SustainableCities.Travel is driven by the following grounding principles:
Make sustainable tourism accessible and aspirational
After two years of being crushed by the weight of the pandemic, the tourism industry was hardly prepared for the revenge travel that unleashed itself in popular places around the world. We watched cities reel under the pressure of overtourism once again, while simultaneously reading insights about an increased desire among travelers to travel sustainably. Something didn’t add up. The more we analyzed it, the more we realized that there was an obvious gap between intention and action. This gap was the lack of easy access to ideas and inspiration that made sustainable travel feel within reach. At SustainableCities.Travel, we are driven by the mission to fill this gap – to make it easier and “cooler” than ever, for travelers to find ways to experience cities with a positive footprint.
Amplify local, diverse voices
The travel industry has long lamented the lack of diversity and inclusion in travel storytelling, so we’ve made it our mission to amplify diverse local voices that are representative of each city. That also means that travel guides on SustainableCities.Travel often offer a fresh perspective on how to truly experience the soul of a city, and go well beyond the beaten trail.
Keep our environmental footprint low – from flying to web design!
Aviation is often the elephant in the room when it comes to sustainable travel, but we recognize that it is also the backbone of the tourism industry. Without flying, many cities will be out of reach for many travelers. For this platform however, we feel that working primarily with local storytellers is a win-win. We keep our travel footprint low, while also shining the spotlight on locals who know their cities best.
When we began to develop this platform, we also learnt that we could create a beautiful website with a lower-than-usual footprint, by choosing the right colors, fonts and website host. Each page on this website emits less CO2 than a regular website.
Encourage collaboration over competition
Tourism marketing can often be competitive, especially when places in the same region want to attract similar kinds of travelers. SustainableCities.Travel is our attempt to flip this notion, and make sustainable tourism marketing collaborative rather than competitive. Every city featured on this platform is able to leverage the audience of other featured cities, making us all come together towards one common goal – making tourism a force for good, for the traveler, the destination and the people who call it home.