5th edition of European Destinations of Excellence launched

Malta has launched call for EDEN awards

The Malta Tourism Authority has launched the call for the 5th edition of the European Destinations of Excellence (EDEN) Award. This project, which is 75% co-financed by the European Commission, aims towards promoting relatively unknown destinations around Europe which offer sustainable tourism.

The EDEN project is based on national competitions revolving around a different theme each year. Localities which win the national competitions are awarded as ‘European Destinations of Excellence’. Through this project the Commission effectively achieves the main aims of promoting the diversity, value and authenticity of European destinations while also creating a platform for sharing good practices through the creation of a network and promoting excellence in various forms.

EDEN destinations are those which manage their tourism offer with a commitment towards their environmental, socio-cultural and economic sustainability. Practices such as involving and respecting the local community, and creating all-year round tourism activity are very positive factors which enhance sustainability. EDEN destinations are emerging, less-known destinations, thus contributing towards the decongestion of over-visited tourist areas.

Previous EDEN competitions in Malta have awarded Nadur as the EDEN Emerging Rural Destination, the hamlet of Santa Lucija in Kercem as the EDEN Destination for its Local Intangible Heritage, Mellieha for its Protected Areas and Isla for Aquatic Tourism.

This year’s theme is ‘Regeneration of Physical Sites’ targeting those localities which have regenerated a site in their locality and converted it into a tourism attraction. This may include any project of reclamation, preservation or enhancement of a site in the respect of the principles of sustainability. The site can be of any type and having had various uses, for example industrial, transport infrastructures, agricultural, military… etc. It can also be associated with economic or traditional cultural activities, local history or with war periods, amongst others.

Therefore, in order to be eligible, the purpose of the site needs to have been changed completely with the regeneration process. The renewed site needs to have been running and in operation for at least 2 years.
Additionally, initiatives should aim to protect, enhance and promote the socio-cultural, environmental and traditional qualities of the site and its surrounding area. Projects should seek to address the seasonality issue and embrace the concept of sustainability, thus ensuring a more sustainable form of tourism both nationally and locally.

Eligible entities

• Local Councils
• NGOs working in partnership with Local Councils
• Public-private partnerships

The EDEN award is a recognition award for the good practices of a destination. The winning destination is presented the award by the Commission in an official ceremony. A video is produced for each destination and is shown on the official EDEN website www.edenineurope.eu. Moreover, EDEN destinations benefit from online marketing such as Facebook, EDEN and visitmalta.com websites, and participate in a Network of EDEN destinations, where the aim is to share good practices on a European level and promote networking. Above all the Award is an excellent marketing tool that the winning destinations should use to attract quality visitors.

Guidelines and the application form can be downloaded from www.tsdu.gov.mt

Submission Deadline is Wednesday 23rd March at 17.00hrs

Official website www.edenineurope.eu

Valere Tjolle
Valere Tjolle is the editor of the Sustainable Tourism Report Suite latest special offer: www.travelmole.com/stories/1146327.php