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Bordeaux (France) and Valencia (Spain) are the EU’s new Capitals of Smart Tourism for 2022. Representatives from the two cities will receive the official award at a formal ceremony during the European Tourism Forum in Brussels on 16 November.
The European Union initiative, taking place thanks to financing from the COSME Programme, seeks to recognize exceptional performance and achievements of European cities in the field of tourism. More specifically, there are four categories that jury uses to evaluate the candidate cities: Accessibility, Sustainability, Digitalisation, and Cultural heritage and creativity.

Spanish Valenciaport is making its debut in 2021 by joining the club of twelve international ports committed to decarbonisation and emission reduction projects.

The Port of Valencia (PAV) is now a member of the World Ports Climate Action Program (WPCAP), a working group that jointly promotes actions against climate change and that collaborates closely with the International Association of Ports and Harbours (IAPH).

Cities such as Barcelona and Valencia are among the most exposed in Europe to phenomena such as heatwaves, floods, storms or droughts, which will be more and more frequent and could alter coastal areas. In this context, climate information is essential to face the challenges of climate change and adapt these cities and their surroundings to present and future adversities.

In this regard, the mayors of Barcelona and Valencia, Ada Colau and Joan Ribó, underlined the key role of cities in managing the climate crisis. By concentrating a large part of the population, large cities are the main sources of greenhouse gas emissions globally and in the case of the Mediterranean region, they are also areas with a great potential impact of climatic extremes.