Ljubljana Wins the WTTC Tourism for Tomorrow Destination Award

t the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) global summit, taking place on 15 and 16 April 2015 in Madrid, Ljubljana won the Tourism for Tomorrow Destination Award for 2015. The jury pointed out that in recent years Ljubljana »has been completely redesigned with sustainability in mind.«

The Tourism for Tomorrow Awards are based upon sustainable tourism principles and aim to educate and inspire travel and tourism businesses and destinations on how to improve the sustainability of the sector. They are regarded to be the highest accolade for sustainability within the global travel and tourism industry.

The five award categories are covering destination stewardship, community benefit, environmental management, workforce development and innovation. The Destination Awards are received by those tourism destination organisations which showcase the commitment to supporting and delivering sustainable tourism best practices in their destinations.

In its announcement of the destination award the jury also wrote: »Extensive pedestrian spaces, an ecological zone and state of the art under-street recycling systems have greatly improved the city. Central to Ljubljana's success is the partnership between Tourism Ljubljana and the Municipality, engaging not only local businesses but also residents to input into and influence policy. This really is a shared vision for the destination which means that tourism growth has been central to Ljubljana's development, reviving cultural activity, restaurants and the entertainment sector. Now tourism and city life are inextricably linked, with sustainability principles at the heart.«

Each year the award winners and finalists are selected by a jury of 20 notable experts from around the world. The judging process, where independent experts visit each of the 15 finalists, is the most rigorous of any awards process in the Travel & Tourism industry.

Beside Ljubljana, (which is also the European Green Capital 2016), finalists in the Destination Award category were Northeast and Yilan Coast (Taiwan) and Sozopol (Bulgaria).

For more information visit the World Travel and Tourism Council website: www.wttc.org