Mali Lošinj Wins Top Sustainable & Accessible Tourism Award in Brussels

Mali Lošinj

The town of Mali Lošinj, located on the Croatian island of Lošinj, was a winner in Europe’s first ETIS and Accessible tourism awards held on Friday in Brussels…

Mali Lošinj in Croatia won ETIS Economic Value Achiever for the breadth and depth of insights gathered on sustainable tourism practices on the island, thanks to an impressive set of 130 indicators, going far beyond the 67 ETIS indicators in the 2013 pilot toolkit.

A total of 12 European destinations win prizes for sustainable and accessible tourism management, including environmental achievements. South Sardinia (Italy), Barcelona Province (Spain), Mali Lošinj (Croatia) and Brittany, Destination Brocéliande (France) received 3*** – top marks in their categories.

Lošinj

‘Visit South Sardinia’ and Barcelona Province took home the top prizes for sustainability and accessibility. The awards recognise outstanding achievements amongst destinations that took part in a two-year European Tourism Indicators System (ETIS) pilot project. ‘Visit South Sardinia’ was overall winner for sustainability thanks to its innovative approach combining EU and UN sustainability indicators, while Barcelona Province won the top accessibility prize for its ‘Tourism for All’ approach.

Over 100 destinations took part in the ETIS pilot phase to help develop a standardised European approach to measuring and monitoring performance in sustainable and accessible tourism management. The jury handed out 1* to 3*** rankings to 10 destinations for sustainability, accessibility, and social impact awards in three categories – overall winners, responsible destination management, and sustainable economic development. Two destinations received a special mention for sustainable and accessible destination management.

Luigi Cabrini, Chair of the UNWTO’s Global Sustainable Tourism Council and keynote speaker at the ceremony, says: “ETIS is about creating clear standards that help us define what sustainable tourism actually means in a measurable way. These winning destinations have made tourism work for local communities and visitors alike, delivering financial and cultural benefits while minimising negative social and environmental impacts.”

Lošinj

A new 2016 ETIS toolkit was launched at the awards ceremony as a tangible contribution from the European Commission towards the UNWTO International Year of Sustainable Tourism Development in 2017. The new toolkit, which employs 43 core indicators and a set of supplementary indicators, was developed as a result of the pilot phases and is available in all official EU languages to enable European destinations to monitor, measure and improve sustainable tourism practices.