Essaouira Wins “Best Creative Living Heritage Destination” at 13th World Creative Tourism Awards
Morocco's coastal city recognized for turning intangible heritage into a year-round tourism strategy
Essaouira, Morocco, has been named Best Creative Living Heritage Destination at the 13th World Creative Tourism Awards, announced by the Creative Tourism Network from Barcelona, Spain.
The Moroccan port city stood out among 223 candidates from 28 countries — a record number for the awards, now in their thirteenth edition. An international jury of tourism marketing and creative economy specialists evaluated entries based on the originality of proposed experiences, the capacity to build a local creative ecosystem, and the integration of sustainability principles.
Why Essaouira: Heritage as a Tourism Engine
The jury highlighted Essaouira’s approach to placing intangible cultural heritage at the center of its development model. Rather than treating tradition as a static attraction, the city has turned its cultural and artistic richness into a driver for attracting visitors while strengthening local creativity.
The Network’s statement pointed to what it described as a “circular approach” — a strategy that diversifies the tourism offer and visitor profiles throughout the year, while preserving the cultural and natural character of the city and its surrounding region. The jury also noted the role of co-creation with local communities and academic institutions as a core element of this model.
A Growing Global Movement
Caroline Couret, President of the Creative Tourism Network, said the diversity of participants and the range of project scales confirm that creativity is accessible to destinations of all sizes. She noted that this edition reflects how destinations worldwide are adopting creative tourism as a tool for sustainable and regenerative development.
This year’s awards also featured a first-time collaboration with UNESCO’s Transcultura programme, funded by the European Union, which led to the launch of the Caribbean Creative Tourism Awards — a dedicated category recognizing creative and sustainable tourism initiatives across the Caribbean region.
Other Winners at the 13th Edition
Essaouira shared the podium with destinations across four continents. Barranquilla, Colombia, took the top prize as World’s Best Creative Destination, while Ljubljana, Slovenia, was named Europe’s Best Creative City Destination. The Charentes region in France won Best Creative Tourism Regional Strategy, and Belo Horizonte, Brazil, earned Best Creative Tourism City Strategy. Other categories recognized projects in Bangkok, Barcelos (Portugal), Cannes, Budapest, Turin, and Kairouan (Tunisia).
About the Creative Tourism Awards
The World Creative Tourism Awards were established in 2014 by the Creative Tourism Network, an organization founded in 2010 with European Union support. The Network now collaborates with UNESCO, UN Tourism, and numerous national ministries to promote tourism models that combine cultural engagement with community benefit. Winners gain international visibility through the Network and access to partnerships with its global members and institutional partners.
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