Swedish cultural holiday, Skane province
How this holiday makes a difference
Environment
We have a close working relationship with our suppliers and encourage them to share our concerns about minimising impact on the environment. Swedish hotel owners, staff and activity providers are passionate about their beautiful environment, committed to its conservation and many have working responsible tourism policies.
The restaurant at Hotel Duxiana Dannegarden serves local, ecological produce wherever possible. The chefs purchase directly from local farmers and food producers. The sommelier prefers small suppliers and has a particular fondness for ecological and biodynamic wines.
The Hotel Noble House is run by Best Western – a hotel group which takes sustainability and environmental responsibility seriously. It operates in compliance with Nordic Eco-label, a programme established with the purpose of providing an environmental labelling system that contributes to sustainable manufacturing and consumption. It is also a practical tool for consumers to help them actively choose environmentally-sound products.
Visitors to the Kristianstads Vattenrike Biosphere Reserve support its important work, providing habitat for a large number of endangered species of birds and fish. At the heart of the area is an expanse of rich wetlands of international importance. The Reserve is visited by about 100,000 people every year and there is also an Ecomuseum in the area with numerous visitor sites aimed to communicate the values of the local aquatic environment, the threats it faces and the opportunities that exist to preserve, develop and expand these values.
Malmo is a city with high environmental standards. It has targets set that by 2020, the city will be climate neutral and by 2030 the whole municipality will run on 100% renewable energy. Active environmental practices include ecological waste sorting, green public transport, community-based carpooling, green roofs, open surface water systems, solar energy and wind power.
We are proud to hold the AITO 3-star Responsible Travel accreditation recognising our commitment to sustainable tourism. In 26 years of operation, we have raised a significant sum of money for a number of extremely worthwhile causes. One of the organisations we support is the Friends of Scott Polar Research Institute (SPRI) at the University of Cambridge. Their pioneering research investigates social and environmental issues in the Arctic and Antarctic, such as global warming.
Back home we have an active environmental policy in our office including recycling bins throughout; printing our brochures on FSC accredited paper from sustainable forests; systems to encourage a paperless office; and movement sensor lights which use the latest energy-saving long-life elements.
Community
We are dedicated to ensuring that local communities and environment are treated with the utmost care and respect. In the rural areas visited by this tour, tourism is one of the main income sources for the communities, providing economic benefits for the local businesses and employment for the residents, thus avoiding a drift towards more urban areas.
We strive to ensure that the impact of tourism on communities throughout the tour is positive and work closely with our suppliers in maintaining this. We use family-run hotels wherever possible and encourage our guests to visit local attractions, use local restaurants and buy local arts and crafts. There are plenty of museums, churches, art galleries and gardens to visit on this trip, all of which support local communities. For example, the Foteviken Viking Museum, is a working village run by locals which plays an important part in bringing to life the history of Scania, the maritime cultural heritage and the atmosphere of an early medieval village.
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