Nadur was one of 10 European towns and regions that received the European Destinations of Excellence Award (Eden) for Best Emerging Rural Destination, a pilot project that is co-funded by the European Commission.

The awards ceremony took place on Friday in the Algarve, Portugal, as part of the European Tourism Forum (ETF) 2007, focused on Sustainable Management of European Destinations to which more than 500 delegates from all over Europe attended. The Vice President of the European Commission Gunter Verheugen presented the award to the Mayor of Nadur, Chris Said.

The EU Affairs & Policy Development Unit within the Ministry for Tourism & Culture has participated in the EDEN project, which was aimed at drawing attention to the value of European tourism and to promote destinations where the economic growth objective is pursued in such a way as to ensure the social, cultural and environmental sustainability of tourism.

Amongst the 10 localities in Malta and Gozo, that participated, Nadur was selected for its authentic and sustainable rural offer and for the use of effective promotional tools to market its attributes over the past three years.

Nadur took on many successful initiatives that have supported the development of rural tourism by making the most of its heritage, offering a different product and improving seasonality spread.

"This award is a great recognition for us and for the work that we have been doing, but it also gives us the responsibility to keep on working in this direction. I believe the award is not only destined in our case to the single locality of Nadur, but to the whole island of Gozo that, through Europe and in Europe can unlock all its potential and enhance all its beauty", Nadur Mayor Chris Said said.