Visit Greenland: Pledge For 5 Key Commitments For Sustainable Tourism

18.10.2023 - 11:45 / forbes.com

As tourism professionals convene in Reykjavik for the Nordic region's most significant travel fair, Visit Greenland, representing Greenland's tourism sector, has introduced a collective commitment to promote more sustainable and responsible tourism development. This shared commitment marks the initial phase in the process of certifying Greenland's tourism industry.

The new pledge reflects the priorities and ambitions of the 70+ tourism companies and organisations who took part in the Towards Better Tourism conference in Nuuk in April 2023. Since the conference, the broader tourism sector of Greenland has also been consulted for input, ideas and priorities as part of developing the pledge.

The industry’s new “Our Pledge Towards Better Tourism” reflects a shared direction for the future of tourism to Greenland, which the pledging companies and organisations commit to value and uphold.

The pledge outlines five overarching themes, including the importance of respecting and strengthening Greenland’s natural and cultural values, prioritising local communities and businesses, as well as creating new and appealing opportunities in tourism for young people. Overall, the pledge embodies a shared set of values and is intended to ensure that tourism is developed for and by all of Greenland.

SHARED DIRECTION FOR TOURISM

Our Pledge Towards Better Tourism is launched in anticipation of the new airports in Greenland that will likely result in significant growth in tourism to the country. In addition, the new pledge can also pilot formulation of a new national tourism strategy for both tourism in society as well as for society with increased tourism.

“Among the tourism companies and organisations, there is a strong desire for a common and sustainable direction for tourism development”, says Visit Greenland’s CEO, Anne Nivíka Grødem. She continues: “That’s why I am so encouraged that the tourism industry itself is setting clear direction with this pledge for sustainable tourism development that benefits all of Greenland.”

Anne Nivíka Grødem emphasizes that the new pledge of the tourism industry is a direct reflection of the 2023 spring conference, Towards Better Tourism, where more than 100 tourism professionals from across the country took part. During the conference, participants created a series of shared commitments, as well as a larger set of materials to reflect the sector’s hopes, wishes and priorities for the future of tourism in Greenland.

”… we have spent the past few months going through all these materials to analyse and paraphrase these shared commitments into a pledge for the future of tourism – a pledge that should be read as our shared values foundation, shared direction, and shared position for our