EU set to approve European Capital of Tourism title initiated by Hungary

Budapest (MTI) – The European Union is set to okay the creation of the title of “European Capital of Tourism”, a project initiated by Hungary, Socialist MEP István Ujhelyi said in Budapest on Monday.

An agreement on making the project a partner programme of the UN’s World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) is set to be signed in two weeks’ time in Madrid, Ujhelyi, who is deputy chairman of the European Parliament’s transport and tourism committee, told a press conference.

The European Commission will support the project with 2.5 million euros in its first year, Ujhelyi said, expressing hope that the programme could follow in the footsteps of the European Capital of Culture project and become a mainstay in the EU.

Plans are to bestow the title in three categories each year: the metropolitan, municipality group and small municipality and professional community categories, Ujhelyi said.

Source: MTI