What the Captain said about sustainability

One month after joining the Nordic Captains Cruise, Patrick Richards gives his reflections

September 2025

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So, what’s the latest with sustainability in the Nordics?

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“Go away and reflect on what you have done,” so used to say a variety of parents, teachers and others! So, with a month’s distance since the Nordic Tourism Collective’s superb 'Captain’s Cruise', it feels a good moment to resume the sustainability takeaways I came away with ….

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Consumers from around the world want sustainable products:

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Expert after expert from the global marketplace presentations, highlighted that their consumers hanker after sustainable products. Whilst possibly no surprise from German DACH speaking areas or the UK; advice from countries such as China, Japan, India and Brazil (the latter introducing ESG laws of their own in 2026), echoed an identical message of how important sustainability is to their consumers. Naturally, this plays to the sweet spot of the Nordic/Baltic destination offering and may well account for much of the buoyant results that the region is reporting.

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What’s in a name?

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The fact that demand for sustainable products is not always described as such, is illuminating. For example Germany’s Jan Badur highlighted the popularity of, “Nature-based activities: Hiking, canoeing, kayaking, and animal watching.” For others its “authenticity” or “slow travel.” Whichever, it reveals a certain fatigue with the “S” word itself. This is hardly surprising, when its meaning now is so often vague, encompassing everything and nothing and leaving many confused. It speaks to a pressing need for our industry to shift away from generalisations and towards specific, concrete results-based activity; preferably ones that are quantifiable.

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Individual businesses are showing the way… and making it pay.

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Nina Tähtinen International Sales Director at our hosts Tallink Silja Line, told us that Silja’s GHG emissions have been successfully reduced by 42% since 2008. Similarly Polar Explorer MD Olga Robacha explained how the company has invested in upgrading its boats from diesel to electric power and achieved a return on investment in just 3 years.

Nevertheless, it is premature to get carried away with the actions of a few trailblazers. Many companies are still waiting to make a start, even with foundational actions, such as GHG measurement. However, the achievement of these role models should inspire others to start their journey.

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Global tourism is not going away:

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The post pandemic talk of tourism becoming only regional, has truly evaporated. During the morning session, an (almost) bewildering array of representatives from across the globe spoke to the appetite from their markets to come to the Nordics. This, of course, is supported by the ever growing network of airline routes to transport them. It also brings a pipeline of new opportunities. Jan Jakubaszek from Przezmorze, spoke passionately about the potential of the Polish market.  Average salary increases since 2004 amount to 257%, which has raised purchasing power by 90%. Furthermore, Poland now has 5,300 tour operators (who knew!) In short, global tourism continues to grow, but can we protect against its downside effects?

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Will travel be only for the rich?

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Talking of price, consumer tolerance of rapid increases since the pandemic has been remarkable. The high-end sector continues to be resilient. Noto San from Forsight Marketing Tokyo commented that, “The Japanese market is morphing towards higher-value, lower- volume travel.” Indications are that the Nordics will increasingly become destinations for the wealthy few. Is this what we want and if not, how do we guard against it?

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Overtourism has arrived in the Nordics:

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Overtourism is not confined to Southern European cities. Winter overcrowding in Rovaniemi was a hot conference topic, with the same problem increasingly impacting Tromso. Moreover, reports are emerging as to the negative effects of Air BnB’s proliferation, with questions raised around the disruption to housing markets in key Nordic cities. So, the Nordics have their own brand of overtourism. What action will this trigger?

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Seasonality:

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One solution is to spread visitor numbers more evenly across the year. To discuss this in- depth I was privileged to join a panel session titled, “Is year-round tourism in the Nordics a realistic goal, or are we chasing a fantasy?” with an all-star cast moderated by NordicWays’ Roberta Perez; and also containing Vera Lett (Tour Partner Group), Siri Tallaksen (Innovation Norway), Eva Rudzite (Osa Group) and  Kristian Jorgensen (Fjord Tours.) Key points made included:

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● Successful case studies give a simple answer to the session’s title question. Spreading the season is most definitely possible. Market feedback from the DACH region was that,  “both summer and winter products remain in high demand.”

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● Moreover, we simply don’t have a choice. With global tourism GDP set to grow 66% ($10 trillion to $16 trillion) in the decade 2023 – 2033; steps must be taken to accommodate the explosion in volumes.

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● Success requires smart joined up thinking, in bringing together the full visitor economy ecosystem. This includes infrastructure investment, marketing and sales and operational delivery, with both public and private sectors doing their bit. For example, there is little point extending the season, if critical suppliers “shut up shop” and take extended low season breaks. Unfortunately, despite great words, too often collaboration fails in practice, with organisations operating in silos.

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●  Seasonality is not a silver bullet that will solve all tourism’s challenges. It is just one component of a toolkit of measures that the industry needs to implement.  Without smart destination curation, risks will grow faster than the opportunities.

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● The travel trade has a key role to play! This ranges from the tour operator shaping demand and balancing with the supply; to the travel tech companies, who are so critical to the “plumbing” in our sector.

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Launching Greenmatters

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With all these challenges ahead, together with Paul and Andy we established Greenmatters. Our mission is to support the industry and especially those who feel they need to catch-up. Support takes the shape of practical advice, awareness building and a well-defined sustainability product range, carefully designed to tackle real pain points. This includes topics such as ESG regulatory compliance; mitigating climate risks; measuring/reducing GHG emissions and upskilling your teams to face the future with confidence. However we’d love to hear from you. Whatever your challenge or feedback you have to share, or even if you just need some quick advice, do contact us at:

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greenmatters@nordictourismcollective.com

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