How are the winners selected?
> Evaluation Step 1 - Completed
All submitted, admissible and eligible applications were evaluated against a set of established criteria by a panel of independent experts. The evaluation by the independent experts determines which cities are the best performers in each category. Moreover, on the basis of their evaluation, the Commission establishes a short-list of a maximum of 7 cities that are invited to present their candidatures in front of a European Jury.
> Evaluation Step 2 - Upcoming
In the second evaluation step, representatives of the finalist cities present their candidatures and the programme of activities planned for their title year in front of the European Jury. The co-chairs of the European Jury will be announced shortly.
Meet our independent experts
Vera Bonvalot | Expert Category: Accessibility
Executive Director of the Portuguese Federation for Traumatic Brain Injured and families (NOVAMENTE); Board member of European Disability Forum (EDF.EU) and Vice president of BIF (Brain Injured and Families European Federation)
Ivor Ambrose | Expert Category: Accessibility
Independent consultant specialising in accessible tourism marketing and development, management of EU projects, policy and research in disability and ageing, socio-economics and new technologies
Anya Diekmann | Expert Category: Accessibility
Head of Tourism at ULB - IGEAT. Professor -Chair: cultural tourism. Her research interests include different aspects of social tourism as well as cultural tourism with a particular focus on heritage tourism (including WHS) and urban ethnic and slum tourism
Małgorzata Tokarska | Expert Category: Accessibility
Accessible Poland Tours - Expert in travel services for disabled people. The Internet Tour Operator for Disabled People
Xavier Font | Expert Category: Sustainability
Professor at the University of Surrey (UK)
Peter Reelfs | Expert Category: Sustainability
Sustainability Advisor – Lecturer
Maurizio Davolio | Expert Category: Sustainability
President of AITR, Italian Association for Responsible Tourism
Stefan Hartman | Expert Category: Sustainability
Hartman, Ph.D., is Head of Department at the European Tourism Futures Institute (ETFI), NHL Stenden University, The Netherlands
Dirk Reiser | Expert Category: Sustainability
Professor for Sustainable Tourism Management, Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences, Kleve, Germany
Dominique Verdugo | Expert Category: Sustainability
International Consultant - Sustainable Tourism Development
Claudio Milano | Expert Category: Sustainability
Consultant, Researcher and Lecturer
Karin Drda-Kühn | Expert Category: Cultural Heritage and Creativity
Managing Director of Kultur und Arbeit e.V. / Association Culture & Work, Bad Mergentheim - Berlin
Ilona Asare | Expert Category: Cultural Heritage and Creativity
Expert in cultural policies, Chairperson of the Board of CULTURELAB, Latvia
Eleonora Lorenzini | Expert Category: Cultural Heritage & Creativity
Director, Digital Innovation in Tourism and Digital Innovation in Heritage & Culture Observatories, Politecnico di Milano
Bojana Plemić | Expert Category: Cultural Heritage and Creativity
Dr Plemić is a Research Associate in Archaeology and professor of Academy of Applied Studies Belgrade (The College of Tourism Belgrade)
Sergey Balandin | Expert Category: Digitalisation
President, FRUCT Oy, Helsinki, Finland
Dimitrios Buhalis | Expert Category: Digitalisation
Professor Dimitrios Buhalis is the director of the eTourism Lab in Bournemouth University Business School and Visiting Professor, School of Hotel and Tourism Management, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
Julieta Medina Azcarate | Expert Category: Digitalisation
Data Digitalisation Expert. OSTELEA Tourism Management, EAE Business School - Innovation Management E-Learning Professor | MBA in Tourism & Hospitality Management
Edoardo Colombo | Expert Category: Digitalisation
Thematic expert for tourism in the ICC Intelligent Cities Challenge, a European Commission initiative that provides 80 ICC core cities with
advisory services
What happens next?
The seven shortlisted cities will be invited to present their city’s candidature in front of the European Jury.
The European Jury will meet in the coming weeks and select two cities to become European Capitals of Smart Tourism in 2023.
Winners of the title of European Capital of Smart Tourism 2023 will receive expert communication and branding support in promoting their destination in the media and online, a sculpture for their city centre, a promotional video on their destination and smart tourism offer, and many other promotional actions from the EU that are designed to raise the profile of the city and boost visitor numbers.