Together with Lahti, the other finalists are Brussels (Belgium), Genoa (Italy), Konya (Turkey), Lviv (Ukraine), Porto (Portugal) and Turin (Italy). The European Capital of Smart Tourism candidates must show their achievements in four categories: accessibility, sustainability, digitalization, and cultural heritage and creativity. The competition opens opportunities for cooperation between other cities, which promotes sustainable and innovative tourism.
Lahti’s strength in the competition is its international recognition as a pioneering city in sustainable development and its nomination to the European Green Capital 2021.
In the European Capital of Smart Tourism, Lahti is profiled as a destination where the city and the travel trade are committed to operating sustainably and developing services with the smallest possible carbon footprint. The strength of the Lahti region is its versatile and year-round nature and sports activities as part of the Salpausselkä UNESCO Global Geopark.
– We are delighted that Lahti is among the seven finalists. This alone shows that we have developed tourism in the right direction and that we are among the pioneers on a European scale, says Raija Forsman, CEO of Visit Lahti.
– Sustainable tourism is a megatrend in the world, and international customers especially expect that the destination operates responsibly and offers sustainably produced services. Succeeding in the competition is a great additional merit when we market our region to international customers, says Arto Asikainen, head of Visit Lahti’s international team.
Next, the finalists present their action plan to the award committee.
The winner of the competition will be decided on November 27, 2024 in Brussels.
The European Capital of Smart Tourism title is a recognition by the European Commission that rewards cities for their innovative and sustainable tourism practices. The prize has been awarded since 2018. The title has been awarded to, among others, Dublin, Helsinki, Seville, Pafos, Málaga and Gothenburg.
Further information:
Arto Asikainen, Visit Lahti, arto.asikainen@lahtiregion.fi, tel. 040 579 43 87