Gothenburg, a pioneering destination in sustainability creates a platform to inspire the tourism industry.
Gothenburg is considered one of the top destinations for sustainability. Ranked number one for three years in a row according to the GDS index, and proclaimed the European Capital of Smart Tourism in 2020, the city claims to be “the world’s most sustainable destination“.
With a solid sustainability strategy developed by Göteborg & Co, the city’s DMO, intends to offer an excellent tourist experience with an interesting cultural scene, relying on new technologies and the latest digital trends. In addition, the destination has 90% of hotels with eco-labels which are pioneers in setting goals to reduce the carbon footprint of tourism activities.
One of the pillars of the sustainability strategy is to share knowledge and establish networks to facilitate collaboration between destinations. The idea is to create spaces and tools to allow knowledge sharing, inspiration and exchange of solutions and best practices that contribute to sustainability.
One of these tools is the website www.101sustainableideas.com, created in 2020 after conducting global research on best practices in urban tourism. Through a search engine, entries to short posts with ideas from the tourism field can be browsed. These ideas have the value of bringing people, companies and destinations closer to achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. The initiatives can be promoted by government administrations and DMOs, as well as by private sector companies, associations or NGOs.

Some examples of sustainable ideas that can be found are:
- Surabaya Plastic Exchange: an initiative in Indonesia that allows you to pay, with plastic waste, for your public transport ticket. It accepts 10 plastic cups or 5 bottles in exchange for a bus ticket.
- La Voyageuse: online booking platform for women traveling alone. The company was created to empower women to travel alone by offering accommodation opportunities where the hosts are women, to allow women travelers to feel safe.
- Fujitsu translator for doctors: the Japanese technology company Fujitsu has created a device that can be worn around the necks of doctors and nurses to overcome language barriers when attending to visitors.
- ResiRest: a platform that connects local families with visitors who want to have an authentic gastronomic experience. It is mainly carried out in low-income countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America, with families benefiting from 85% of the revenue.
The initiatives can be proposed by any person or entity through an online form, which makes it a fully collaborative process that does not stop at 101 ideas, but rather continue to expand. In addition, each sustainable idea is linked to one or more SDGs as well as to several categories among transportation, housing, technology, education, etc. The aim is to enhance creativity, innovation and inspiring destinations to evolve in a positive direction.
From Pax# Genuine Advisors we highlight the importance of this type of endeavor, which besides verifying that the industry focuses more and more on sustainability, demonstrates that the collaboration among multiple stakeholders in the sector is not only possible but necessary to ensure a correct flow of information and improve the tourism value chain.