Tourism in Sweden generates revenues of about 240 billion Swedish kronor each year. Roughly a third, around 90 billion, comes from international visitors to Sweden. The rest is from domestic tourists and conference visitors.
“Just the 400,000 cruise passengers who come to Stockholm each year spend about 5 billion kronor,” noted the City of Stockholm’s vice mayor for its Environmental and Traffic Division, Ulla Hamilton (Conservative), at a breakfast meeting on the tourism industry and the environment held at Stockholm-Arlanda’s pavilion on Skeppsbron in Old Town on Monday morning.
Change in distribution of emissions
With its 17 million annual passengers, Stockholm-Arlanda Airport, located in the Municipality of Sigtuna, is by far the largest engine for the tourism industry, which makes the municipality the country’s fourth largest in terms of hotel guest nights.
Fredrik Jaresved, who is in charge of sustainable development at the airport, described Stockholm-Arlanda’s great challenge – reducing emissions from ground transport. Since the reference year 1990, the number of travellers has increased without increasing carbon dioxide emissions.
“However,” Mr Jaresved, “the distribution has changed. Air traffic and our own operations have reduced their share, whilst emissions from ground transport have increased.”
Road toll likely
“The numbers say everything about which area we have to muster strength in. One step is our having 100 per cent ecotaxis by 2011 and all Stockholm-Arlanda buses running on biogas by 2012. But we will probably also need to introduce some sort of toll on roads. However, it is important that the money go back into improved public transport; otherwise, it will just be a penalty tax,” said Mr Jaresved.
“We are following the environmental efforts being carried out at the airport with great interest and have now also set the goal ourselves of a climate-neutral sustainable tourism industry,” said Camilla Zedendahl, managing director of Sigtuna Tourism. The project is still in the early stages; work officially began on February 2.
Offsets for guests’ travel
Björn Jonzon, managing director and owner of the hotel and conference facilities Stora Brännbo Conference and Sigtunahöjden Hotel and Conference, described two major environmental measures: installation of a geothermal heating system and an agreement with one taxi company to use only ecotaxis for transport to and from the two facilities.
“Moreover,” said Mr Jonzon, “as another environmental measure, we are planning to offset the environmental impact generated by our guests’ travel here.”
Ulla Hamilton was quick to seize the opportunity. “I encourage Stockholm’s tourism industry to follow Sigtuna’s example and work to become climate-neutral.”