For the second consecutive year, the municipality of Craiova won second place in the competition for the most beautiful Christmas fairs organized annually by European Best Destinations, official partner tourist website of the European Commission.

Craiova obtained over 91,000 votes, of which over 80% from outside Romania, having only 1,200 votes fewer than the city of Gdansk, in Poland, which was in first place, and 30,000 votes more than the city of Geneva, which was on the 3rd place.

"Maybe I'm subjective, but it seems to me that this year we have by far the most beautiful fair in Europe, that is, the most beautifully lit and certainly the biggest in Europe. We certainly thought that our main competitor was Gdansk, not because it looked better, but because it mobilized more, with the president of Poland supporting Gdansk on his account in this competition and urged all the citizens of Poland to vote for Gdansk. Of course, since it was an election campaign, no one really looked at this competition, but it was important for our city. It remains important for the following years for one simple reason: because we succeeded in winning a bet with tourism. This year we have tourists from the USA, from the UK, we even have from China. This pushes us so that next year we have an even more beautiful fair", the mayor of Craiova, Lia Olguta Vasilescu, said on Wednesday evening, after the announcement of the results.

The Christmas fair in Craiova opened on November 15, being designed as a place where "classic stories and futuristic wonders come together to offer the joys of childhood".AGERPRES (RO - author: Maria Mitrica, editor: Marius Fratila; EN - editor: Bogdan Gabaroi)