Green Tourism Business Scheme involved in sustainable tourism pilot for Sweden

Sept. 16, 2009 - PRLog -- A Sustainable Tourism pilot for West Sweden has recently been completed by the developers of the Green Tourism Business scheme in the UK.

By invitation from the West Sweden Tourist Board Jon Proctor, Technical Director and Andrea Nicholas, GTBS Manager spent 5 days assessing two leading tourism businesses against the rigorous criteria of the world’s leading sustainable tourism grading scheme.

Initiated in partnership with VisitScotland, GTBS has been operating for over 12 years and has more than 2000 members throughout UK and Ireland.

"GTBS has a holistic and practical appproach that suits our needs for helping tourism business in our region,” said Lotta Nibell Keating of the West Sweden Tourism Board.

“Tourism in West Sweden is an important part of our economy, employing more than 26 000 people and generating over 33 billion SEK a year.

“We have looked around the world for examples of a successful sustainable tourism initiative and felt that the GTBS would be an excellent model for us to follow.  We are hoping that this pilot will be the start of a long term partnership with the GTBS providing an exchange of knowledge and good practise so we can work with the businesses in Sweden to develop sustainable tourism products and networks.”

The pilot included a three day assessment of Isaberg Resort in Smaland, a province renowned for its beautiful landscape and diverse nature.

Isaberg is a large site offering the best skiing in Southern Sweden during the winter and a wide variety of out-door activities during the summer.  Built adjacent to a river with a series of large lakes water-based activities such as fishing, kayaking and canoeing are very popular.  The site has self-catering lodges, serviced hotel rooms and a camping site with electrical hook-ups for caravans and holiday homes as well as an onsite restaurant and conference centre.

The site has been designated as Sweden’s first Social Nature Reserve and Isaberg has responsibility for maintaining and conserving the reserve for recreation that does not damage the natural assets of the site.

The assessment took in all parts of the business including the ski area which has very energy efficient snow-blowing equipment.

The assessment took in all parts of the business including the ski area which has very energy efficient snow-blowing equipment.

“I was impressed with the approach of this business to good and best practice especially in areas of very high energy use such as in the production of snow.  The managers are very aware of the impact of their business and work hard in all areas to ensure that its impact is as minimal as possible.” Said Jon Proctor.

“In particular the activities provided on-site are very well-managed, with a lot of concern for guest’s safety and for ensuring that there is no litter and minimal environmental impact of the activity left in nature”

The manager of Isaberg Resort, Kjell Åke Gustavsson said: “I was happy to have my business assessed by GTBS, I found it very useful and got lots of valuable ideas of how to improve the business.”

The second assessment was carried at the Slussen Pensionat on the island of Orust, North West of Gotenberg.

Slussen is a family run guest house offering an eclectic and attractive number of experiences including, painting weekends, musically events and evenings, dancing, sea kayaking, wine tasting, and Slow Food Dinners.

They also have meeting rooms and facilities for conferences and a traditional sauna by the sea. Set on the shore of a small bay  the guest house is perfect for an early morning swim, a bit of sea-kayaking or canoeing or relaxing in their genuine wood-fired sauna.

The owners, Vibs and Robert Sohlberg, have put their own special character into the business. Robert is a musician and a chef so Slussen is well-known for its excellent musical evenings and its mouth-watering menu of local delicacies, organic wines and biodynamic produce.

“We were very impressed with the wide range of organic produce that the guest house serves.  It is the best example we have ever seen of a guest house committed to offering a comprehensive organic menu even extending to a totally organic wine list,” said Andrea Nicholas.

“Vibs and Robert are so obviously dedicated to providing an excellent quality and sustainable experience for their guests.”

Both assessments identified that the businesses were very committed to environmental good practise and to conserving and enhancing their local community and area.

A full report of the GTBS findings is now being prepared for West Sweden Tourist Board to include action plans for the businesses.  It is hoped that this work will provide the basis for establishing a programme for sustainable tourism that can be rolled out in West Sweden and beyond.

“West Sweden Tourist Board is fully behind this project and following an announcement last week the Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth has also confirmed their support.” says Gunilla Mitchell, President of the West Sweden Tourist Board.

“This project has been a long time in the planning but we can see that there are ways that we can help businesses significantly improve and offer guests a better and a more sustainable experience.  We are excited that we have been able to establish a partnership with GTBS and look forward to future developments.”

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For more information about the GTBS please contact Andrea Nicholas, Green Business UK Ltd, 4 Atholl Place, Perth PH1 5ND on + 44 (0) 1738 632162, Mob: +44 07803667664 or Email andrea@green-business.co.uk

For more information on the West Sweden Tourist Board contact Lotta Nibell Keating, Box 53199
Kungsportsavenyn 31-35, 400 15 Göteborg, + 031 81 83 70 Mob: 0707 70 00 38 or Email lotta.nibell-keating@vastsverige.com