Cyprus won first spot for its efforts to revitalize agrarian museums and connection inclusive and sustainable taste experiences. Other winners successful this category, for illustration Via Transilvanica successful Romania and LUV FEST successful Slovenia, demonstrated really taste tourism tin beryllium utilized to build much inclusive and community-focused tourism experiences.

Greece and Peru: Collaborating connected Sustainable Cultural Tourism

Aligned pinch nan sustainable tourism attraction of nan awards, Greece and Peru are moving together to heighten cultural tourism successful their respective countries. Through their Joint Action Program, nan 2 nations are committed to preserving taste heritage and promoting sustainable recreation experiences. This business emphasizes nan worth of cultural exchange and sustainable development, pinch some countries showcasing their unique histories, landscapes, and culinary traditions to pull world tourists.

The Role of Cultural Tourism successful Boosting Local Economies and Global Profiles

Cultural tourism has proven to beryllium a powerful instrumentality for economic development, peculiarly successful smaller towns and rural areas. By promoting section culture, history, and accepted crafts, regions are capable to boost section economies, create job opportunities, and heighten their global tourism profile. The award-winning projects from Cyprus, Romania, Slovenia, and Estonia each demonstrated really taste tourism tin stimulate section economies while preserving nan identity of a destination.

The Future of Sustainable Cultural Tourism: Innovations and Opportunities

Looking ahead, sustainable taste tourism will proceed to play a important domiciled successful shaping nan early of nan global tourism industry. As much travelers activity authentic and responsible recreation experiences, nan request for destinations that connection sustainable practices and cultural immersion will increase. The 2025 Destination of Sustainable Cultural Tourism Awards service arsenic a exemplary for really destinations tin create and beforehand eco-tourism, cultural tourism, and community-based initiatives while ensuring semipermanent sustainability and heritage preservation.

A Bright Future for Sustainable Cultural Tourism successful Europe

The Sustainable Cultural Tourism Awards 2025 bring to nan fore nan expanding relevance of sustainability to nan tourism industry. The successful destinations beryllium that taste heritage, sustainable tourism, and innovative solutions tin spell hand-in-hand pinch each different to nutrient a vibrant tourism industry. As nan aged continent continues to forge up successful sustainable tourism, specified initiatives supply useful lessons for nations from crossed nan globe wishing to wed practice conservation pinch tourism growth.