Place de la bourse at Bordeaux, France

European Best Destinations is a travel organisation based in Brussels which aims at promoting culture and tourism in Europe. The Belgian company gathers information about tourist destination and develops partnership with tourist offices and create online booking tools tailored to the needs of the European tourism boards. Every year, hundreds of thousand of voters take part in its online competition to reward the European Best Destination. Bordeaux is the 2015 winner!



A huge mobilisation led Bordeaux to win the title


Thanks to its 42 396 voters, Bordeaux takes the 1st place and sets a new record. Gironde capital gets ahead of Lisbon and Athenes. This success is largely due to a huge mobilisation from Bordeaux inhabitants and professionals throughout the contest. Even the mayor Alain Juppe showed his support on the social networks. The tourist office also recorded 10 promotional video clips that had unanimous support.




Here is an example with Philippe Etchebest, head chef in Bordeaux

Deputy mayor Stephan Deleaux emphasized that 30% of the votes came from foreigners. Visitors can enjoy every nook and cranny of the city as well as its monumental stone architecture, with its fascinating and historical cultural heritage..



Tourism on the rise


With this success, Bordeaux confirmed its status as international metropolis and now wants to attract more travelers. "This title is the result of an enthusiastic mobilisation of the Tourist Office under the leadership of Nicolas Martin, Managing Director, fully involved in this project with the communications team. This is an encouragement to step up our efforts and strengthen the influence of the label “Destination Bordeaux Métropole”, working closely with the surrounding territories of Arcachon Bay, Medoc and the Gironde estuary" said the President of the Bordeaux Tourist Office.


Indeed, the presence of the "European Best Destination" label on all communication media , as well as the strong international media coverage that comes with this award will attract tour operators worldwide. For instance, online reports about Bordeaux will be available on the website europeanbestdestination.com and will be promoted by travel agencies and airlines. The estimated value of such a campaign is 10 million dollars.


Tourist numbers increased by 16% in Porto, elected in 2014, which represents one of the biggest developments in Europe.