Brussels, 08/10/2009 (Agence Europe) - On Thursday evening 8 October, as part of the European Tourism Day and the European Tourism Forum in Brussels, Regional Policy Commissioner Pawel Samecki handed over the 2009 “European Destination of Excellence” (EDEN) awards to representatives of the 22 winning European tourist towns and regions, each from a different country. “This year's awards show once again that European regions are great tourism destinations - and all worth being discovered. They also demonstrate that environmental sustainability and competitive economic activity can go hand-in-hand,” the Commissioner said.
In this their third year, the EDEB awards promote European high quality tourist destinations which care for their culture, their history and their environment. Several hundred candidate cities and regions, from 20 EU member states, Croatia and Turkey, were put forward for this year's competition. With this year's theme being “tourism and protected areas”, the winning destinations, selected by national juries, are all situated in protected areas and areas bordering them. Using the protected areas as an asset, economically viable tourism products have been developed, while respecting the protected environment and also meeting the needs of local residents and visitors alike, the Commission says. (I.L./transl.rt)