Sustainable tourism lessons for Africa from Scandinavia

According to a  report on Top Countries for Sustainable Tourism by global market research organization Euromonitor International, Scandinavian countries lead the rest of the world in pioneering sustainable travel and tourism best practices, with Sweden ranked first, closely followed by Finland, Austria, Estonia and Norway. Pillars used in assessing these 99 countries include environment, social and economic sustainability, country risk as well as sustainable tourism demand, transport and lodging.

As the world continues to battle the health and socio-economic impacts of COVID-19 even as new variants have emerged, it becomes imperative that travel and tourism-based activities become more people and planet-focused. Although destinations around the world have since been cautiously opened with more emphasis on domestic tourism, the health and safety of tourists, travellers and the host community becomes the priority.

Rather than pursue a volume-driven and profit-focused travel and tourism model, Sweden is ranked highest because of its efforts in promoting rural and regional tourism within its core cities; the country champions a reduction in carbon footprints through efficient sustainable transport infrastructure and eco-friendly lodging design. All of these have helped Sweden and indeed the rest of Scandinavia to champion sustainable environmental and social tourism initiatives whilst giving back to local communities.

Sustainable Travel Index Rankings 2020

What can West Africa learn from the Scandinavian experience?

The COVID-19 pandemic has since afforded every country the opportunity to restart its economy, with more focus on domestic travel and tourism recovery. Now is the time for governments to liaise with research organizations, tour operators, airlines and aviation bodies, hospitality and destination marketing organizations to build and develop travel, tourism and hospitality databases for states and regions. 

“…the objective of pioneering a volume-driven and profit-maximization tourism model, although very important as well, must take a back seat, as the health and safety of the natural environment and its people become first priority”

Research into consumer behaviour and travel patterns must be regularly conducted, as this would inform better decisions and strategies for promoting domestic tourism. Now is the time to promote rural and ecotourism into some of West Africa’s secondary cities with attractive natural and physical destinations. Consumers, travel managers, destination marketing organizations and governments will need to continue to align their goals to ensure that going forward, travel and tourism in their countries are SGD-centric and promote activities that create shared value for themselves and the host communities, and leave very little or no carbon footprints.

For now, the objective of pioneering a volume-driven and profit-maximization tourism model, although very important as well, must take a back seat, as the health and safety of the natural environment and its people become first priority.