- Alba Iulia was the first romanian city which developed the largest smart city pilot project, during 2017-2019, testing over 100 smart solutions;
- Alba Iulia is the first City from Central and Eastern Europe that signed an agreement with the World Bank and was rated by one of the most important Rating Agencies in the world, Moody's;
- According to the World Bank and Moody's, Alba Iulia Municipality has a strong institutional capacity for planning urban development and attracting financing resources for urban policies and projects;
- According to the World Bank the The city of Alba Iulia ranks first among Romanian county capitals in per capita EU funds absorption. (https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2015/09/24/world-bank-helps-romanias-top-performing-alba-iulia-boost-potential-to-access-69-million-eu-funds);
- Alba Iulia is a city with national and international awards: In the past few years the rehabilitation works of the Vauban Alba Carolina Citadel - for which more than 50 million Euros were invested - and the efforts carried out by Alba Iulia Municipality for enhancing the tourism potential and for increasing the visibility of the local heritage were appreciated at national and international level through various awards and distinguished appreciations;
- Alba Iulia Municipality was awarded the prestigious title of European Destination of Excellence (EDEN) conferred on the 1 June 2012 by the European Commission through the Ministry of Regional Development and Tourism.
(https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/eden/destinations/romania_en#alba); - Alba Iulia Municipality was awarded the Jury's Special Mention Award from EUROPA NOSTRA Organisation which is the largest European Association focused on Tourism Conservation. Since then Alba Iulia Municipality is member of the Association as associate partner. (http://europanostra.org/);
- The Roman - Catholic Cathedral of Alba Iulia Municipality, one of the most important architectural monuments of Transylvania is a Romanesque heritage recognized at European level. Since 2012, the cathedral has been included in one of the European Routes of the Council of Europe, TRANSROMANICA - The Romanesque Route of European Heritage.(https://www.transromanica.com/about/association/);
- The Greatest Hug from Alba Iulia - officially recognized by the Guinness Book of Records as the largest human hug in history, during which 10.000 people hugged the Alba Carolina Citadel. Also, the largest image of a country reached a new world record in 2018 (more than 4500 people);
- The Great Look (2012) was also an exercise in community involvement and for the promotion of cultural heritage (creation of a huge painting with portraits of 1400 of citizens of the city, represented in the form of the logo of the city of Alba Carolina;
- Editorial appearances about Alba Iulia Municipality and the tourist potential in magazines national and international organizations such as National Geographic Traveler - the Romanian version, World Heritage Magazine and Forbes Romania have also contributed to the tourist promotion of the city);
- The efficient use of European funds was brought to Alba Iulia Municipality in December 2014, the First Prize of the European Structural Funding Gala, at the "welcoming guests" section. The prize was offered to the City’s Mayor by Jyrki Katainen, European Commission’s Vice-President for Jobs, Growth, Investment, and Competitiveness;
- Not only the achievements in tourism development were appreciated, in 2014, but Alba Iulia Municipality was also awarded the title “A city renewal” within the Best Cities Awards Gala 2014 by Forbes Romania for its accomplishments in the physical regeneration of the city, mainly financed through EU structural funds.
Other arguments that recommend Alba Iulia as an attractive place for investments:
Photo credits: albaiuliaqr.ro
