Sweden has been ranked first in Euromonitor International's Sustainable Travel Index, which ranks 99 countries worldwide based on their commitment to sustainable tourism.

Sweden
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"Sweden is a leader in lifecycle appraisal analysis, which is crucial to understanding the full effect of customer behavior and usage patterns," said Caroline Bremner, head of travel for Euromonitor International.

She emphasized that Sweden protects Arctic ice and permafrost, which help to slow climate change, and that the country is committed to the 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.

According to the survey, European countries have been placed in the top 20 places in the Sustainable Travel Index for the 2020s, which takes into account environmental factors and social effects on many countries, among other items.

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Determining Factors

Sweden
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The ranking of countries was based on seven main factors of sustainable tourism, according to Euromonitor International:

  • Environmental sustainability
  • Social sustainability
  • Economic sustainability
  • Risk
  • Sustainable demand
  • Sustainable transport
  • Sustainable lodging

Sustainable Travel Index 2020

The top 20 countries on the Sustainable Travel Ranking for 2020 are as follows.

  • Sweden
  • Finland
  • Austria
  • Estonia
  • Norway
  • Slovakia
  • Iceland
  • Latvia
  • France
  • Slovenia
  • Switzerland
  • Lithuania
  • Croatia
  • Czech Republic
  • Ireland
  • Germany
  • Belgium
  • Denmark
  • Netherlands
  • Portugal

According to the Sustainable Travel Index, Bolivia, New Zealand, and Canada have also made strides in terms of clean transportation.

The United States was ranked 35th, followed by the United Kingdom (40th), South Africa (46th), and Japan (53rd).

Continued Search

Euromonitor International conducts research and collects data on a broad range of goods and services around the world.

"Travel bans, social sanctions, and emerging health protocols have continued to threaten the travel and tourism industry one year later. According to the firm, the global pandemic revealed vulnerabilities in conventional volume-driven tourism models, which are no longer fit for purpose in the post-pandemic period.

Why is it Being Monitored

According to Euromonitor International, the Sustainable Travel Index was developed to assist travel companies in transitioning to a "more sustainable and purpose-driven model," which will be critical in the future.

The new survey on sustainable tourism showed that 66.4 percent of customers worldwide want to see a positive effect on the climate by their daily activities by 2021.


World Tourism Organization

Sweden
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The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) also urged a sustainable and healthy regeneration of the tourism industry during a discussion at ITB Berlin Now, a multimedia meeting of the global travel sector that aims to support the travel and tourism market, which is currently facing several challenges due to the Coronavirus pandemic outbreak.

Portugal has also been identified as one of the European countries that supports the European Union Member States' joint efforts to identify ambitious, long-term solutions to revitalize the tourism industry in EU countries.

The Airports Council International Europe (ACI) has previously advised the European Commission to ensure that airports can use the €672.5 billion EU Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) to help finance their sustainable strategies.

Over 60 organizations from across Europe have campaigned for tourism to be included in the EU's national recovery and resilience strategies.

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