European Destinations of Excellence- EDEN

Tourism and local Intangible Heritage

What’s intangible heritage? Visiting Carlingford answers that question. From swashbuckling legends like An Táin to Carlingford’s medieval origins and active leprechaun lore, traditions fostered through the generations here have created a unique sense of community – and a lot of fun.
Allied to this living culture and heritage, of course, is the Cooley Peninsula’s jaw-dropping scenery. The Cooley Mountains here are perfect for walks, horse-riding and adventure sports. On Carlingford Lough, the famous local oysters are farmed – oysters available at the local festival in August, or in the gastronomic restaurants located in and around the quaint village of Carlingford.

 Mr Martin Cullen TD Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism with Mr Fred Adamson
accepting award on behalf of Carlingford and The Cooley Peninsula community.

Past meets present

Just an hour’s drive from Belfast and Dublin, Carlingford and its surrounding area is packed with lough and mountain-based activities, festivals, and a wealth of Irish dance, song, music and language.

Martin Cullen TD Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism with
Carlingford & Cooley Peninsula Eden working group and Fáilte Ireland project manager Sheena Doyle

 EDEN is the acronym for European Destinations of Excellence, a European commission project promoting sustainable tourism development models across the European Union. The project is based on national competitions that take place every year and result in the selection of a tourist “destination of excellence” for each participating country. Through the selection of destinations, EDEN effectively achieves the objectives of:

- enhancing visibility of the emerging European tourist destinations of excellence, especially the lesser known
creating awareness of the values, diversity and common features of European tourist destinations

- promoting all European countries and regions

- helping de-congestion, combat seasonality, rebalance the tourist flows towards the non-traditional destinations
awarding sustainable forms of tourism

- creating a platform for the exchange of good practices at European level
promoting network between awarded destinations which could persuade other destinations to adopt sustainable tourism development mode

The key feature of the selected destinations is their commitment to social, cultural and environmental sustainability. The recipients of the award are emerging, little known European destinations located in the 27 Member States and candidate countries. The EDEN project helps to spread the sustainable practices used in the chosen destinations across the Union and to turn these places into all-year-round venues. The process thus aims to help de-congest over-visited tourist destinations.
The development of this project is backed by the European Commission which launched the project in 2006 and still plays a crucial coordinating role. Its tasks include encouraging dialogue among stakeholders, co-financing the selection procedures, organising the award ceremony (in the first two years, during the European Tourism Forum) and coordinating a comprehensive communication campaign.

This European quest for excellence in tourism is developed around an annual theme, chosen by the Commission together with the relevant national tourism bodies. The main EDEN themes have been:
2010 -- Aquatic Tourism
2009 -- Tourism and protected areas
2008 -- Tourism and local intangible heritage
2007 -- Best Emerging European Rural Destinations of Excellence.

EDEN project presentation [733 KB]
EDEN brochure (2009) [16 MB]

EDEN leaflet (2008) [415 KB]