On the evening of 24 September, at the awards ceremony of the European Cultural Tourism Network (ECTN) Awards “Sustainable Cultural Tourism Destination 2026”, Turaida Museum Reserve was presented with the Grand Prize in the category “Resilience in Sustainable Cultural Tourism.” The award was presented by European Commission representative Alan Vella. This prestigious international recognition confirms the direction of Turaida Museum Reserve’s development in preserving and integrating cultural heritage into sustainable cultural tourism. At Turaida Museum Reserve, heritage is understood as an interconnected whole encompassing tangible and intangible cultural heritage, natural heritage and the landscape.
Commenting on the award, Jolanta Borīte, Director of Turaida Museum Reserve, said: “This approach enables us not only to preserve heritage, but also to interpret it in contemporary ways, make it accessible to society and pass it on to future generations. By participating in the competition, we conveyed to our international partners that sustainability is at the heart of Turaida Museum Reserve’s work – including the preservation of cultural and natural heritage, the promotion of biodiversity, the implementation of circular economy principles, and public education and awareness.”
From 23 to 26 September, the Greek island of Skiathos is hosting the 19th European Cultural Tourism Network Conference, “Sustainable Cultural Tourism Strategies and the Cultural Compass for Europe.” Resilience in tourism is one of the conference’s key themes. The concept of resilience has become increasingly important in tourism, referring to the ability of the tourism sector, destinations and businesses to withstand, adapt to and recover rapidly from various crises, including natural disasters, pandemics, economic disruptions and political instability. As tourism is one of the sectors most vulnerable to external factors, resilience has become a key prerequisite for its long-term sustainability.
The European Cultural Tourism Network (ECTN) is the only Europe-wide network dedicated to the development and promotion of cultural tourism. Further information is available at www.culturaltourism-network.eu.
Turaida Museum Reserve, located in Latvia’s Gauja River Valley, is a 58-hectare cultural and natural heritage site telling the story of Latvia’s history. It encompasses Turaida Castle, a historic wooden church, the manor complex, Dainu Hill, Gauja Livonian/Liv heritage and Turaida Forest Park. The Museum Reserve has received international recognition, including the European Museum of the Year Award (1996), the Sustainable European Cultural Tourism Destination Award (2016) and the European Heritage Label (2021). In 2025, the Turaida Museum Reserve welcomed more than 170,000 visitors from Latvia and abroad.
Photo caption: From left: Gunta Zaķīte (Turaida Museum Reserve), Manos Vougioukas (ECTN Secretary General), Jolanta Borīte (Turaida Museum Reserve), and Ieva Malceniece (Turaida Museum Reserve).
Prepared by: Gunta Zaķīte Head of the Communications and Educational Work Department Turaida Museum Reserve gunta.zakite@tmr.gov.lv