On May 7–9, 2025, the inaugural meeting of the Climate Neutral Destinations (CliNeDest) project took place in Helsinki. Representatives of eight destinations in the Baltic Sea region began working together to transform tourism toward climate neutrality.
🌿 Why is this important?
Tourism accounts for a significant portion of global emissions—as much as 50% of its carbon footprint comes from transportation. At the same time, there is a growing demand for sustainable forms of travel. CliNeDest is the answer to both of these challenges.
As part of the project:
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- we support local SMEs in creating climate-friendly offers,
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- we develop a network of Climate Neutral Destinations,
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- we create training programs for tourism organizations.
The meeting in Helsinki allowed the partners not only to exchange experiences, but also to build a common vision for action. An inspiring part of the program was a lecture by Ed Gillespie, author of the book “Only Planet – a flight-free adventure around the world,” who shared his story of traveling around the world without using an airplane. His message? Let’s have the courage to make changes and inspire others to think outside the box.
CliNeDest is more than just a project. It is a joint step towards more conscious, resilient, and responsible tourism. We want not only to change our regions, but also to inspire others to take action.
