The ETIS and Accessible Tourism Awards are a recognition of the efforts made by destinations to make use of the European Tourism Indicators System (ETIS) during its pilot phase to measure and enhance their sustainable management performance. The awards also give special attention to destinations working to improve accessibility.

Awards were given to 8 destinations in 3 categories, recognising both sustainable and accessible destination management approaches. They were given based on social, economic, environmental and cultural criteria. Accessibility was also a criterion for success.

During the ceremony, the new 2016 edition of the ETIS toolkit was presented and distributed.

Background

The European Tourism Indicator System (ETIS) was launched by the European Commission in 2013, with the objective to provide a measuring and monitoring tool for destinations wanting to adopt a sustainable management approach and to enhance their sustainability performances. It is designed to be a tool which any destination can pick up and use voluntarily, without any specific training.

The first edition of ETIS was tested in a pilot initiative and has been implemented in over 100 destinations across Europe during 2-year phase (2013-2015). The objective of the 2 pilot phases was to obtain the feedback of destinations on the practical use of ETIS, with a view to potential improvements. The 2016 edition of the ETIS toolkit, assessed by the European Commission with support from the ETIS pool of experts, takes into account this feedback.

Documents and media

• Agenda
• Photos from the awards ceremony
• More information on the winning destinations

More information

• The European Tourism Indicators System for sustainable destination management (ETIS)
• Accessible tourism in the EU