Beyond Buzzwords: What Helsinki and Gothenburg teach us about real sustainability progress

As destinations worldwide grapple with the political complexity and accelerating demands of sustainable tourism, few cities offer clearer roadmaps than Helsinki and Göteborg —two Nordic leaders whose long-term commitment to environmental, social, and economic stewardship has reshaped what meaningful progress looks like. On this episode of the Future of Tourism podcast, we’re joined by two global tourism leaders representing the top two destinations in the GDS-Index. Jukka Punamäki, senior advisor at Helsinki Tourism & Destination Management, and Katarina Thorstensson, stability strategy and destination development at Göteborg & Co., explore their sustainability journeys, how indexes helped measure success, and what impact sustainability has had on their destinations.

Tourism’s resilience shines through decades of disruption. In this episode of the Future of Tourism, Ryan George shares how tech, trust, and community are shaping the industry’s future.

On this episode of the Future of Tourism podcast, Dr. Phil Xiang from Virginia Tech explores the evolution of smart tourism. This is the final installment of our Executive Insights Symposium series — catch up on previous episodes here:  AI governance for DMOs and their leaders with Janette Roush, senior vice president of innovation and chief AI officer at Brand USA Rethinking DMO leadership in a new era of alignment and purpose with Adam Burke, president and CEO of Los Angeles Tourism You can download a report packed with executives’ insights into the transformational forces DMOs face here. 

On this episode of the Future of Tourism podcast, Adam Burke, president and CEO of Los Angeles Tourism, explores the evolving role of leadership and alignment in destinations of tomorrow. 

On this episode of the Future of Tourism podcast, Janette Roush, senior vice president of innovation and chief AI officer at Brand USA, explores the urgent need for destination executives to review how they strategically implement AI. Learn the opportunities, risks, and methodology behind effective and ethical AI governance for DMOs. 

On this episode of the Future of Tourism podcast, Greg Takehara and Chris Seek share hands-on insights into how community engagement strengthens development. 

On this episode of the Future of Tourism podcast, Dr. Phil Xiang and Simpleview’s own Jason Swick discuss smart cities, digital disruption, and the emerging concept of “smart tourism” and where DMOs can dive right in.

On this episode of the Future of Tourism podcast, Janette Roush and Cody Chomiak help demystify AI. Learn to view the technology as easy to approach and understand its impact on our future.

On this episode of the Future of Tourism podcast, Brad Jones from Visit Bellevue Washington and Dr. Annie Rummel from Great Lakes Bay Airport Endowment Fund describe two trailblazing DMO projects.

On this episode of the Future of Tourism podcast, learn about “phygital tourism” — the use of physical and digital elements to enhance the tourist experience — from Elisa Mameli.