{"id":178923,"date":"2026-03-10T14:41:48","date_gmt":"2026-03-10T12:41:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/visittampere.fi\/?post_type=blog&#038;p=178923"},"modified":"2026-03-10T15:13:39","modified_gmt":"2026-03-10T13:13:39","slug":"tampere-the-european-capital-of-smart-tourism","status":"publish","type":"blog","link":"https:\/\/visittampere.fi\/en\/articles\/tampere-the-european-capital-of-smart-tourism\/","title":{"rendered":"Tampere \u2013 the European Capital of Smart Tourism"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>What?<\/h2>\n<p><strong>The European Capital of Smart Tourism<\/strong> is an annual recognition awarded by the European Commission. This year, 58 destinations from 22 different countries applied for the title. Fifteen destinations were selected as finalists, including Tampere.<\/p>\n<p>The title is awarded to a city that demonstrates exceptional commitment to developing sustainable and innovative tourism.<\/p>\n<p>Previous winners include Lyon, Helsinki, Malaga, Gothenburg, Dublin, Valencia, and Turin.<\/p>\n<p>The evaluation is based on four themes: <strong>sustainability<\/strong>,<strong> accessibility<\/strong>, <strong>digitalisation <\/strong>and <strong>creativity<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<h2>Why did Tampere win?<\/h2>\n<p>Tampere\u2019s victory was justified by the fact that the city stood out with its innovative practices and plans for sustainable growth. In addition, Tampere has strong concrete examples in all four categories:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Sustainability: <\/strong>Tampere\u2019s actions in climate work, such as responsibility tools aimed at companies and <a href=\"https:\/\/visittampere.fi\/en\/news\/tampere-climbs-to-the-worlds-top-six-in-sustainable-tourism-benchmarking\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Tampere\u2019s recent rise from 23rd to 6th place in the global Global Destination Sustainability Index<\/a>. Visit Tampere has also been awarded the <a href=\"https:\/\/visittampere.fi\/en\/news\/visit-tampere-awarded-the-sustainable-travel-finland-label\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Sustainable Travel Finland (STF) label<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Accessibility: <\/strong>Tampere is easy to reach within Finland due to its central location. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nysse.fi\/en\/tickets-and-fares\/event-ticket.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Nysse event ticket<\/a> helps event visitors travel to events using public transport, and <a href=\"https:\/\/outdoorexpress.fi\/en\/departures-from-tampere\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Outdoor Express<\/a> provides access from Tampere city centre to national parks in the region. <strong>Tohloppi<\/strong> has an <a href=\"https:\/\/outdoorstampere.fi\/en\/accessible-destinations\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">accessible nature trail<\/a> and <strong>Pyynikki beach<\/strong> has an accessible swimming beach. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nysse.fi\/en\/instructions\/accessibility.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Tampere Tram<\/a> is also accessible.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Digitalisation: <\/strong>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tampere.fi\/en\/communications\/tamperefinland-app\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Tampere.Finland mobile app<\/a> offers a wide range of tips and offers for both residents and visitors. The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tampere.fi\/en\/smart-tampere\/tampere-pulse\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Pulssi service<\/a> collects anonymised data and helps businesses in the city centre prepare for events, for example by anticipating increased demand, sufficient staffing, and opening hours.<strong> The Tampere 1918 exhibition<\/strong> at the Vapriikki Museum Centre was moved online, and the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tampere.fi\/en\/city-and-decision-making\/organisation\/culture-district-development-project-western-city-centre-tampere\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Cultural District<\/a> digital map allows visitors to discover operators, attractions, events, and route suggestions on the west side of the Tammerkoski rapids and nearby areas.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Creativity: <\/strong>Tampere is home to the world\u2019s only Moomin Museum, and since 2018 it has also been known as the Sauna Capital of the World.<\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\"><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\"><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>What happens next?<\/h2>\n<p><strong>The European Capital of Smart Tourism<\/strong> year will be launched in Tampere on March 11, when representatives of the European Commission will officially present the city with a statue resembling the theme\u2019s symbol and discuss upcoming measures. The newly completed EU tourism strategy will also be part of the discussions.<\/p>\n<p>This will begin a year of cooperation focused on developing key themes from the city\u2019s perspective, such as the digitalisation of tourism and commercial solutions. Events and training opportunities will be organised for tourism businesses in Tampere and the surrounding region, and Tampere will also join EU-level networks focused on tourism development.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Now is the time to be proud of Europe\u2019s Capital of Smart Tourism and make the most of this celebratory year!<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-179205 \" src=\"https:\/\/visittampere.fi\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/European_Capital_Smart_Tourism_Tampere_2_quer_4c-1024x221.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"547\" height=\"118\" srcset=\"https:\/\/visittampere.fi\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/European_Capital_Smart_Tourism_Tampere_2_quer_4c-1024x221.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/visittampere.fi\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/European_Capital_Smart_Tourism_Tampere_2_quer_4c-300x65.jpg 300w, https:\/\/visittampere.fi\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/European_Capital_Smart_Tourism_Tampere_2_quer_4c-768x166.jpg 768w, https:\/\/visittampere.fi\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/European_Capital_Smart_Tourism_Tampere_2_quer_4c-1536x332.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/visittampere.fi\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/European_Capital_Smart_Tourism_Tampere_2_quer_4c-2048x442.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 547px) 100vw, 547px\" \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":179243,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-178923","blog","type-blog","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.2 (Yoast SEO v27.4) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Tampere \u2013 the European Capital of Smart Tourism &#8211; Find the best Tampere tips &#8211; Visit Tampere<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Tampere is the European Capital of Smart Tourism 2026!\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/visittampere.fi\/en\/articles\/tampere-the-european-capital-of-smart-tourism\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Tampere \u2013 the European Capital of Smart Tourism &#8211; Find the best Tampere tips &#8211; Visit Tampere\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Tampere is the European Capital of Smart Tourism 2026!\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/visittampere.fi\/en\/articles\/tampere-the-european-capital-of-smart-tourism\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Visit Tampere\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/visittampere\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-03-10T13:13:39+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/visittampere.fi\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Tampere_European_Capital_of_Smart_Tourism_statue_Visit_Tampere_Laura_Vanzo-1-1024x576.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"576\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@VisittampereFI\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/visittampere.fi\\\/en\\\/articles\\\/tampere-the-european-capital-of-smart-tourism\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/visittampere.fi\\\/en\\\/articles\\\/tampere-the-european-capital-of-smart-tourism\\\/\",\"name\":\"Tampere \u2013 the European Capital of Smart Tourism &#8211; 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