Sweden Ranks First at for most Global Sustainable Tourism
Sweden has been ranked at the top of Euromonitor International’s Sustainable Travel Index, which has classified 99 countries worldwide through the lens of sustainable tourism.
“Sweden is a pioneer in lifecycle assessment research which is critical to understand the full impact of consumer behaviour and consumption patterns,” the head of travel at Euromonitor International, Caroline Bremner, pointed out in this regard.
She stressed that Sweden preserves the Arctic ice and permafrost that help halt climate change, adding that it is very engaged with Sustainable Development Goals.
The Scandinavian country was followed by Finland, Austria, Estonia as well as Norway, based on the recent report released by the independent provider of strategic market research, Euromonitor International, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.
The report shows that European countries have been ranked in the top 20 places in the 2020s, Sustainable Travel Index’, which among other things, takes into account environmental conditions and social impacts on many countries.
Euromonitor International stressed that the ranking of countries was made based on seven key factors of sustainable tourism:
- Environmental sustainability
- Social sustainability
- Economic sustainability
- Risk
- Sustainable demand
- Sustainable transport
- Sustainable lodging
The following countries make the top 20 list of the Sustainable Travel Index for 2020.
- Sweden
- Finland
- Austria
- Estonia
- Norway
- Slovakia
- Iceland
- Latvia
- France
- Slovenia
- Switzerland
- Lithuania
- Croatia
- Czech Republic
- Ireland
- Germany
- Belgium
- Denmark
- Netherlands
- Portugal
Based on the Sustainable Travel Index, Bolivia and New Zealand, and Canada have shown progress in sustainable transport.
The USA was positioned in 35th place, followed by the United Kingdom in 40th place, South Africa at 46th, and Japan at 53rd.
Euromonitor International creates analysis and data on many products and services worldwide.
“One year on, travel bans, social restrictions, and new health protocols continue to disrupt the travel and tourism industry. The global pandemic highlighted clear flaws in traditional volume-driven tourism models which are no longer fit for purpose in the new pandemic era,” the company highlighted.
Euromonitor International stressed that it created the Sustainable Travel Index to help travel businesses transition “to a more sustainable and purpose-driven model,” as it will be essential in the future.
A recently published report regarding sustainable tourism showed that 66.4 per cent of consumers worldwide want to make a positive impact on the environment through their everyday actions in 2021.
Sustainable and balanced restoration of the tourism sector has also been urged by the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) during the conversation at the digital meeting of the global travel sector, ITB Berlin Now, which among others attempts to help the travel and tourism sector, which currently face many difficulties due to the Coronavirus pandemic outbreak.
Portugal has also been positioned among the European countries that support the joint work of the European Union Member States that aim to find innovative, sustainable ways to revive the tourism sector in the European Union countries.
The Airports Council International Europe (ACI) previously called on the European Commission to ensure that airports can benefit from €672.5 billion EU Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) to fund their sustainability plans.
Over 60 organizations in European countries called on the governments to include tourism in the national Recovery and Resilience plans of the EU.
Source: http://bit.ly/3vMTKzN
