menu-icon
Scandinavian
MIND
search-icon
Tourism
Nordic countries are officially the world’s most sustainable tourist destinations
The region holds 3 of 5 countries in the top, according to a new global survey.
By JOHAN MAGNUSSON
13 Mar 2021

Market research company Euromonitor International’s Sustainable Travel Index was unveiled at the all-digital version of the world’s largest travel fair ITB in Berlin yesterday. The survey assesses 99 country destinations through the lens of environmental, social, and economic sustainability, country risk as well as sustainable tourism demand, transport, and lodging.

And, Scandinavia and the Nordic countries are leading by example, with Sweden in top, followed by Finland, Austria, Estonia, and Norway.

— Sweden is a pioneer in lifecycle assessment research which is critical to understand the full impact of consumer behaviour and consumption patterns, says Caroline Bremner, head of travel at Euromonitor International.

— To see that Sweden tops global ranking lists for sustainability is very gratifying, especially when we know that more and more consumers and tourists in the world want to live, act, and travel more sustainably. Our sustainability focus is and will be a strong and solid competitive advantage when global travel takes off again, says Susanne Andersson, CEO of Visit Sweden.

Caroline Bremner shares that many countries also show good progress in sustainable transport and lodging.

— There is globally a clear change in mindset and resistance in returning to a volume-driven travel and tourism model. Instead, stakeholders are rallying together to ”build back better” through value creation from sustainable tourism. As momentum grows in the run up to COP26, consumers, travel brands, destination marketing organizations, and governments continue to align to avert the climate emergency.

Susanne Andersson on the new tendencies:

— More and more countries, destinations, and other actors have realized the potential that more sustainable tourism entails with major investments and preparations currently in progress around the world to be able to market more sustainable experiences when the time is right.

The full report is available here