Stronger places, better experiences

What if making tourism more sustainable started not with one experience, but with transforming the system behind it? 

Across North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, the Nachhaltigkeitswerkstatt NRW is a statewide transformation initiative that systematically embeds sustainability within the tourism sector of North Rhine-Westphalia. Rather than focusing on individual tourist activities, the project takes a structural approach by reshaping destinations, tourism products, and regional value chains to ensure that tourism generates long-term positive impacts for the environment, local communities, and regional identity.

The project brings together tourism organisations, destinations and partners from different sectors to develop new approaches to sustainable tourism. From creating a statewide sustainability agenda to developing model tourism products and strengthening knowledge-sharing through new hubs, it is turning ambition into practical tools that destinations and businesses can use. 

At the heart of the initiative is a simple idea: tourism should strengthen the places it depends on. That means protecting natural and cultural heritage, supporting regional value creation, creating secure livelihoods and ensuring that local identities remain an active part of the visitor experience. 

Through model projects and collaborative learning, the Nachhaltigkeitswerkstatt NRW is helping destinations experiment, learn from one another and develop approaches that can be adapted across the region. A dedicated knowledge hub and ongoing evaluation further support the transition from individual good practices towards lasting structural change. 

In North Rhine-Westphalia, tourism starts at the destination level: building a tourism sector that does more than minimise its impact, and instead contributes to the long-term resilience of the places, people and landscapes that make travel possible.