Paphos and Seville named European Capitals for Smart Tourism 2023

The city of Paphos was officially named the European Capital of Smart Tourism for 2023, according to its Mayor Phedon Phedonos.

In a post on social media, the Mayor said that the result of the EU competition was announced Wednesday in Brussels, where a Paphos Municipality delegation presented its proposal for the title of European Capital of Smart Tourism 2023.

Paphos competed with 29 candidates cities from 13 countries and the finalists were Aarhus (Denmark), Gijon (Spain), Zagreb (Croatia), Paphos (Cyprus), Porto (Portugal), San Sebastian (Spain) and Seville (Spain).

Seville (Spain) was also selected as one of the European Capitals for Smart Tourism 2023.   

The European Capital of Smart Tourism initiative recognizes outstanding achievements by European cities as tourism destinations in four categories: sustainability, accessibility, digitalization as well as cultural heritage and creativity.

Both awardees will receive a purpose-built sculpture for their city centers, which will be displayed prominently for the duration of their year as a European Capital of Smart Tourism. Furthermore, the winning cities will receive promotional support and become a part of the growing network of smart tourism cities in Europe. The network is facilitating knowledge sharing and the exchange of best practices, via a series of workshops and the publication of a best practices guide. The European Capitals of Smart Tourism will become part of the post-COVID recovery of the European tourism industry that includes the support of innovative tourism measures and they are set to become role models for digital, accessible, sustainable and creative tourism in Europe and beyond.