The city of Byblos was awarded the 2014 Golden Apple for excellence in tourism by the European Federation of Journalists and Travel Writers (FIJET).
‘La Pomme d’Or’ or ‘The Golden Apple’ is the FIJET equivalent of the Oscar, presented each year since 1971 to an organization, country, city, or person in recognition of their efforts in promoting tourism.
Many important cities were nominated for this year’s Golden Apple, according to FIJET’s official website, but the Lebanese city of Byblos was recognized for its outstanding efforts in tourism, culture and economy despite the situation in the region.
Byblos is not the only Lebanese city to have won the award; the city of Tyr (south Lebanon) won the Golden Apple in 2001. Many other important cities won the award in previous years including Luxor and Alexandria (Egypt), Nicosia (Cyprus), Moscow (Russia), and others.
In 2013, the city of Byblos was named the best Arab city for tourism by the UNWTO.
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