Available online: https://pub.norden.org/nord2021-033/ As the impact of tourism has been growing globally and regionally, the forces at play in the industry have become more evident and contested. Before the COVID-19 pandemic forced a lockdown on the industry, tourism was one of the fastest growing industries in the world economy, with an important contribution to job creation, export revenue and domestic value added. While the pandemic has eroded infrastructures and innovative capacities, it has also made the need for new approaches and innovation more pressing. This report is an exploration of Nordic policies and practice with regard to monitoring the environmental, social and economic impact of tourism. It highlights expertise and best practices that already exist and makes observations and recommendations on how the Nordic countries can indeed “build back better” to create more sustainable and regenerative travel and tourism industries.

The working group on Sustainable Consumption and Production, under the Nordic Council of Ministers requested consultants from Gaia to identify and write out best Nordic practice cases of sustainable consumption and production to be shared internationally within the UNEP SCP Clearinghouse. This report is the second part and covers in total 19 examples of two particular themes on: 1) Sustainable Tourism 2) Consumer Information The cases have also been added into the UNEP’s 10 Year Frame-work Program (10YFP) information platform, the SCP Clearinghouse. The objective is to enhance international cooperation in order to accelerate a shift towards sustainable consumption and production in developed and developing countries. The SCP Clearinghouse is a web-based information sharing tool, which can be used by different actors as an inspiration for advancing SCP worldwide.

Recently, the Nordic countries have experienced a rapid growth in numbers of visitors. At some popular nature attractions this has resulted in crowding, environmental damage, costly rescue operations and overload on public infrastructure. Implementation of economic policy instruments have hence been suggested to secure a more sustainable development. While the applicability of e.g. entrance fees is restricted by the public rights of access, economic instruments tend to represent short-sighted solutions. Sustainable development requires holistic policies, which take environmental, social and economic aspects into consideration in a long-term perspective. To achieve a more sustainable development of tourism, it is suggested that a limited use of economic instrument should take place in combination with adaptive management strategies and available legal and administrative instruments.

Tourism is an increasingly important industry in the Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden) that is integral to economic, social and sustainable development. Nordic Tourism is the first comprehensive and accessible introduction to tourism in the region and also includes case studies from leading Nordic researchers on specific destinations, attractions, resources, concepts and issues.

For well over a decade, there has been a drive towards sustainability in planning throughout the Nordic countries. But are these countries experiencing a paradigm shift in planning research and practice with regards to sustainability? Or is the sustainability discourse leading them into an impasse in planning? This book includes overviews of the planning systems in the five Nordic countries, drawing attention to their increasing focus on sustainability. A leading team of scholars from the fields of planning, urban design, architecture, landscape, economics, real estate and tourism explore how the notion of sustainability has shaped planning research in the Nordic countries. Case studies from Iceland, Sweden, Finland, Norway and Denmark shed light on what lessons can be learned and some possible future developments. By focusing on the actual settings and practices of local and regional planning activities, it enables a discussion on the current state of planning for a more sustainable future. This book will be valuable reading for students and academics interested in planning policy, environmental policy, architecture and urban design work.

Tourism is an important, growing industry in all the Nordic countries, but until recently, it has not had a particularly strong focus within the Nordic cooperation framework. This is changing rapidly, and the Nordic Council of Ministers has given a strong signal that increased emphasis should be placed on tourism issues within the Nordic framework. This project is a result of that important political prioritisation. The key objective of this project is to create a framework on which a Nordic Tourism Strategy can be established. Thus, the desired outcome of the project is to define future strategies and projects that will underscore common opportunities and challenges within Nordic tourism. The objective of a Nordic Tourism Policy Analysis is to provide valuable input to each country's work within tourism as well as laying a foundation for a common Nordic Tourism Policy.