Gothenburg starts the year as Capital of Smart Tourism

For the whole of 2020 Gothenburg will be “European Capital of Smart Tourism” and will mark the year with a wide range of activities. Last week, Göteborg & Co invited the visitor industry, businesses, the city and academia to share in the task of making Gothenburg an even smarter tourist destination.

“Gothenburg has been given a fantastic opportunity to drive the sustainable development of smart tourism cities in Europe. We intend to carry the title proudly with our stakeholders and showcase our strengths as a destination,” says Peter Grönberg, CEO of Göteborg & Co.

The “European Capital of Smart Tourism” competition was set up by the European Commission to reward cities that set an example in smart, innovative and inclusive tourism solutions. Back in August, Gothenburg was chosen as one of two winning cities for 2020. The city that is appointed as the capital must show strong performance in four categories: accessibility, sustainability, digitalisation and cultural heritage/creativity. In its competition entry, Gothenburg highlighted its strengths in all four categories and underlined its ambition to share its knowledge and experience with other destinations.

Around 40 representatives of the city, academia and the business community gathered on Friday for a kick-off meeting for the year as capital of smart tourism. The aim is to get as many people as possible to help make this year an engine of development for the destination.

“It is genuinely inspiring that we are continuing to develop our fantastic city sustainably together,” says Helena Wiberg of Swedavia, who was present at the meeting.

Gothenburg has been invited by the European Commission to exhibit at a variety of trade fairs and conferences in Europe during the year. A range of activities will also take place on home ground, which Gothenburg will host together with various partners.

“There is a real commitment here to make Gothenburg an even better city and destination. We will put this enthusiasm to good use in this project. Working closely with our stakeholders, we will go from smart to even smarter this year,” says Peter Grönberg.

www.goteborg.com