Cyprus has 8 European Destinations of Excellence
The EDEN-European Destinations of Excellence project is being carried out in the framework of the European COSME Program, which is co-funded by the European Commission – Tourism Unit. It is a project that promotes sustainable tourism development models across the European Union and focuses on annual national competitions to select a tourist ‘destination of excellence’ from each participating member state.
EDEN in Cyprus
The Deputy Ministry of Tourism is in charge of managing the EDEN program in Cyprus. Since 2007 the Cyprus Tourism Organisation (CTO) and now the ministry has been conducting a national competition for the selection of European Destination of Excellence for the yearly category.
Cyprus’ Winners
To date, 8 destinations of excellence have emerged in our country, depending on the theme of each year, which is selected by the Commission in cooperation with the tourism operators in each participating country.
Both the winning destination in Cyprus and the winning destinations of the other countries participating in the EDEN Program are promoted at European level through promotional actions by the European Commission.
List of Winners in Cyprus includes:
Troodos
Year of Award: 2007
Category: Best Emerging European Rural Destinations of Excellence
Agros
Year of the award: 2008
Category: Tourism and Local Intangible Heritage Destination
Vouni Panagias
Year of the award: 2009
Category: Tourism and Protected Areas
Kato Pyrgos
Year of Award: 2010
Category: Aquatic Tourism
Kalopanagiotis
Year of the award: 2011
Category: Tourism and Regeneration of Physical Sites
Polis Chrysochou
Year of the award: 2012
Category: Accessible Tourism
Pitsilia
Year of the award: 2015
Category: Tourism and Local Gastronomy
Orini Larnaca
Year of the award: 2017
Category: Cultural Tourism
The main objectives of the program are to highlight the values, diversity and common characteristics of European tourism destinations, but also to promote destinations where tourism development is pursued in such a way as to ensure social, cultural, economic, and environmental balance.
The Program also aims to create a platform for the dissemination of good practice in Europe and to promote networking among selected destinations of excellence.
