Sustainable Cultural Tourism is the integrated management of cultural heritage and tourism activities in conjunction with the local community, creating social, environmental and economic benefits for all stakeholders in order to achieve tangible and intangible cultural heritage conservation and sustainable tourism development. (European Commission DG EAC, OMC Report 2019).
Sustainable Tourism is tourism that takes full account of its current and future economic, social and environmental impacts, addressing the needs of visitors, the industry, the environment and host communities. (UNWTO).
Sustainable Tourism is tourism that takes full account of its current and future economic, social and environmental impacts, addressing the needs of visitors, the industry, the environment and host communities. (UNWTO).
ECTN Awards 2025 results announced! The Winners and Runners-up by Category were announced at the ECTN Awards ceremony that took place in Sibiu, Romania, on 2nd October 2025, during the 18th ECTN Conference. ECTN co-organises an Interactive Session at the European Week of Regions and Cities in Brussels
INSPIRES SMP Project launched !
The INSPIRES project has been launched, led by Experience Bremerhaven with ECTN as a partner. INSPIRES promotes the twin transition of Tourism SMEs in 6 EU countries. ECTN is the partner responsible for communication and dissemination activities. www.inspires-tourism.eu 
Initiatives for Sustainable Innovative Practices, Resilience, and Empowerment in Tourism SMEs
INSPIRES fosters collaboration among Tourism SMEs in Europe, to develop digital and green transition solutions, with resilience and sustainability. INSPIRES project presents an innovative approach to address a crucial EU priority: fostering collaboration among SMEs to develop scalable and transferable TWIN TRANSITION solutions, thereby stimulating robust economic growth in regional tourism ecosystems throughout Europe. The consortium comprises 7 partners spanning 6 EU countries, each contributing unique expertise: 2 DMOs, 3 Business Support Organisations, 1 university, 1 affiliated city, and 1 EU Network (ECTN). Together, they forge a robust alliance dedicated to bolstering resilience among tourism SMEs in the post-COVID-19 economy, empowering them to navigate crises and thrive. Co-funded by the Single Market Programme COSME of the European Union. 
ECTN celebrates 15 years of activities ! since its founding in Brussels on 20 May 2009 
House of European History receives ECTN Award !
The ECTN Board has decided to award the 'House of European History' a Special Prize as a 'Destination of Sustainable Cultural Tourism 2023' at pan-European level. This special award is introduced in the framework of a specific category on 'History and Heritage' in the ECTN Awards, 10th edition. Furthermore, it is as an acknowledgement of a study visit that took place in May 2023, in the framework of the ReInHerit (Redefining the future of cultural heritage) Coordination and Support Action (CSA) in the EU Horizon 2020 programme. The Award ceremony took place at the House of European History in Brussels on 14 March 2024. The museum director Dr. Constanze Itzel received the award from the ECTN Secretary-General, Manos Vougioukas.
The House of European History (HEH) is a history museum and cultural institution in Brussels, Belgium, focusing on the recent history of Europe. It is an initiative by the European Parliament, opened in 2017. It meets several of ECTN Awards and ReInHerit CSA criteria, such as cultural heritage management, sustainability, quality, digitalisation, accessibility and innovation. Regarding digitalisation, HEH offers highly relevant digital facilities such as multilingual and interactive tablets with audio enhancing the visitor experience, virtual tours and online collection. With additional high standards on sustainability, accessibility and creativity in special exhibitions, HEH is also meeting smart tourism destination criteria. HEH is a most important museum in Brussels, documenting and highlighting European history.
ECTN congratulates HEH for receiving this newly introduced special award at pan-European level ! 
ECTN supports the UNWTO 'Tourism Opens Minds' initiative 
ECTN an affiliate member of UNWTO
In the framework of the 118th session of the UNWTO Executive Council in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, on 16-18 May 2023, the new candidatures for the UNWTO Affiliate Membership have been approved. European Cultural Tourism Network (ECTN) is amongst 16 new entities that joined the Affiliate Membership, adding a wide range of profiles with different backgrounds. We are looking forward to working together to build a more accessible, responsible and sustainable tourism industry. ECTN a member of the Stakeholders Commitee for the EUROPEAN YEAR OF CULTURAL HERITAGE 2018, selected by the European Commission DG Education & Culture (EAC)
ECTN was the only member of the EYCH 2018 Stakeholders Committee with a tourism mandate |
Best Practices on Cultural Heritage Management, Digitalisation and Smart Tourism
ReInHerit Horizon2020 CSA Digital Hub ECTN is a member of the:
Affiliate Member
ECTN is a signatory of the:
ECTN Projects:
Religious, Spiritual and Pilgrimage European Cultural Tourism with Sustainability
Smart Tourism - Smart Destinations: Accessibility, Sustainability, Digitalisation, Cultural Heritage and Creativity
Eno-Gastronomy in Developing Experiential Sustainable Tourism with eno-culinary heritage preservation
Initiatives for Sustainable Innovative Practices, Resilience, and Empowerment in Tourism SMEs
ECTN supports:
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