Sweden Ranked Best Country in the World for Sustainable Tourism
Scandinavia is renowned for its progressive attitudes so it’s no surprise that Sweden is leading the drive for sustainable travel, says Olivia Palamountain from Globetrender.
Sustainability is at the “forefront of global conscience”, says the Top Countries for Sustainable Tourism report released by global market research company Euromonitor International, with 66.4 per cent of international consumers wanting to have a positive impact on the environment through their daily actions in 2021.
The new report forms part of the Sustainable Travel Index, which assessed 99 destinations in 2020 through the lens of environmental, social and economic sustainability, sustainable tourism demand, transport and lodging, and country risk (in terms of geopolitics, natural disasters, man-made catastrophes and diseases).
In breaking down attitudes and achievements by region, the report finds that Scandinavia is leading by example in its engagement and progress towards sustainable travel, with Sweden ranked first […].
Top 20 destinations for sustainable tourism in 2020
Sweden
Finland
Austria
Estonia
Norway
Slovakia
Iceland
Latvia
France
Slovenia
Switzerland
Lithuania
Croatia
Czech Republic
Ireland
Germany
Belgium
Denmark
Netherlands
Portugal
“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.
The Euromonitor report states: “Sweden is the birthplace of the flygskam (flight shaming) movement and home to climate strike activist, Greta Thunberg. Focused on devising a sustainable tourism strategy, Sweden is working to promote rural and regional tourism in core cities.
“The country also benefits from efficient transport infrastructure and alternative forms of travel besides air to help appease flight-shaming. For sustainable lodging, Sweden serves as a role model with its award-winning Nordic eco-chic architecture and design.”
In 1995, Sweden became one of the first countries in the world to initiate a carbon tax placed on carbon-intensive fuels such as oil and natural gas, something that cut down Sweden’s dependency on fossil fuels enormously.
The country is also highly engaged with the Sustainable Development Goals and preserves its Arctic ice and permafrost to help stop climate change, aiming to achieve net zero emissions by 2045.
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This is an excerpt from an article originally written by Olivia Palamountain and published by Globetrender.
