The European Capital of Smart Tourism (ECST) competition has selected two cities as their 2022 winners: Bordeaux, France and Valencia, Spain. The two winners will receive their official award at the Award Ceremony during the European Tourism Forum gala dinner on 16 November 2021, an event co-organised by the Slovenian Presidency of the Council of the EU and European Commission.

Thirty cities from 16 countries competed for the award, and seven qualifiers presented in front of the European Jury.

“Bordeaux and Valencia impressed the European Jury not only with their remarkable achievements across all four categories of the competition, but also with the outstanding programmes of activities they intend to execute during 2022, as well as their notable capacity to act as a role model for other cities,” said ECST in a statement.

The European Capital of Smart Tourism is an initiative by the European Union (EU) and implemented by the European Commission (EC) with the goal of “raising the profile of Europe as a smart tourism destination and to setting up a platform to share best practices in the field of tourism among European cities.”

The cities are judged over a number of criteria, including accessibility, sustainability, digitalisation, and cultural heritage and creativity.

With their wins, Bordeaux and Valencia will receive communication and branding support in 2022, including a promotional video, a purpose-built sculpture for their city centres, and tailored promotional actions designed to raise their profile and boost visitor numbers.