The 2019 edition of the Awards for ‘Destination of Sustainable Cultural Tourism’ is organised by the European Cultural Tourism Network (ECTN) and it is open to all tourist destinations across Europe, national, regional and local authorities, tourism boards and associations, destination management organisations, museums, interpretation centres, festivals and cultural NGOs.

For more information about the 2019 Awards and how to apply, please visit the official website, where you can download the application form and the call for entries. Applications can be submitted by 15 July 2019.

NECSTouR is supporting this initiative and it will be part of the Awards Jury, together with Europa Nostra, the European Travel Commission – which are all members of the European Heritage Alliance 3.3 – and supported by Iter Vitis, Cultural Route of the Council of Europe. It seeks to contribute to the legacy of the European Year of Cultural Heritage 2018, including the Barcelona Declaration "Better Places to Live, Better Places to Visit".

The Awards will be given for achievements by cultural tourist destinations which have produced significant results related to enhancing visitor experience while respecting traditions and involving local communities.
 
Themes. The 2019 Awards' theme of this year’s edition is “Culture and Heritage for Responsible, Innovative and Sustainable Tourism” and they address the following heritage-related aspects of sustainable cultural tourism:

•     Intangible Cultural Heritage
•     Heritage Interpretation Facilities
•     Innovation and Digitisation in Cultural Tourism Development and Promotion
•     Transnational Thematic Tourism Products, including Cultural Routes
•     Culinary Heritage, Wine, Food and Gastronomy Tourism (supported by Iter Vitis cultural route for wine tourism and FOODBIZ Erasmus+ project led by University of Macerata)
•     Contributions by Cultural and Creative Industries (CCIs) to Cultural and Creative Tourism (Cult-Create project)
•     Actions during the ‘European Year of Cultural Heritage 2018’, initiative on ‘Tourism and heritage’.

 
The applicants must address one of the above themes. Award winners will be recognised as examples of excellence inspiring other tourist destinations and stimulating further development of sustainable and responsible cultural tourism initiatives.

Award winners will be announced at the Awards Ceremony to be held during the 12th International Conference for Cultural Tourism in Europe, on the theme of the CHRISTA Interreg Europe Project, organised by ETCN on 24-26 October 2019 in Granada, Spain. The selected finalists will be invited to the ECTN Conference and to the Awards Ceremony 2019. The organiser and partners will not reimburse any costs for attending the Awards Ceremony, but the conference fee will be waived for one person per finalist.

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