Travel Industry, News and Analytics
Top Destinations for Sustainable Tourism
Sustainable tourism has been a hot trend in recent years. More and more travelers want to not only explore new places and get in touch with local communities but also to have a positive impact on the environment of the places that they visit. As of 2021, 66.4% of global consumers think that staying environment-friendly while traveling is important. During the ITB Berlin NOW show, Euromonitor International (a global research company) presented its rank of the world’s sustainable destinations.
The winners are not surprising. It is not hard to find a sustainable hotel in Stockholm or Helsinki, and there is a reason for that. Sweden ranked as the most sustainable destination in the world, followed by Finland, Austria, Estonia, and Norway. Not only these countries strive to decrease the negative impact of tourism on the environment but also offer many interesting opportunities for guests.
The new Sustainable Travel Index, which is the result of Euromonitor’s research, takes into consideration several important factors besides the ecology. They analyzed not only environmental but also economic and social sustainability, country risk, and availability of sustainable transport and lodging. The company included 99 countries in its rank.
Euromonitor used a total of 57 data indicators to make the list. These indicators have both direct and indirect relevance. Sweden topped the list because it is a pioneer in many spheres and especially in lifecycle assessment research. This approach is vital in building behavior and consumption patterns. Moreover, the country has the Sustainable Development Goals plan that includes actions to preserve permafrost and the Arctic ice as a measure to battle climate change. Sweden is also aiming to become a net-zero emissions country by 2045. Other countries at the top also show progress in becoming more sustainable. An interesting fact all the top 20 countries on the list are located in Europe. Bolivia, New Zealand, and Canada (ranks 22 to 25) are the highest-ranked non-European countries on the list.
The Top 20 Sustainable Travel Index countries are the following: Sweden, Finland, Austria, Estonia, Norway, Slovakia, Iceland, Latvia, France, Slovenia, Switzerland, Lithuania, Croatia, Czech Republic, Ireland, Germany, Belgium, Denmark, Netherlands, and Portugal.
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- Albania
- Algeria
- Andorra
- Angola
- Antigua
- Argentina
- Armenia
- Aruba
- Australia
- Austria
- Azerbaijan
- Bahamas
- Bahrain
- Barbados
- Belarus
- Belgium
- Belize
- Bolivia
- Bosnia And Herzegovina
- Brazil
- Bulgaria
- Burkina Faso
- Canada
- Cayman Islands
- Chile
- China
- Colombia
- Cook Islands
- Costa Rica
- Croatia
- Cyprus
- Czech Republic
- Denmark
- Djibouti
- Dominican Republic
- Ecuador
- Egypt
- Estonia
- Ethiopia
- Faroe Islands
- Fiji
- Finland
- France
- French Polynesia
- Germany
- Great Britain
- Greece
- Guam
- Guatemala
- Honduras
- Hong Kong
- Hungary
- Iceland
- India
- Indonesia
- Ireland
- Israel
- Italy
- Jamaica
- Japan
- Jordan
- Kazakhstan
- Kuwait
- Latvia
- Lebanon
- Liechtenstein
- Lithuania
- Luxemburg
- Macedonia
- Madagascar
- Malaysia
- Maldives
- Malta
- Martinique
- Mauritius
- Mexico
- Moldova
- Monaco
- Mongolia
- Montenegro
- Morocco
- Netherlands
- Netherlands Antilles
- Norway
- Oman
- Pakistan
- Panama
- Peru
- Philippines
- Poland
- Portugal
- Puerto Rico
- Qatar
- Romania
- Russia
- Saudi Arabia
- Senegal
- Serbia
- Seychelles
- Singapore
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- South Africa
- Spain
- Sri Lanka
- Suriname
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- Syria
- Tanzania
- Thailand
- Trinidad and Tobago
- Tunisia
- Turkey
- Turks and Caicos Islands
- USA
- Ukraine
- United Arab Emirates
- Uruguay
- Vietnam