The city of Paphos was officially named the European Capital of Smart Tourism for 2023, according to its Mayor Phedon Phedonos. 

In a post on social media, the Mayor said that the result of the EU competition was announced Wednesday in Brussels, where a Paphos Municipality delegation presented its proposal for the title of European Capital of Smart Tourism 2023. Paphos competed with 29 candidate cities from 13 countries and the finalists were Aarhus (Denmark), Gijon (Spain), Zagreb (Croatia), Paphos (Cyprus), Porto (Portugal), San Sebastian (Spain) and Seville (Spain). Paphos as the winning city will get communication and branding support for 2023, including a promotional video, a specially designed 'hashtag sculpture' for the city, as well as tailored promotional activities and exposure at European and international level.