This was decided on Friday by the World Tourism Organisation UN Tourism, which honoured Valendas for its commitment to the global sustainable development of tourism and for its various initiatives to preserve, promote and enhance the cultural heritage and natural resources, according to a statement on Friday from the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO).

Alongside Valendas, the municipality of Evolène (Valais) has been selected to participate in the“Best Tourism Villages” upgrade programme for villages with great potential but which do not fully meet the criteria.

The locations that can already boast the title of“Best Tourism Villages” in Switzerland are Andermatt (canton Uri), Gruyères (Fribourg), Morcote (Ticino), Morat (Fribourg), Romoos (Lucerne), Saas-Fee (Valais), Saint-Ursanne (Jura), Splügen (Graubünden) and Valposchiavo (Graubünden).

For the fifth edition of this international initiative, UN Tourism received more than 270 applications from 65 member countries in 2025. Nominations were open to all villages in which traditional activities such as agriculture and forestry are of great importance, which use tourism as a means of promoting and preserving their cultural heritage and which encourage sustainable tourism.

This summer, a Swiss jury, comprising representatives of SECO, the Swiss Tourism Federation and Switzerland Tourism, selected and presented the nominations of Evolène and Valendas. Valendas ultimately convinced the international jury of UN Tourism.

The official award ceremony for the“Best Tourism Villages” took place as part of the third annual meeting of the BTV network in the city of Huzhou (Zhejiang Province, China).

In addition to this token of recognition, the winners will benefit from global media campaigns promoted by UN Tourism. The award will enable the destinations to increase their visibility and strengthen their positioning as a tourist destination. The villages will also have access to an international and national network for experience exchange, knowledge transfer and further training opportunities.

Translated from Italian by DeepL/ts

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