Brussels, Sept. 19 (BNA): Two Spanish cities, along with five others, are vying for the 2022 European Smart Tourism Capital.
The European Commission said that the seven cities nominated in the competition are Bordeaux (France), Copenhagen (Denmark), Dublin (Ireland), Florence (Italy), Ljubljana (Slovenia), Palma (Spain) and Valencia (Spain).
The seven finalists were selected from among 30 submissions from 16 countries.
The European Capital Smart Tourism Competition recognizes outstanding achievements in four specific categories: accessibility, sustainability, digitalisation, cultural heritage and creativity.
The competition is an initiative of the European Union that aims to celebrate destinations for smart and sustainable tourism practices, as well as promote the growth of these practices in the European Union.
It was open to destinations across both the European Union, as well as non-EU countries participating in the COSME programme.
In the next step, the shortlisted destinations will present their nominations before the European Jury. The European Jury will select two winners to become the European Capitals of Smart Tourism 2022. The winners will be announced in November 2021.
The two European capitals for smart tourism will benefit from communications and branding support throughout 2022. This will include a promotional video, a specially designed hashtag sculpture to position it in a prominent position, various promotional activities and EU-wide visibility.