The winners of the Destination of the Year 2024 competition were announced on May 21 at an exceptional Gala at the Romanian Athenaeum in Bucharest, with the city of Sibiu winning the award for Destination of the Year 2024. Brașov county also had seven winning destinations.

The event was attended by representatives from the Ministries of Economy, Tourism, Entrepreneurship, and Culture, dozens of mayors, members, and presidents of county councils, representatives of tourism and HORECA federations, and many other important players in the field. 

Hundreds of thousands of public votes on the Destinatiaanului.ro platform, a jury of over 200 experts, and a comprehensive sociological study determined this year’s ranking in the 12 categories of the competition. 

The most contested sections, which saw extraordinary mobilization from Romanians, were won by the municipality of Sibiu, which received the “Inspiring Cities” trophy; the town of Bran in Brașov county, which took first place in the “Tourist Resorts” category; and the village of Biertan in Sibiu county, with the most votes in the “Fairytale Villages” category.

The Dacian fortresses in the Orăștie mountains, Corvin Castle, and the Eco Region of the Danube Delta were declared winners in three other highly contested categories – “Lands with Tradition and History,” “Cultural-Educational Attractions,” and “Eco-Tourism Regions,” respectively. 

This year's competition included, for the first time, destinations from the Republic of Moldova, with the village of Văleni in Cahul district ranking highest and winning the Special Prize Destination of the Year 2024 in Moldova. 

This year, the Special Prize for the county with the most winning destinations was awarded to Brașov county, which had seven winning destinations. Leading positions were also held by Sibiu, Harghita, Suceava, and Hunedoara counties.

The municipality of Sibiu, winner of numerous categories, was awarded the Grand Prize Destination of the Year 2024. 

"As mayor, I received not one, but two awards for our tourist destination. One distinguishes Sibiu as an 'Inspiring City' and rightfully so, because our city has been inspiring other destinations for 20 years through creativity and the vibrant life that attracts hundreds of thousands of tourists every year,” said Astrid Fodor, mayor of Sibiu.

“Sibiu has embraced cultural tourism, event tourism, sports tourism, adventure tourism, and gastronomic culture tourism, all components of experiential tourism, for many years, with Sibiu always leading the way in Romanian tourism. The grand prize, 'Destination of the Year 2024,' comes to acknowledge the massive vote for Sibiu. Congratulations to Sibiu and Sibiu residents for two well-deserved awards,” she added.

Over 300 destinations registered for the 12 categories of the competition. 129 of them were declared finalists.

radu@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: the organizers)