Dublin City Launches Year As 'European Capital of Smart Tourism'

Dublin City Council has officially launched its designation as the 2024 'European Capital of Smart Tourism'.

The Samuel Beckett Bridge was lit up with the European flag last night in recognition of the award.

'The European Capital of Smart Tourism' designation is awarded to cities by the European Commission in recognition of destinations that are leading the way in becoming more sustainable, accessible, cultural, and digital.

Dublin City has previously been shortlisted for this award in 2021 and is one of the only cities in Europe to have an established Smart Tourism Programme which is supported by Dublin City Council, Smart Dublin, and Dublin City Council Culture Company.

Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Catherine Martin, said: "I congratulate everybody concerned with Dublin's designation as European Capital of Smart Tourism in 2024. This is a wonderful achievement that underscores the City Council's commitment to ensuring that Dublin is a world-class sustainable, accessible, and cultural destination. Dublin is our Capital and is the gateway destination for many of the visitors to our Island.  It's wonderful to see the great work that our local authorities and tourism agencies are undertaking being recognised like this. I know it will serve to inspire other areas to strive for excellence in sustainable tourism practices that deliver better environmental, social, and economic outcomes for all."

For Dublin City Council and its partners, the designation will involve facilitating a comprehensive programme of events, engagements and activities focused on embedding best practices in sustainable tourism. Representatives from other leading destinations in Europe will be visiting Dublin during the year to collaborate, learn, and share best practices with their counterparts in Dublin. A core focus for the year will be using the designation to drive further collaboration between Dublin and other EU cities.

Richard Shakespeare, Chief Executive of Dublin City Council said, "We are delighted that Dublin has been awarded the 2024 European Capital of Smart Tourism. This designation is a recognition of our commitment to deliver a greener, more accessible, inclusive, and innovative Dublin, for both our visitors and locals. Our Smart Tourism programme, which was established in 2019 has been sharing, collaborating, and learning from some of the best cities in Europe and embedding this best practice in our own work through our new Tourism Strategy 2023-2023. We will proudly use this designation as a platform to deliver an innovative approach to tourism for Dublin."