‘Smart Tourism- Smart Destinations: Cultural Heritage & Creativity, Digitalisation, Sustainability’ is the overall theme of the 10th edition of the European Cultural Tourism Awards.

As partner of the initiative, NECSTouR warmly invites its members to apply (deadline 1 June 2023)

The 2023 Awards address the following tangible and intangible heritage-related aspects of smart and sustainable cultural tourism development and promotion:

1. Digitalisation advances and digital transition in Sustainable Cultural Tourism, including Smart Tourism and Smart Destinations initiatives closely involving culture and heritage.
2. History and Heritage: ancestry and heritage-related experiences in connection with historic places and events (places of memory, contemplation and commemoration), which exerted an influence in history.
3. Riverside heritage: sites and territories that have valorised a strong relation with their river through activities and experiences that both take the economic and social role of fluvial culture and heritage in tourism actions.
4. Transnational Thematic Tourism Products, on culture and heritage, including those related to European Cultural Routes, European Heritage Label and/or cross-border cultural tourism initiatives (involving at least two European countries, not necessarily neighbouring).
5. Religious, Pilgrimage and Spiritual Tourism: places of worship, travel for religious or spiritual purposes, walking tourism, visits to religious monuments, festivals and artefacts.
6. Traditional Skills, Crafts and Creativity in Smart and Sustainable Cultural and Creative Tourism activities (add-on to the European Year of Skills 2023).

The Joint Awards are open to all tourist destinations across Europe, national, regional and local authorities, tourism boards and associations, destination management organisations, museums, interpretation centres, cultural routes, festivals and cultural NGOs.

The winners will be announced at the Awards Ceremony, which will take place during the 16th International Conference for Cultural Tourism. The event will be organized by ECTN on 18th-21st October 2023 in Pafos (Cyprus), as an acknowledgment of the award as “European Capital of Smart Tourism 2023”.
 

The European Cultural Tourism Awards is an initiative from the European Cultural Tourism Network (ECTN) for which NECSTouR, together with the European Travel Commission and Europa Nostra, cooperate since 2018, as "the legacy of the European Year of Cultural Heritage 2018 and to encourage the development of sustainable tourism destinations around Europe".

The awards of this year address a number of tangible and intangible heritage-related aspects of smart and sustainable cultural tourism development and promotion that are aligned with the legacy of NECSTouR initiatives, such as the Tourism of Tomorrow Lab (Digitalisation advances and digital transition in Sustainable Cultural Tourism), Star Cities Project  (riverside heritage) and Spirit Youth Project (Religious, Pilgrimage and Spiritual Tourism).

​Find out more about ECTN Awards 2023,  award criteria, how to submit application form and other useful  information in the ECTN website