Published on August 24, 2021
The COVID-19 pandemic showed the world that everything can change within a very short period of time. It was a dramatic slowdown for a Greenlandic tourism industry that had previously been growing. A crisis. But remember, crises do pass. As an industry, we will come back stronger and more resilient than before. Because when the world travels again, there will be many people who want to travel to Greenland.
The crisis has given us time to learn. Thanks to staycation, more people have discovered the potential of our domestic market, while we have also reflected on and pondered what the lack of international tourists means for tourism as a whole.
We can gradually see the light at the end of the tunnel. The world is traveling again, and hopefully tourists will soon be allowed, in larger amounts, to travel to Greenland.
So let’s kickstart a strong and resilient tourism industry with sustainability – economic sustainability, social and cultural sustainability, and environmental sustainability.
Overall, it can be said that sustainability equals optimisations that are long-term and secure. Optimisations that will result in a strengthened local economy, optimisations that will result in local and social commitment, and optimisations that will reduce negative impacts on nature and culture.
Sustainability is not a distant concept for Greenland. Life has always occurred in harmony with nature and culture, with respect for the elements and with a desire to leave the land intact for future generations. So sustainability is also about reactivating old knowledge. And in this way, we as an industry can show the way and become leaders in sustainability: sustainability in a Greenlandic context.