Helsinki Awarded Title of 2019 European Capitals of Smart Tourism

The European Union initiative supports the exchange of best practices for innovative solutions by EU cities to strengthen their sustainability and competitiveness as tourist destinations in the new industrial era

Release time : 2018-11-08 10:20:23

source : PR Newswire

The European Union initiative supports the exchange of best practices for innovative solutions by EU cities to strengthen their sustainability and competitiveness as tourist destinations in the new industrial era

The winners of the first edition of the European Capital of Smart Tourism competition were awarded today at a ceremony in Brussels, on the occasion of the European Tourism Day the largest annual meeting on European tourism.

Pia Pakarinen, Helsinki's Deputy Mayor, Alain Galliano, Vice-President of Lyon Métropole and Jean-Michel Daclin, President of ONLYLYON Tourism and Congress, received European Capitals of Smart Tourism 2019 trophies on behalf of their cities and were delighted that long-term efforts in creating smart environments for tourists in their cities have been recognised at EU-level.

In praise of the winners, Commissioner Elżbieta Bieńkowska, responsible for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs, stated: "I congratulate Helsinki and Lyon for the outstanding solutions that they put in place to make tourism in their cities smart and innovative. Our objective at EU level is to foster the sustainable development of tourism by showcasing innovative solutions from EU cities in tourism. We believe that the European Capital of Smart Tourism initiative will help to establish a framework of exchange of good practices between European cities, including learning from each other and networking, creating opportunities for cooperation and new partnerships. Tourism is important for the EU economy so we all need to work together more effectively to be more competitive and grow in a sustainable way".

Pia Pakarinen, Helsinki's Deputy Mayor commented: "We very much appreciate the opportunity to be the first European Capital of Smart Tourism. The first ones always set the bar and we aim high."

David Kimelfeld, President of Lyon Métropole, proud of his city's achievement said in a video message: