- Topic
- Tourism
- Urban mobility planning
- Country
- Europe-wide
- Resource type
- Case study
This case study explores how Bordeaux (FR), Dublin (IE) and Gothenburg (SE) integrate sustainable mobility into tourism through active travel, digital tools and accessibility measures. It offers transferable lessons for reducing congestion, lowering emissions and improving urban mobility for both visitors and residents.
Context
Introduction to the European Capital of Smart Tourism Award
The European Capital of Smart Tourism award celebrates outstanding achievements by European cities as tourism destinations. The competition was launched by the European Commission in 2018 as part of its Smart Tourism initiative (currently financed under the Single Market Programme (SMP) – former COSME Programme) and aims to encourage smart and sustainable tourism across the EU, improve collaboration between cities and promote the sharing of best practice examples.
Cities need to be able to demonstrate measures implemented under four categories when applying for the award:
- Accessibility – ensuring tourism services, infrastructure, information, public transport and attractions are inclusive and usable by all, regardless of age, physical ability, language, economic situation or cultural background.
- Sustainability – implementing environmentally responsible practices, reducing seasonality impact, involving local communities and supporting local employment and development, and encouraging long-term ecological and social resilience.
- Digitisation – using digital tools and technologies to enhance all aspects of the tourism experience, such as booking, information access, navigation, promotion and enabling local tourism businesses to grow.
- Cultural heritage and creativity – protecting, activating and creatively leveraging local cultural heritage, traditions, arts, and creative industries for both residents and tourists.
The city profiles presented in this case study show how Bordeaux (FR), Dublin (IE) and Gothenburg (SE) – past winners of the European Capital of Smart Tourism Award between 2020 and 2024 – are integrating sustainable mobility into tourism. Each city section outlines its context, the initiatives implemented across sustainability, digitalisation and accessibility, and the results achieved. Together, they illustrate diverse yet complementary approaches to making urban mobility work for both residents and visitors, offering practical ideas that can be adapted to different European contexts.
City profiles
Gothenburg (European Capital of Smart Tourism in 2020)
Gothenburg, Sweden’s second-largest city (600,000 inhabitants; 1.1 million in the broader metropolitan area), combines an urban core with immediate access to forests and the sea. Tourism is growing rapidly, with 1.43 million overnight stays in 2018, one-third from international visitors. Key mobility challenges include congestion, limited road capacity, public transport delays and the need to integrate new technologies, while ensuring accessibility and affordability.
Gothenburg won the European Capital of Smart Tourism 2020 for combining sustainable visitor dispersal strategies with digital innovation, zero-emission transport initiatives, and a comprehensive accessibility programme co-created with disability organisations.
Actions
To manage visitor flows sustainably, Gothenburg launched the ‘Next to Gothenburg’ campaign, which encourages visitors to explore beyond the city centre and into the surrounding archipelago. Supported by new boat routes and clearer visitor information, the initiative has made the islands more accessible and promoted their attractions, activities and accommodation. By encouraging visitors to extend their stays, it spreads economic benefits, eases pressure on central transport networks, and supports sustainable growth by dispersing tourist flows and reducing concentrated transport emissions in the city centre.
Digital innovation has been embedded in Gothenburg’s planning. The city uses a digital twin to simulate diverse user journeys, test route inclusivity and refine tourism infrastructure. This generates data-driven insights that reveal hidden barriers and improve accessibility for underrepresented groups. Gothenburg has also developed an Event Impact Calculator, allowing organisers to assess the economic, social and environmental impacts of events. By forecasting tourism-related transport emissions, the tool supports sustainable event planning and provides a clearer picture of the sector’s environmental footprint.
Accessibility is treated as both operational and cultural policy. Gothenburg takes a user-centred approach to remove physical and non-physical barriers affecting people with disabilities, older visitors and families. Collaboration with local user organisations through co-creation workshops, real-world testing and feedback helps uncover issues such as communication gaps, digital exclusion and unclear information, ensuring all visitors feel welcome, safe and valued.
Results & lessons
Cleaner transport options, including electric buses (ElectriCity project) and ferries (e.g. Elvi), have improved air quality and reduced noise. The Gothenburg Green City Zone aims for zero-emission vehicles by 2030. The accessibility programme has strengthened Gothenburg’s reputation as an inclusive destination and informed other European cities via EU networks.
Lesson: Dispersal strategies, paired with accessible multimodal transport, can simultaneously address congestion, emissions and inclusivity.
Bordeaux (European Capital of Smart Tourism in 2022)
Bordeaux (265,000 residents; 840,000 metropolitan) is home to a UNESCO-listed historic centre with 347 monuments and lies at the heart of the world’s largest wine-growing region. 1.89 million tourists visited its cultural spaces and 83.000 visited its monuments in 2024. Key mobility challenges include shifting visitors to low-carbon modes and improving active travel connections to tourism assets.
Bordeaux won the European Capital of Smart Tourism 2022 for integrating sustainable mobility into tourism, expanding pedestrian and cycling networks, enhancing low-carbon access to vineyards, establishing environmental commitments for the port, and using digital and accessibility measures to benefit both visitors and residents.
Actions
Bordeaux expanded pedestrian zones and created a 160 km walking trail linking suburbs to the centre, with public transport access at key points. The city integrated EuroVelo cycle routes into its network and improved “last kilometre” connections to vineyards through shared mobility and cycling links. The port now supports electric vessels and public use.
Digital measures include the City Pass (bundled transport and cultural access) and the Un Air de Bordeaux website, which attracts 730,000 annual readers with locally focused content. The website highlights regional attractions and stories, promoting local pride while appealing to travellers seeking authentic, ‘live like a local’ experiences. Accessibility has been enhanced through a fully accessible public transport network and certified disability-friendly walking routes.
Results & lessons
Resident surveys show a nine-point increase (2018–2021) in confidence that the city is addressing sustainability. The integration of walking and cycling infrastructure into tourism routes has improved modal share for active travel. The electric vessel facilities are expanding water-based mobility with minimal environmental impact.
Lesson: Treating tourism trails as part of the city’s mobility backbone ensures benefits for both visitors and residents, while bundled cultural-transport passes can shift behaviour towards sustainable modes.
Dublin (European Capital of Smart Tourism 2024)
Dublin, Ireland’s capital (1.46 million inhabitants), attracts about 8.6 million visitors annually. It faces persistent congestion, high car dependency, and challenges in integrating emerging mobility options. Strategic opportunities exist in expanding public transport, cycling and pedestrian infrastructure, with sustainability embedded through commitments like the Glasgow Declaration on Climate Action in Tourism.
Dublin won the European Capital of Smart Tourism Award 2024 for advancing sustainable mobility through projects like the Coastal Mobility Route, harnessing data and digital tools to improve the transport and visitor experience, while pioneering accessibility innovations such as the world-first Wayfinding Centre.
Actions
The city’s sustainable mobility strategy aligns with its City Centre Transport Plan 2023 and Drone and Air Mobility Strategy (2024–2029). A flagship project, the 4.5 km Coastal Mobility Route, connects coastal attractions via high-quality walking and cycling paths.
Dublin’s Smart City Programme uses big data, drones and predictive analytics to improve transport and safety. The Dublin Discovery Trails app and new Parks & Trails feature encourage exploration of suburban and park areas.
Accessibility measures include an accessible parking app (with planned sensors for 500 spaces), sensory rooms at the airport, and an AI-generated tour guide for visitors with mobility challenges. Among these is the city’s Wayfinding Centre, a world-first facility, which offers a safe, purpose-built environment where people with disabilities can practise navigating public transport and urban spaces before travelling. It features realistic settings such as tram and train carriages, buses, taxi ranks, pedestrian crossings, cycle lanes and airport areas, and also provides training for transport staff, designers and policymakers to improve inclusive mobility.
Results & lessons
The Coastal Mobility Route has become a vital active travel corridor, distributing visitors more evenly across the city. The Smart City Programme has expanded from 3 to 25 staff, improving capacity for innovation. Surveys highlight room for improvement: only 35 % of residents currently view Dublin as a sustainable tourism destination, prompting further focus on emissions reduction and digital service quality.
Lesson: Aligning tourism mobility with citywide climate and transport strategies can unlock innovation capacity, but must be matched by visible improvements for residents to encourage public engagement.
Challenges, opportunities and transferability
Across these three cities, several patterns emerge that offer practical guidance for European urban mobility planners.
1. Tourism mobility as part of the whole-city transport plan
Each city treats tourist flows as part of the broader mobility system, not as separate visitor infrastructure. This integration allows investments in walking routes, cycling infrastructure and accessibility to benefit residents year-round while meeting tourism needs.
2. Visitor dispersal as a congestion management tool
Gothenburg’s archipelago routes, Bordeaux’s suburban trails and Dublin’s Coastal Mobility Route show how directing visitors to less central areas can reduce pressure on core networks, spread economic benefits, and improve the visitor experience. This requires strong multimodal connections and targeted communication campaigns.
3. Digital tools as both mobility enablers and engagement platforms
From Gothenburg’s digital twin to Bordeaux’s cultural-transport passes and Dublin’s discovery apps, technology is used to inform, guide, and influence visitor behaviour. However, survey findings from Dublin highlight the importance of ensuring these tools are easy to use and visibly improve the experience.
4. Accessibility as a strategic asset
All three cities demonstrate that inclusive mobility planning strengthens both brand and functionality. Gothenburg’s governance model, Bordeaux’s fully accessible public transport, and Dublin’s Wayfinding Centre illustrate different approaches to embedding accessibility across the tourism journey.
5. Political and cross-sector collaboration are critical
Implementation challenges, whether in coordinating multiple departments in Dublin or managing construction disruption in Gothenburg, were overcome through proactive stakeholder engagement, transparent communication, and strong partnerships between government, industry, and civil society.
6. Transferability hinges on governance and adaptability
The technical elements (cycle route design, app deployment, event emissions calculators) can be replicated, but their success depends on governance models that support long-term collaboration and adapt initiatives to local cultural, geographic and economic contexts.
For practitioners, the central message from these three case studies is clear: sustainable urban tourism mobility is not about standalone projects. It is about embedding visitor needs into the same infrastructure, data systems and accessibility frameworks that shape daily life for residents, ensuring tourism growth strengthens rather than strains the urban mobility ecosystem.
In depth
An EU initiative to reward innovative and smart tourism in European Cities! - European Commission
https://goteborgco.se/uploads/2019/11/Gothenburg_SmartTourism_2020_Ansokan.pdf
https://eurocities.eu/cities/bordeaux/
European Capital of Smart Tourism - European Commission
https://smart-tourism-capital.ec.europa.eu/index_en
Dublin Leads Europe in Establishing 'Smarter' Tourism Model | Dublin Economic Monitor
Author: Amy Nicholson
Views and opinions expressed are those of the author(s) and do not reflect those of the European Commission.
Photo credits © - ako photography, Barillo_Images, Bordeaux, Brookgardener, Dublin, FreeProd33, PintoArt, Trygve Finkelsen