Twenty five tourist destinations from across Europe were awarded the title of ‘2010 European Destination of Excellence in Aquatic Tourism’ at a Gala Awards ceremony held in Brussels on the European and International Tourism Day.

The twenty five scenic waterside locations in Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Spain, Slovenia and Turkey received the European Destination of Excellence (EDEN) award due to the innovative approaches and sustainable manner in which they managed and promoted their tourism offer.

• Seelentium - the Upper Innviertel region (Austria)
• The Lakes of Eau d’heure (Belgium)
• Regional Administration Silistra (Bulgaria)
• Nin (Croatia), Kato Pyrgos (Cyprus)
• Bystřicko (Czech Republic), Lake Võrtsjärv (Estonia)
• Saimaa Holiday (Finland)
• The Grand Site du Marais Poitevin (France)
• Western Pomeranian River District (Germany)
• Prefecture of Serres (Greece)
• Lake Tisza (Hungary)
• The Westfjords region (Iceland),
• Loop Head Peninsula in Co. Clare – Kilkee (Ireland)
• Municipality of Monte Isola (Italy)
• Sea Resort Jūrmala (Latvia)
• Zarasai Region - Heavenly Shore on Earth (Lithuania)
• The Nature Park of the Upper Sûre (Luxembourg)
• Isla (Senglea) (Malta)
• WaterReijk Weerribben Wieden - Giethoorn & the wetlands (The Netherlands)
• The Biebrza Valley and Wetlands – Wildlife Sanctuary (Poland)
• Geoagiu Băi (Romania)
• River Kolpa (Slovenia)
• A Guarda (Spain)
• Bitlis-Nemrut Crater Lake (Turkey)

With this initiative EDEN is enhancing the visibility of emerging and less known destinations in the European Union. Moreover the initiative spreads the message of sustainable practices in tourism, promotes under-visited locations and thereby helps to decongest over visited destinations.

Since 2007 EDEN has been promoting sustainable tourism models across the European Union and candidate countries. The project is based upon national competitions that are held every year and result in the selection of a ‘tourist destination of excellence for each participating country. This European quest for excellence in tourism is developed around an annual theme, chosen by the Commission together with the relevant national tourism authorities. To date the themes have focused on rural tourism (2007), local intangible heritage (2008), protected areas (2009) and this year’s theme of aquatic tourism.