FAQ for the European Capital of Smart Tourism

The competition is open to cities in EU Member States and non-EU countries that take part in the Single Market programme (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iceland, Kosovo, Liechtenstein, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Norway, Serbia, Türkiye and Ukraine), with populations of over 100,000. In countries where no city has more than 100,000 inhabitants, the largest city is eligible to apply. For smaller states with total population below 1 million, cities with 10,000 inhabitants are eligible to apply. (Please see “3.2 Eligibility Requirements” in the Guide for Applicants)

Yes, if there’s an EU or Single Market country without a city of more than 100 000 inhabitants, the country’s largest city is eligible to apply. (Please see “3.2 Eligibility Requirements” in the Guide for Applicants)

Only cities located in EU Member States or Single Market programme countries (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iceland, Kosovo, Liechtenstein, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Norway, Serbia, Türkiye and Ukraine), are eligible to apply. Please see “3.2 Eligibility Requirements” in the Guide for Applicants.

No, only cities with over 100 000 inhabitants can apply. It is possible that a metropolitan area or a larger urban zone applies but under the condition that it includes a city of more than 100 000 inhabitants. Moreover, it needs to justify that it is promoted/ branded as a tourism destination in line with the local/regional/national tourism development and promotion strategy. (Please see “3.2 Eligibility Requirements” in the Guide for Applicants)

A “city” is understood to be an urban area (excluding conurbations), and is an administrative unit governed by a city council or another form of elected body. A metropolitan area or a larger urban zone is allowed to apply under the following conditions: it includes a city of more than 100,000 inhabitants and is promoted/ branded as a tourism destination in line with the local/regional/national tourism development and promotion strategy. In that case, the application should be submitted by the city (of more than 100,000 inhabitants) and in case awarded, the city will bear the title of the “European Capital of Smart Tourism.” (Please see “3.2 Eligibility Requirements” in the Guide for Applicants)

The countries participating in the Single Market programme are eligible to apply: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iceland, Kosovo, Liechtenstein, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Norway, Serbia, Türkiye and Ukraine
https://ec.europa.eu/info/fundingtenders/
opportunities/docs/2021-2027/smp/guidance/list-3rd-country-participation_smp_en.pdf

You may apply in any official language of the European Union. You can find a list of all eligible languages here. We would suggest writing, or submitting material, in English, to the extent possible, to speed up the evaluation process and comparability of applications. (Please see “3.1 Technical Requirements” in the Guide for Applicants) or visit this website
https://europa.eu/european-union/about-eu/eu-languages_en

If you are not a legal representative of the city applying, you cannot apply in the name of the city. However, you are welcome to participate and help your city with the application and talk to your Mayor/the Tourist Office, but the signatory of the application should be the Mayor or the highest-ranking city representative, authorised by national law to legally represent the city. (Please see “3.2 Eligibility Requirements” in the Guide for Applicants)

No, throughout this initiative a smart tourism destination is considered as the one demonstrating exemplary measures/projects /programmes implemented in all four categories. You will be asked to provide an answer to all four categories (Accessibility, Digitalisation, Sustainability, Creativity & Cultural heritage). We will not be able to accept applications that only answer to one, two, or three of the categories. (Please see “3.1 Technical Requirements” in the Guide for Applicants)

Applications will be submitted via an online registration tool, which you can find by clicking on “Apply now” on the competition website. You have to register in the name of your city and then you can start filling in your application! (Please see “7. How to Apply: Step by Step” in the Guide for Applicants) For more details, see here: https://smart-tourism-capital.ec.europa.eu/apply-european-capital-smart…

Yes, you can save the application and work on it continuously up until the deadline. (Please see “7.2.3 Step 3: Editing your proposal” in the Guide for Applicants)

Yes. You can create multiple accounts per city and work on the application together. A single application by a city can have multiple co-authors. The person who first creates an account for the city needs to make sure that the submitting author has allowed co-authors to edit the application. (Please see “7.2.1 Step 1: Create your account” in the Guide for Applicants)

You can read about the categories and the assessment criteria in particular in our Guide for Applicants (See “4. Award categories and assessment criteria” in the Guide for Applicants)

During the Evaluation Step 1 all submitted and admissible applications will be reviewed against the assessment criteria linked to a clear points-system by a panel of independent experts in the field of tourism (Please see “5. The Evaluation process” in the Guide for Applicants). Each of the experts has an in-depth knowledge in at least one of the categories of accessibility, sustainability, digitalisation as well as cultural heritage and creativity. A maximum of 4 cities with the highest overall score of all four categories combined will be shortlisted as finalists. During the Evaluation Step 2, the shortlisted cities will be invited to present their candidatures and the programme they intend to implement during the year they will hold the title as the potential European Capital of Smart Tourism, in front of the European Jury, who will take the final decision on the winner. (See “5. The evaluation process” in the Guide for Applicants)

In a change to previous editions, there will be only one winning city in the European Capital of Smart Tourism competition.

The winner of the title of European Capital of Smart Tourism will receive a year of expert communication and branding support in promoting the destination to the media and online, a sculpture for the city centre, a promotional video on the destination and smart tourism offer, and many other promotional actions in the name of the initiative that are designed to raise the profile of the city and boost visitor numbers.