Here at Visit Greenland, we think back to the Towards More Tourism (TMT) conference in November 2018 with joy and pride. It was magnificent to experience the drive and commitment that buzzes in the industry. TMT resulted in 11 strong recommendations from the industry itself. Recommendation number 5 talks of the importance of, on a national level, establishing a certification system for quality, safety and the environment that fits into a Greenlandic context.
”It is an important signal that the tourism industry seeks a system in which we can continually work towards improving quality in regards to increased service, sustainability and safety,” – Julia Pars, Managing Director of Visit Greenland.
Since the TMT conference, Visit Greenland has worked to devise and design a quality label scheme based on safety, service, the environment and cultural considerations. Knowledge has been gathered from other destinations and international and national schemes and systems in order to create the best foundation for developing a quality label scheme that is tailored to Greenlandic conditions.

A Quality Label Scheme Rather Than a Certification
The first step has been to move away from calling it a certification scheme, but rather to call it a quality label scheme. We believe that this fits better in a Greenlandic context as one could quickly associate a certification with costly third-party verification and heavy audit reports.
”This effort is not meant to intimidate the industry with a cumbersome process, but rather give rise to a dialogue and focused quality advice. This will help increase quality and create development and pride in the industry,” Julia Pars continues.
This effort is not meant to intimidate the industry with a cumbersome process, but rather give rise to a dialogue and focused quality advice.
– Julia Pars, Managing Director of Visit Greenland.
The quality guidance is to be supported by a corresponding quality label scheme, e.g. a star label. A clear label is useful in marketing, as it increases transparency not only for the customers but also among the operators.
It is expected that the label scheme can be put into effect in approximately 2 years. Ahead of us is the establishing phase and it is important to get the right start and give the concept time to develop properly. Visit Greenland approaches this project with great sincerity and we will continue our focused efforts towards a transverse national quality label scheme. We will, going forward, seek inputs from all stakeholders and encourage the industry to take ownership.
