Tourism

Barcelona as a destination, consisting of its cities and countries, leads the ranking ahead of Stockholm and Amsterdam, according to the new EU indicator Environmental Labels and Schemes.

Barcelona as a destination, consisting of the city and the 12 countries making up the province, is the area with the most sustainably certified tourist accommodation in the EU. The information comes from the new indicator Environmental Labels and Schemes, created by the EU itself and specifically indicating the number of tourist lets per destination that have demonstrated sustainable practices, recognising them publicly with an international certificate. The province of Barcelona, with 283 points, heads the list by a long way, ahead of Stockholm with 134 points, Amsterdam with 93, the Greek island of Kalymnos with 83 and Vienna with 74.

This is because the Barcelona area has spent years working to build a tourist community which is respectful towards the environment, culture and social and economic return. These efforts come within the framework of the Commitment to the Barcelona Biosphere Tourist Destination, a programme launched by Barcelona Provincial Council and Barcelona City Council with the support of the Barcelona Chamber of Commerce and the Barcelona Tourist Consortium. Evidence of this can be found in the near thousand companies and tourist organisations with the Biosphere accreditation before the creation of the new EU indicator, which is included in the publication EU Tourism Dashboard. The Biosphere initiative aims for the provincial tourism model to be increasingly responsible and respectful towards the environment and society, and to involve not only all institutions and bodies, but the entire business network as a whole.

The new EU indicator actually places emphasis on sustainability plans being in line with the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGS) and the 169 United Nations indicators already included in the Biosphere system. Updated annually, this index aims to monitor progress towards a reduced environmental impact, greater digitalisation and greater socio-economic resilience.