Developing sustainable tourism

Sustainable tourism goals and services for partners

Nature, safety and sustainability are becoming the most important marketing assets in our region for both domestic and international tourists. Our partner network consists of various tourism operators. The most important tools are the cooperation of the partner network, the Sustainable Travel Finland programme and the Think Sustainably service.

Sustainable tourism development in our region is aligned with United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, with specific focus on 8. Decent Work and Economic Growth, 12. Responsible Consumption and Production and 13. Climate Action.

Key performance indicators of our sustainability work are:

• Number of companies and organizations with the Sustainable Travel Finland label: 12
• Number of companies and organizations fulfilling required Think Sustainably criteria: 66

In addition to this we are developing destination level carbon footprint monitoring with Visit Finland.

Tools for companies

• Think Sustainably service
• vastuullisuussuunnitelmapohja_Pirkanmaa_KOVA_hanke_Visit Tampere (in Finnish)
• Carbon footprint calculator developed in collaboration with Visit Finland
• Sustainable Travel Finland programme (in Finnish)

Carbon neutral tourism destination

The goal of the Sustainable Tourism Roadmap compiled by Visit Tampere during the summer and autumn of 2021 is to make the Tampere region a carbon-neutral tourism destination by 2030. The roadmap is part of coordinating and implementing Visit Finland’s nationwide Sustainable Travel Finland programme in our destination.

In 2022 Visit Tampere signed the Glasgow Declaration on Climate Action in Tourism together with Visit Finland and 60 other organization in Finland. Visit Tampere aims to work actively to accelerate green transition and climate neutral tourism as part of the international Glasgow Declaration network and in close collaboration with Visit Finland.

You can check out our Action Plan for Glasgow Declaration and destination climate work here:
Visit Tampere – Climate Action Plan 2023-2024

Carbon footprint of Visit Tampere

Our carbon footprint is calculated in CO2 Travel Calculator (visitfinland.com) . The largest shares of our emissions are caused by service purchases and indirect emissions, so this is our area of development in the future.

The biggest sustainability challenge for tourism

The goal and roadmap have been prepared to guide, above all, the development of Visit Tampere’s tourism in Tampere and the region. The ambitious goal is to make Tampere one of the pioneers of internationally sustainable tourism.

The aim of the roadmap is to identify the biggest sustainability challenges in the tourism industry in the Tampere Region and to set a common long-term goal to meet them. Clear delineation of the goal and prioritization of development themes is paramount for allocating resources. The roadmap outlines development paths and information management principles for monitoring progress.

Cooperation is the key to success

With the help of the roadmap, we will build a multidisciplinary region to engage companies, the public sector, educational institutions and development organizations behind the goal and to promote cooperation in its pursuit.

The most important basis for setting a 2030 carbon-neutral tourism destination is the tourism companies’ own carbon-neutral targets – the development of the destination must support them and strengthen cooperation between actors. The carbon neutrality targets for Tampere and its region as a basis for work in the tourism sector. It enables diverse cooperation between companies and the public sector.

We provide companies with tools for setting and monitoring their low carbon targets. One of the most important is the open source carbon footprint calculator developed in collaboration with Visit Finland.

Meeting future demand and customer expectations

By striving for carbon neutrality in tourism throughout the region, we aim to meet future customer demand and enable tourists to make a sustainable visit to Tampere and the region. Above all, we want to be a leader in sustainable tourism and seek solutions to the challenges of the industry as part of a national and international network. The roadmap focuses on the tourism sector but is also more applicable to the event industry and the experience economy.

Have a look at the Carbon neutral tourism destination 2030 regional roadmap

Think Sustainably service

Think Sustainably service is a service coordinated by Visit Tampere, the aim of which is to highlight responsible companies and actors and help customers make more responsible choices.

The service is based on criteria tailored to Tampere and it has been developed in cooperation with the thinktank Demos Helsinki, Helsinki Marketing and local experts and stakeholders. Elements of the criteria include energy, food and service, and social sustainability. The criteria require companies to evaluate their operations, act more responsibly and present their responsible actions.

The service is suitable for companies of different sizes and different industries, and participation is free for companies. We have currently 71 companies participating in the programme.

The service focuses on concrete actions and trust and does not require certifications or audits. The service is based on criteria developed for six industries. Industries include events, venues, sights, accommodation, shops, restaurants, and cafés and bars. Each category defines a minimum number of criteria that a company must meet in order to be eligible. The criteria are presented below.

Think Sustainably service criteria for companies

Sights

A sustainable destination pays attention to energy consumption and waste reduction. Serving and accessibility are also crucial.

Shops

The use of recycled materials and the provision of used products are ways to reduce the carbon footprint. A sustainable production chain takes into account the product life cycle from beginning to end.

Accommodation

In addition to taking energy and water consumption into account, sustainable accommodation includes plant-based food and the promotion of eco-labeled products.

Restaurants, cafes and bars

In the restaurant industry, the carbon footprint is affected by the vegetable content it offers and the reduction of food waste. Local food and the reduction of packaging waste also support sustainable development.

Events

A sustainable event is unhindered and achievable. Environmental friendliness is taken into account in recycling and energy saving, as well as by encouraging guests to use public transport.

Venues

Energy consumption, the promotion of renewable energy and the consideration of responsibility in catering and materials play a key role in the sustainability of event venues.

A company that meets a sufficient number of criteria will be marked with a red heart label.

The companies that have received the label will appear as their own listing both on the Visit Tampere website and in the Tampere.Finland application.

Check out the criteria, contact Visit Tampere if you have any questions regarding the service, and register your organisation via the link (in Finnish) below: https://visittampere.fi/valitse-vastuullisemmin/ilmoittaudu-mukaan-valitse-vastuullisemmin-palveluun/.

Sustainable Travel Finland

Sustainable Travel Finland is a programme (site in Finnish) launched by Visit Finland in June 2020 for the international marketing and national development of sustainable tourism, and there are five Tampere-based companies having achieved their STF labels. The aim is to promote sustainable tourism in Finland and to communicate about Finland as a country of sustainable tourism.

Visit Tampere acts as the regional organisation coordinating the STF programme in the Tampere Region. We are cooperating with Pirkanmaan Matkailu ry and the municipalities in the region to implement the programme. The main goal is to involve the international network of companies in our region in the programme and apply for our own STF label.

Applying for the Sustainable Travel Finland label is free of charge and the programme is open to all tourism companies. Sustainability measures do not have to be taken at the application stage. The programme offers a development path and concrete tools, such as the coaching created for the programme, an e-guide and a digital work environment, which will make it possible to achieve the Sustainable Travel Finland label.

Visit Tampere helps companies in the region on the search path by organizing trainings, promoting co-operation in applying for certificates and taking various steps on the Sustainable Travel Finland development path. Get involved and make Tampere Region a leading destination for sustainable tourism!

Certificates and environmental programmes

Building a sustainability certificate or environmental programme is a good tool for developing your own business and improving quality. There are several options available, with costs ranging from a few hundred euros to several thousand. Likewise, the amount of work they require varies depending on the size of the company, the type of business and their own goals.

Visit Finland’s Sustainable Travel Finland programme requires a certificate audited by an external operator. We will be happy to provide more information and together we can think of the most suitable certificate for your company. Visit Tampere selected Ekokompassi for the certification of its own operations, which we introduced in November 2020. It helps us to develop our own operations and sustainable tourism with our stakeholders. In addition, it also gives us expertise to help our partner network apply for certificates.