VISTAS! at ITB: winners and losers announced

At ITB 2014 the 90 minutes VISTAS! show was packed with good news …

SEE THE VIDEO HERE

SEE THE FULL PRESENTATION HERE

20 innovative destinations were nominated for VISTAS! 2014 by destination networks Quality Coast, Eden Destinations and Alpine Pearls.

Participating destinations will not only get a massively beneficial green makeover and marketing assistance and exposure throughout their green carpet ride to VISTAS! 2015, but also a possibility of winning the big prize – a prestigious VISTA! award.

Said co-organizer Herbert Hamele: "The VISTAS! winners give just a little taste of the wide range of innovation for making tourism in coastal, rural or mountain destinations more sustainable. The many national and international awards and certification programmes know 100s of such best practices in destinations world wide – an excellent base for VISTAS 2015!"

All destination nominees were announced in earlier editions of Vision on Sustainable Tourism:

Katwijk is a family tourism destination in the Netherlands that has received the QualityCoast Award.

The Azores islands are a spectacular geological area that has the QualityCoast Gold Award.

Ierapetra (Crete, Greece) is a town with a strong identity, awarded QualityCoast Gold.

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Koksijde is a coastal town in Flanders (Belgium) with many recreational facilities, awarded QualityCoast Gold.

Gozo (Malta), awarded the QualityCoast Gold, is an island that cherished its traditional landscape, towns and local identity.

Baiona in Galicia (Spain) received the QualityCoast Gold Award in 2013. Its medieval historical center is listed by the UNESCO.

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Alonissos (Greece) is a small island where people still find a traditional Greek experience.

Lagos (Portugal), that has the QualityCoast Gold, is a historic town settled in 2000 BC in the region of the Algarve

Goedereede (Netherlands), is a town with traditional style buildings dating back to the Middle Ages.

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Cascais (Portugal) offers visitors a rare mix of nature, history and culture, wonderful beaches and luxury facilities.

Migliarino-San Rossore-Massaciuccoli (Italy), is a regional nature park near Pisa, Tuscany, presenting a variety of wetlands, woodlands and dunes.

The Portuguese West Region (Oeste), that has a QualityCoast Award 2013, offers a unique combination of traditional wine cultivation, Ecological and Agriculture

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Werfenweng – eco-friendly holidays in the Salzburger Land Gentle mobility enables guests to enjoy a car-free vacation, while still being completely mobile.

Belgium is a foodie hotspot, but it can be difficult to find the best local artisanal products – unless you happen to visit the small town of Durbuy.

Kuldiga ventured in a massive project with innovative sustainable tourism products able to transform a beautiful (but unknown) area and in an multi-activitites tourism destination.

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Noordwijk (Netherlands), a QualityCoast Gold destination since 2007, is surrounded by clean beaches, rich dunes, and in spring: tulip fields.

Ameland (Netherlands), awarded QualityCoast Gold, is a Dutch island in the UNESCO Wadden Sea area.

Westvoorne (Netherlands), awarded QualityCoast Gold, is rich in biodiversity and historical buildings, including a lighthouse from 1630.

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Schouwen-Duiveland (Netherlands) with its rich nature and animal life is a popular family destination awarded the QualityCoast Gold.

Fuerteventura, Canary islands (Spain) is a Biosphere Reserve, awarded QualityCoast Gold in 2012. Promotion of sustainable transport has resulted into 225 km bike lanes

Paphos district (Cyprus), awarded QualityCoast Gold is the mythical birthplace of Goddess Aphrodite. Its antiquities brought Paphos on the UNESCO list.

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And the winners were?

Cascais/ Portugal, Kuldiga/ Latvia, Werfenweng/ Austria, Gozo/ Malta, Durbuy/ Belgium, Lagos/ Portugal

See more at DESTINET: 

And the losers? The ‘Rusty Nail’ award for unsustainable tourism was shared by…

Hurghada: eco-horror for coral reefs

Kazakhstan: 10,000 people fighting to keep their habitat from commercial destruction

Algarve: international autodrome against nature

Sochi: winter Olympics – a lesson in how not to put on a large scale event

See more about the losers at DESTINET

Valere Tjolle

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