Danube Delta wins “Destination of the Year 2025” title in Romania

The Danube Delta, in Tulcea County, has won the Grand Prize at the “Destination of the Year 2025” Gala, one of the most important competitions for tourist destinations in Romania.

The win was decided after a public vote expressed online, amassing hundreds of thousands of votes, and on the vote of a jury composed of 200 experts in the field, as well as on a nationally representative sociological survey.

After the win, the Tulcea Destination Management Organization said in a press release that the award reaffirms the tourism potential of the Danube Delta and the county seat municipality and confirms the efforts made by authorities and private companies to attract visitors to the area.

"It is our desire and objective to draw attention to a new local tourism offering, to the involvement of local administration in tourism development, to the strengthening of the public-private partnership, and to the awareness that together we are stronger, that the unified voice of the local community is growing, and that we all bring value and attractiveness to our places," said mayor of Tulcea, Ştefan Ilie.

As the winner of this year’s competition, Tulcea will host the fifth edition of the “Destination of the Year” competition next year.

“Tulcea County is like a whole country because you really find everything here: the Danube with its magnificent Delta, the Black Sea with kilometers of wild beaches, the Măcin Mountains with ancient forests, plus much more,” is stated in the “Winners” section of the online platform destinatiaanului.ro.

Over 75 areas from Romania and the Republic of Moldova competed in the “Destination of the Year 2025,” with Tulcea County appearing in two of them: “Enchanted Lands” and “Storybook Villages.” Rimetea in Alba County won in the latter category.

Oradea, in western Romania, won the “Cities that Inspire” award. The Astra Museum in Sibiu and Dino Parc Râșnov were designated as the Destinations of the Year in the categories "Culture and Education" and "Fun and Adventure," respectively.

During the Gala, a Special Award was also granted to the counties with the most winning destinations. This year, it was awarded to Brașov and Sibiu counties, tied in first place.

The competition also included destinations from the Republic of Moldova this year, with Cricova ranking the highest in the final standings, winning the Special Award for Destination of the Year 2025 in the Republic of Moldova.

(Photo source: press release)