Sweden - the sustainable destination

To live sustainably is something Swedes strive for as part of everyday life. Indeed, we care a great deal about our nature and the environment but, to us, sustainability is so much more. It’s preserving and nurturing our culture, supporting the community, celebrating diversity. It’s about ensuring visitors have the adventure of a lifetime, no matter whether they visit Sweden tomorrow or in two decades.

Travelling sustainably should be a fun, exciting and rewarding experience for everyone and this is something Sweden takes to heart. We are proud to be one of the world’s most open and accessible countries. Those who travel to Sweden can rest assured that they are welcome here being, even for a moment, part of a progressive society which seamlessly and simultaneously celebrates tradition and looks to the future.

Sustainability is intrinsic to almost every experience travellers have in Sweden, whether that be posting a photo of a National Park on Instagram, munching tasty and healthy local delicacies, which were harvested that morning from the restaurant’s garden or sleeping in a bed that was made by craftspeople from the local village, who more than likely built the building the bed is situated in too!

In larger hotels or chain brands, visitors will notice more plant based, organic and locally sourced items on the menu and they’ll be encouraged to re-use their towels and bed linen, with the money saved from laundry going toward an environmental or local charity that’s close to the business’ own goals.

Many activity providers are working to encouraging guests to stay local to enjoy experiences on their doorstep, whilst at the same time actively promoting human powered sightseeing with walking, running, bicycle and kayak based tours readily available to enjoy in both cities and more rural areas too. All of which are taking advantage of our allemansrätten or freedom to roam principle enabling us all to explore the country in a most enjoyable.

Of course we are not perfect and please bear in mind that many of our tourism businesses and destinations are not 100% sustainable yet but we are constantly looking to improve our sustainable credentials and this is one of the reasons Sweden was the second country after Australia to introduce an ecotourism charter so we can improve together as a destination.