Enhancing Responsible Tourism in the Nordic Countries

The programme on Tuesday will focus on Diversity and Inclusion.

• Introduction of the webinar and the day
• Diversity and inclusion in tourism and hospitality - concept and definitions | Ivor Ambrose, Managing DirectorEuropean Network for Accessible Tourism ENAT
• Company case: Scandic Hotels | Emilia Sarkia, HR Manager / Learning & Development
• Company case: Up Norway | Torunn Tronsvang, Founder
• Panel discussion: Creating inclusive destinations
  • Visit Jyväskylä Region
  • Up Norway

The full programme will be published later.

The programme on Wednesday will focus on Tourism Research. 

You can find the Open call invitation above. We kindly invite you to submit your abstract by 31st August, 2025. 

The full programme will be published later.

The programme on Thursday will focus on Responsible Tourism Development.

• Introduction of the day
• ICRT Global & ICRT Europe, Harold Goodwin, the Founder of the International Centre for Responsible Tourism Network
• Responsible tourism development and local communities, Ágúst Bogason, Senior Research Advisor, Nordregio
• Ásta Kristín Sigurjónsdóttir, CEO, Icelandic Tourism Cluster
• Panel discussion: Tourism Tomorrow
  • Harold Goodwin, ICRT Global
  • Jukka Punamäki, City of Helsinki
  • Ágúst Bogason, Nordregio
  • Ásta Kristín Sigurjónsdóttir, Icelandic Tourism Cluster

The full programme will be published later.

Emilia Sarkia, Scandic Hotels

Emilia Sarkia is an experienced HR professional in the hospitality industry, specializing in employee experience development, organizational culture and competence management, as well as leading customer experience through people strategy. She has long experience in facilitating workshops and training programs on topics such as leadership, change management, employee engagement, team building, onboarding, and recruitment.

Harold Goodwin, ICRT Global

Dr Harold Goodwin is the Founder and Director of the International Centre for Responsible Tourism (ICRT) which he founded in 2002 and co-chaired the side event at the WSSD on Responsible Tourism in Destinations and drafted the Cape Town Declaration. With two decades of experience around the world, he wrote the 2022 Responsible Tourism Charter which was launched and signed on Magna Carta Island. He is an adviser to the Sustainable Hospitality Alliance.

He has worked on 4 continents with local communities, their governments, and the inbound and outbound tourism industry. He is a Professor Emeritus and a Senior Fellow at the Institute of Place Management at Manchester Metropolitan University, Managing Director of the Responsible Tourism Partnership, and adviser to the World Travel Market on its Responsible Tourism programme at WTM London, Africa and Arabian Travel Market. He chairs the panels of judges for the Global Responsible Tourism Awards and the other Awards in the family in Africa, and India.

Harold researches on tourism, local economic development and poverty reduction, conservation and responsible tourism working with the industry, local communities, governments, and conservationists. He also undertakes consultancy and evaluations for companies, NGOs, governments, and international organisations.

Jukka Punamäki, City of Helsinki

Jukka Punamäki works as a Senior Advisor for Tourism at the City of Helsinki’s Tourism and Destination Management Unit, with a special focus on sustainable tourism development. He has extensive experience in the tourism sector and specializes in regional development, data-driven decision-making, and stakeholder collaboration.

Punamäki has played a key role in shaping Helsinki’s tourism strategy, particularly in the city’s ambition to become the most sustainable travel destination in the world by 2026. Under his leadership, Helsinki ranked first in the Global Destination Sustainability Index in 2024 and became the first major city in the world to receive the Green Destinations GSTC certification in 2025.

Previously, Punamäki has held several leadership positions, including CEO of Visit South Coast Finland and Executive Director of Posio Tourism Association in Lapland.

He studied Tourism Development at the University of Gothenburg. His expertise and commitment to sustainable tourism have made him a respected professional both in Finland and internationally.

Ásta Kristín Sigurjónsdóttir, Icelandic Tourism Cluster

Ásta Kristín Sigurjónsdóttir is CEO of the Iceland Tourism Cluster that is a business-driven organization with members from all over the value chain of Tourism and travel . The cluster focuses on promoting competitiveness and value creation within the Icelandic tourism industry. The focus areas of the Cluster is sustainability towards regenerative tourism, innovation, digital solutions and global connections.

Asta has worked with companies of all sizes for the last 15 years focusing on business development and innovation.  She has worked as a business advisor in one of the national bank, manager for development and innovation for the development Centre of East Iceland and now managing the Tourism Cluster on a national level. She also sits in the board of TCI network, the global cluster organization and works with various cluster managers in all kind of industries all over the world. 

Ásta Kristin has a BSc in International Business and Marketing from the University of Reykjavík and an IMPA certificate in project management, various training in strategy implementation, sustainability, circular economy, regenerative Tourism strategies, management, marketing, and leadership.