European Capitals of Tourism: Lviv (Ukraine) is also among the finalists
The competition open to model destinations for sustainable and inclusive tourism
Lviv is also amongst the finalists in the “European Capitals of Tourism” competition, organised by the European Commission to promote a smart and sustainable travel. The Ukrainian city, situated near the Polish border, has made it onto the shortlist for the large cities category (over 100,000 inhabitants) and will compete in Brussels in November 2026 against seven other European destinations, including the Italian city of Genoa. A further eight destinations have been selected for the second category, reserved for towns with a population of between 25,000 and 100,000. The next stage will take place on 18 and 19 November, when the cities will present their applications to the European jury, which will select the two winners.
The two shortlists
Given the high standard of the applications and the close competition between several cities during the evaluation phase, the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport has increased the number of finalists for both competitions from four to eight.
“The cities,” it is explained, “were assessed on the basis of their innovative practices in the areas of sustainability, accessibility, digitalisation and support for cultural heritage, creativity and local talent.”
For Category 1 (cities with over 100,000 inhabitants), 43 applications were received from 18 countries. In addition to Lviv and Genoa, the following were selected: Aalborg (Denmark), Braga (Portugal), Konya (Turkey), Ljubljana (Slovenia), Salzburg (Austria) and Sofia (Bulgaria).
In Category 2 (cities with a population of between 25,000 and 100,000), 40 cities from 17 countries submitted applications. The following cities have progressed to the final round: Calais (France), Calvià (Spain), Geestland (Germany), Ibiza (Spain), Nova Gorica (Slovenia), Sandanski (Bulgaria), Selçuk (Turkey), Zadar (Croatia).
