Foreword: Why a cross-Nordic tourism innovation programme?

Following a deep but temporary slump during the pandemic, the tourism sector is once again growing rapidly in all the Nordic countries, creating value across the region. Nonetheless, the years of lockdowns and travel restrictions have also called renewed attention to the sector’s challenges. From its carbon footprint to the growing pains felt by local communities, the effects of tourism are once again plain to see. This is the context behind the X-Nordic Travel Contest.

The X-Nordic Travel Contest project follows from the tourism strategy agreed by the Nordic ministers of trade and business in 2019, and it aligns with the Nordic vision for 2030, which states that the Nordic region should be the most sustainable and integrated in the world by that year. It also fits well with Nordic Innovation’s mission to support businesses. After all, businesses – along with other tourism professionals – drive the tourism sector across the region. The lasting changes we wish to see in the sector, then, depend on these actors.

I have been delighted to see more than 300 tourism businesses and organizations of all sizes, from all parts of the Nordic region, take part in the X-Nordic Travel Contest. Over the past two years – in workshops, hackathons, testing tracks, and beyond – they have described the challenges they face, pinpointed the solutions they would like to see, and helped to develop and test new travel tech innovations and business models.

All these industry actors have given generously of their time, and we are deeply grateful for that. I want to thank them for sharing their experiences, feedback, and recommendations. I would also like to thank Group NAO, Design Nation, and Happy42 for their project management and the reference group for all their input. Finally, I am grateful to the Nordic Tourism Working Group and the Nordic Council of Ministers’ secretariat for their support.

The methods and findings from the X-Nordic Travel Contest have been gathered in this guidebook. I hope that it will serve as source of inspiration for tourism professionals and startups within the sector, and that they will use the practical tools offered here as innovation methods that strengthen the sustainability and competitiveness of the Nordic tourism industry.

Oslo, January 2025

Svein Berg, Managing Director
Nordic Innovation