An Ambitious Plan To Build Back A Better Cruise Industry In Denmark

Denmark has long put sustainability at the top of its agenda, and the Danish capital, Copenhagen, aims to become the world's first carbon-neutral capital city by 2025. Where else in the world do you get busy harbors so clean that you can swim in them and an infrastructure that allows you to go everywhere by bike?

Sustainability is, in other words, part of the Danish DNA, and in the Danish cruise network, CruiseCopenhagen, we are passionate about creating a sustainable cruise future. 

While we wait for COVID-19 restrictions to ease, we have spent the time wisely by coming up with a plan for how we can come back with a greener – and safer – cruise product in Denmark. The plan includes many ambitious and green initiatives, two of which I would like to highlight here.  

1. Develop a framework for measuring sustainable cruise success 

An international framework for determining and measuring sustainable cruise tourism success is missing. Therefore, it can be challenging to measure what it takes for a cruise destination to be successful in terms of sustainability.

Today, sustainability is part of many cruise destinations' strategies. But success can no longer simply focus on "how many" cruise guests visit a destination or even "how much" money guests spent in one destination. In fact, those measures are what led to issues in some destinations, such as over-tourism. So, what does it take for a destination to be considered successful in terms of sustainability? Should it be measured by the length of the season, the cruise ship's CO2 emissions in the port, the local's support towards the industry, or something else?

In 2021, in close collaboration with Cruise Baltic, we will develop a framework that makes it easier for us in Denmark – and the rest of the Baltic destinations – to understand how we can successfully contribute to a greener cruise future. 

© Morten Kryger Wulff

2. Support the cruise lines by promoting innovative and sustainable tour offers in Denmark 

Many cruise guests visiting Denmark tend to favor the city classics, but Denmark has so much more to offer. We want our guests to experience all the wonders of Denmark – also the more local and hidden areas. 

This year, we have decided in CruiseCopenhagen to think differently by supporting the cruise lines in promoting sustainable and innovative tours towards the cruise guests visiting Denmark. 

© BikingPeople

Besides promoting existing tours, we will also work with the local tour operators to develop innovative, sustainable ideas for new tour offers. An example could be to get more guests to experience Denmark like a local by jumping on a bike. BikingPeople, a small family-owned business, can, for instance, tailor-make any biking tours in Denmark – with a strong focus on the authentic and local experience. 

In CruiseCopenhagen, we are ready to bring back a better and greener cruise industry in Denmark, and we can't wait to welcome cruise guests again! 

For more information, visit our website or follow us on LinkedIn to get cruise-industry news from Denmark.