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Smart Destination – International Webinar

Smart Destination – Smart Tourism needs Smart Destinations

The Smart Destination webinar focuses on the biggest challenges in the tourism industry, climate change and sustainable growth. Webinar will be sent from Tampere Hall on Wednesday 15 September, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

More and more cross-border cooperation, information exchange and joint development are needed to overcome challenges and meet customer expectations. The Smart Destination event program features insights on destination development and keynotes on carbon emission calculation, data platform solutions, sustainability, and smart destination development.

The event is organized by the cities of Tampere and Helsinki together with Gothenburg, which was chosen as the European Capital of Smart Tourism in 2020. Visit Tampere Sustainable Tourism Development Project Manager Matti Pollari, how did you end up implementing the joint seminar?

– The Smart Destination webinar is part of the 6aika: Carbon Neutral Tourism project. The aim of the joint project of Helsinki, Turku and Tampere is to build a comprehensive sustainable tourism data solution. The project’s main leader, Helsinki, made contact with Gothenburg, where a similar project is underway. The cities are also united by the choice of European Capital of Smart Tourism, the title was awarded to Helsinki in 2019 and Gothenburg in 2020. Sustainability challenges are cross-border, and we in Tampere are happy to participate in closer international cooperation, says Pollari about the project’s background.

Essential issues in smart destination work are knowledge management, the goal of sustainability, and diverse cooperation and partnerships. Tampere has its own Smart City program, and the city wants to be carbon neutral by 2030, here the tourism industry must also be on board.

The speakers are top professionals in the field

The speaker coverage of the event is impressive. Misa Labarile, who works at the European Commission on the sustainability of tourism, brings a European perspective. Sustainability Director Katarina Thorstensson presents ways for the sustainability pioneer, the City of Gothenburg, to address the challenges. Domestic views from the topic are brought by e.g. Liisa Mäkelä, who runs the Sustainable Travel Finland program, and Sanna Kyyrä, a leading expert at the Ministry of Employment and the Economy. There are interesting speeches for the whole day.

Live participants would also have been welcome to attend, but due to the uncertain situation, it was decided to hold the event as a webinar.

– Tampere Hall’s know-how and strong professionalism have given us good support. With up-to-date technology, making an event and sharing content internationally is pretty easy. The choice of Tampere Hall as the venue was quite natural, as Tampere Hall has been such a strong pioneer of sustainability in this area, and e.g. received the Sustainable Travel Finland label. The issue of responsibility is such an essential part of doing here that it serves us as a strong promise of quality, Pollari thanks.

– The opportunity to compensate for the event’s carbon footprint with the Puuni cooperation is also a great thing for us!

The event aims to bring tourism developers together to further build and expand cooperation for the future. To create networks, the event uses the Brella meeting platform, which Pollari recommends using.

– The event is a great opportunity to make international contacts as well, so you should feel free to set up meeting requests!

Check out the program, and sign up! The seminar is in English.