Novi Pazar among European Destinations of Excellence

In the past days, events dedicated to the European Destinations of Excellence (EDEN) contest were held in Brussels, and Novi Pazar won at the national contest in Serbia, carried out by the Tourism Organization of Serbia (TOS) in 2017.

At the ceremony at Concert Noble in Brussels, 18 European destinations – winners at national contests received acknowledgments handed out on behalf of the European Commission by Slawomir Tokarsi, Director of Innovation and Advanced Manufacturing of the Directorate General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs (DG GROW) at the European Commission.

As TOS announced, the award for Novi Pazar was received by Mayor Nihat Bisevac and the director of the Tourism Organization of Novi Pazar, Ljiljana Lesevic, and the Serbian delegation also featured a representative of the Tourism Organization of Serbia, Dejan Crnomarkovic, as the national coordinator of the EDEN program for Serbia.

Novi Pazar's material cultural heritage includes items on the UNESCO list – the Stari Ras medieval complex with the Church of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul and monasteries Sopocani and Djurdjevi Stupovi, a part of the Council of Europe's cultural route Transromanica, as well as edifices from the Ottoman period – the Novi Pazar Fortress with the old town, Altun-Alem Mosque and Lejlek Mosque, Isa Beg's Hamam and many other locations and features reflecting centuries of tradition and the dynamic development of this multicultural area. The national award ceremony was held in December 2017 in Belgrade.

During the 12th meeting of the EDEN Network, representatives of the selected destinations signed the Brussels Declaration, by which the destinations oblige to take part in the constant sharing of good practices between the awarded destinations and the stimulation of other European destinations to adopt models of sustainable tourist development, the press release says.

Turistička organizacija Novi Pazar

Turistička organizacija Srbije Beograd

Grad Novi Pazar

Republički zavod za zaštitu spomenika kulture Beograd

EUROPEAN COMMISSION Bruxelles

European Destinations of Excellence

EDEN Network

UNESKO World Heritage Sites

Slawomir Tokarsi

Director of Innovation and Advanced Manufacturing of the Directorate General for Internal Market Industry Entrepreneurship and SMEs DG GROW at the European Commission

DG GROW

European Commission

Nihat Bisevac

Ljiljana Lesevic

Dejan Crnomarkovic

Stari Ras medieval complex

Church of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul

Sopocani

Djurdjevi Stupovi

Transromanica

Novi Pazar Fortress

Altun Alem Mosque

Lejlek Mosque

Isa Beg s Hamam