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© Kjetil PaulsenVesterålen is a Sustainable Destination
Innovasjon Norge has awarded Vesterålen the label for sustainable travel destination.
For Vesterålen, this means that we now have a functioning system to measure development and manage efficiently in a sustainable direction. That does not mean that the job is now finished - it is now just beginning, says Astrid Berthinussen, former head of tourism at Visit Vesterålen.
Vesterålen has been through a long and thorough process, which started with a regional council decision in 2017. It was the start of broad collaboration, thorough measurements and surveys - and teamwork for a unifying and good tourism development for Vesterålen.
- We would like to congratulate all of Vesterålen with the Sustainable Destination Label. This is a great job that the region has done together, and it is something to be really proud of. Getting five municipal councils to be convinced that being labeled as a sustainable travel destination benefits each and every municipality and the entire region as one unit. The cooperation and commitment in Vesterålen has proven to be very good, and everyone involved should be praised for the work that has been put into this, says Bente Bratland Holm, director of tourism at Innovasjon Norge.
A milestone has also been marked locally in Vesterålen, which points out the direction ahead.
- We are proud to have achieved the label, and we know that this commits us "Vesterålings" to continue the work that has been started and which provides the direction for the development of Vesterålen in line with our tourism strategy, says Astrid Berthinussen, former head of tourism at Visit Vesterålen.
Vesterålen
The label scheme is a tool with 104 indicators for strategic planning, implementation and measurement of work on sustainable tourism development over time. Both industry, local communities and municipalities participate and contribute to the work. Vesterålen was approved for phase 1 in 2019 and has now completed the final approval and recognition by officially being a sustainable travel destination.
Vesterålen has been through a long process in which the local population, businesses, municipalities, and other agencies such as Nordland County Municipality, the Norwegian Public Roads Administration, Reno-Vest and others have participated and given input on needs and challenges in the region. Several meetings have been held in all the municipalities in Vesterålen, which have led to a strongly rooted action plan in all the Vesterålen municipalities.
- Many people have contributed to work over three years to achieve the label as a sustainable travel destination. Now we will work on the important measures that form the basis for good destination development, says Berthinussen.
The residents contributed with good input
A tourism strategy has been drawn up for Vesterålen, where the objective is to exploit the growth potential for the entire region, and work is aimed towards common goals. Norway's first "Facebook summit" with a focus on sustainability has been held, where the "Vesterålings" came up with a lot of good input that has been implemented in the project. Challenges and bottlenecks have been mapped, and a major skills boost was carried out in Vesterålen in 2020 for the tourism industry.
- These are some of the very many ongoing and completed initiatives that have come out of Vesterålen's teamwork with sustainable development, says Berthinussen.