Gothenburg Sustainable Tourism – Good Egg?
Tuesday, 25 Nov, 2009
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Because a Lady with her roots in the soil calls the tune.
Anyway, here I was in Gothenburg SEE: www.goteborg.com/en/ after the heavy duty ETC Symposium on ‘Tourism Moving to the Green Economy’ SEE www.etc-corporate.org/events.html.
Very impressive – highlights for me were Geoffrey Lipman’s opening UNWTO presentation which actually said it all, Erika Harms of the UN Foundation for Sustainable Development breaking the news to me about the Global Sustainable Tourism Criteria getting teeth of its own www.travelmole.tv/watch_vdo.php , and the girl from the international railway unions, Margrethe Sagevik www.travelmole.tv/watch_vdo.php
But the top number 1 heartwarming meeting was with the Swedish Minister of Tourism and Economics (and Deputy Prime Minister), Maud Eriksson, a very elegant lady with her roots clearly in the soil who was prepared to give me half an hour of her valuable time to tell me just how (50% more money in the tourism budget) and why (it’s commonsense) Sweden was supporting sustainable tourism SEE: www.travelmole.tv/watch_vdo.php
Now, Maud is a farmer’s wife and daughter, sensible, committed, middle-ground, well known and well liked in Sweden. Her last initiative was the household service act whereby you can engage a plumber and pay no tax for it. Neat, made the black economy white in one stroke AND got a lot of work for a lot of people. Plus, I’ve got a good kitchen cloth with Maud’s smiling face on it (saying “At Your Household Service” just to show how fond the Swedes are of her.
So, how’s all this sustainable tourism playing out in Gothenburg, I thought? Do the minister’s words actually trickle down, is this a programme with some integrity or yet another dose of marketing greenwash? I had half a day, so let’s walk and see.
But first, after all that talk, and before the walk, I need to enjoy a heavy-duty sustaining breakfast. I’m staying at the Liseborg Heden hotel, which was one of the very first to get a top grade green certification, so I’m assuming that breakfast would be great in both senses of the word.
It was. An incredible variety of organic speciality breads. Superb free-range eggs and meat. Transendental yoghurts, cheeses and cream cheeses. Great big bowls of jams and superb honey. Teas and coffees that smelled and tasted like they really should. Breakfast certainly passed the taste-test. I carried my full belly into the hotel’s herb garden to talk to the hotel’s chefs Monika and Johan. Do they really know what they’re doing and why, I thought…
SEE the mouth-watering interview: www.travelmole.tv/watch_vdo.php
Then I walked…
OK, Sweden’s second city (500,000 inhabitants) is a very appealing city AND the September sun was shining, but I did notice that the streets had very little litter of any sort. No paper, no wrappings, no beggars, very little dirt. You can feel that the people are friendly and they take a pride in their environment. It’s palpable.
Walking down the wide main street with its elegant buildings was a delight. And, I didn’t have to walk to be guilt free. Gothenburg has the world’s largest biogas fuelled fleet of busses, a very efficient tram service and, with a sensational 450km of cycle tracks.
Then I got to a real breath of fresh air – the city centre rose garden. Trägårdsföreningen Horticultural Society Gardens, by the side of the central canal are a truly delightful experience, with magnificent rose gardens and an elegant 1878 re-construction of London’s Crystal Palace which could challenge the Eden Centre. For a quiet, dreamy, scent filled walk making full use of Gothenburg’s proximity to the Gulf Stream, you could get no better and a real demonstration of the environment in full action.
Local environment – local foods? I vaguely remembered that Sweden was the most committed nation to sustainable food. Gothenburg has 600 municipal restaurants and school kitchens that serve 11 million ecological meals a year. So, a visit to the market was on the cards before lunch. The local fish market is said to be the oldest in Sweden and the produce market has an enormous variety of local food – cheese, eggs, pickled herrings, the lot. More to the point, all the stallholders know and understand the issues and make the most of them.
Lunch (traditional Swedish food – naturally herring, then stew) – and listen to the chef Mats Nordstrom VIEW VIDEO: www.travelmole.tv/watch_vdo.php
Then the shopping walk. Great coffee shops selling locally-made pastries, and a stroll through the variety of local shops (in the city centre, would you believe?) including the design shop where you can buy the kitchen cloth with Maud’s picture on it. Good Swedish humour; and a good Swedish coffee to end the day.
Sustainable?
Economically, the Swedes know that it costs money and it makes money so they’ve invested another hefty 50% of their budget in sustainable tourism that’s 50m SKr.
Environmentally, you just need to see the country and talk to the inhabitants and know that they’re serious about looking after their built and natural environment.
Socially and Culturally, try the local food, buy the local design and artisan work. In Sweden, it’s important. Initiatives likesustainablecities.dk/en/city-projects/cases/gothenburg-creating-scenarios-for-sustainable-food
Climate Change, OK with the Gulf Stream breaking up, Gothenburg may well be more affected than other cities. But the Swedes take it seriously and stoically. Largest production of biogas, low energy building initiatives, 400 recycling stations, stations for dangerous goods. And they gave the 2007 Goteborg Award for sustainable development to Al Gore.
It’s a bit of a no-brainer, Sweden has to have their act together, after all they’ve put their hat on the green peg and Stockholm is going to be Europe’s first ‘Green’ Capital in 2010. But you can’t but admire the commitment the whole population has to the green lifestyle, can you?
Valere Tjolle
Valere
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