in this commentary<\/p>\n
New sustainability leaders like Oslo and Singapore are redefining urban travel with electric transit, circular energy systems, and quiet, car-free centers.
\n Visitors won\u2019t see flashy \u201cgreen\u201d gimmicks but will experience a glimpse into the future through cleaner air, net-zero hotels, and less noise pollution.
\n These up-and-coming destinations offer more than just low emissions\u2014they provide a genuinely more livable and peaceful environment for travelers.<\/p>\n
When Daniel Anderson stepped off an electric ferry in Oslo, he braced for the usual urban cacophony. It never came.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat struck me most wasn\u2019t the electric buses or low-emission zones \u2014 although those are cool,\u201d recalls Andersen, who runs a waste removal company in London. \u201cIt was the car-free city center policy, which makes walking and cycling feel like the default. It doesn\u2019t just reduce emissions; it changes how you experience the city.\u201d<\/p>\n
That\u2019s no accident. Oslo, and indeed most of Norway, is quiet not only because of forward-looking government policies, but also because of widespread electrification. Virtually all of the new cars sold in Norway are EVs<\/a>.<\/p>\n Oslo is one of a handful of up-and-coming sustainable destinations, according to the Global Destination Sustainability Index (GDSI).\u00a0 A new wave of cities, from Belfast to Sydney, is emerging to claim the sustainability leadership mantle. And in 2026, they may be worth a visit.<\/p>\n \u201cThese cities are building sustainability into daily life, not just tourism, through quiet electric transit, cleaner streets, and circular economy practices,\u201d says Jennifer Kaplan, sustainability strategist and professor at Presidio Graduate School. \u201cFor travelers, that means car-free transportation, walkable neighborhoods, and experiences that seamlessly feel good and do good.\u201d<\/p>\n So where are these places?<\/p>\n Oslo: A vacation in the future<\/p>\n Oslo\u2019s car-free core is a sensory revelation for visitors who are used to hyperactive city centers. Evelyn Gong, who teaches operations management at Carnegie Mellon University, says the city has steadily increased the ratio of electric public transport and enabled bike tours around the city. \u201cAny of these thoughtful efforts could make an eye-opening experience for travelers,\u201d she says. But mostly, it\u2019s the quiet. I experienced it myself when I visited Norway recently. You really have to look both ways before crossing the street because there\u2019s no car noise. Visiting a place like Oslo is worth it because experts say this is what most cities in the developed world will sound like soon. So in a way, It\u2019s like stepping into the future when you take a vacation.<\/p>\n Aalborg: hidden circularity\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Ben Johnson, the CEO of a waste management company in the U.K., expected clean streets and bike lanes in Aalborg, Denmark. On a recent visit, he found something far more ingenious beneath the surface. \u201cThe city uses waste heat from data centers to warm residential neighborhoods,\u201d he recalls. \u201cYou\u2019d never notice it as a visitor, but it\u2019s one of the smartest examples of circular energy I\u2019ve seen.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Travel Leaders Group<\/a> is transforming travel through its progressive approach toward each unique travel experience. Travel Leaders Group assists millions of travelers through its leisure, business and network travel operations under a variety of diversified divisions and brands, including All Aboard Travel, Andrew Harper Travel, Colletts Travel, Corporate Travel Services, CruCon Cruise Outlet, Cruise Specialists, Nexion, Protravel International, SinglesCruise.com, Travel Leaders Corporate, Travel Leaders Network and Tzell Travel Group, and its merger with ALTOUR. With more than 7,000 agency locations and 52,000 travel advisors, Travel Leaders Group ranks as one of the industry\u2019s largest retail travel agency companies.<\/p>\n Aalborg is a pioneer in industrial symbiosis \u2013 where one company\u2019s waste becomes another\u2019s resource. Comparing Aalborg to other cities, Johnson highlights what you don\u2019t see: no traffic noise, no trash overflow, no unnecessary plastic anywhere. Hotels list carbon offset policies and farm origins on breakfast menus.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThese cities aren\u2019t just greenwashing for tourism,\u201d Johnson adds. \u201cThey\u2019re building systems for residents first and tourists second. That\u2019s what makes the experience different.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \ud83c\udfc6 Your top comment<\/p>\n \n Quiet is a luxury I would happily pay for in an increasingly noisy world \u2013 car free areas, noise curfews, laws against excessive car honking, and even the new instant fines in parts of France for having a cell phone on speaker. Quiet is important for my personal sustainability.<\/p>\n \u2013 Sandra Gershenfeld Singapore: An engineered oasis\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Steffen Lehmann, a professor of architecture and urbanism at the University of Nevada at Las Vegas (UNLV) has a checklist of Singaporean sustainability initiatives: Green building initiatives, advanced water recycling, a \u201ccar-lite city\u201d vision where 80 percent of journeys use sustainable transport, and over 400 parks. \u201cWherever you are in Singapore,\u201d Lehmann notes, \u201cit\u2019s never far to reach a green space.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Eugene Leow, who runs a marketing firm in Singapore, sees it daily: \u201cSustainability is built into daily life,\u201d he says. \u201cThe impact is subtle but powerful \u2014 you walk into a shopping mall and see rooftop gardens.\u201d The difference for travelers? A clean, green metropolis where choosing sustainable options \u2013 from transit to refilling water bottles \u2013 is the path of least resistance.\u00a0<\/p>\n Sydney: more trees and bike lanes\u00a0<\/p>\n Sydney, like many sustainability up-and-comers, targets net-zero by 2035. But it also has a long list of achievements, which include using 100 percent renewable electricity in the city\u2019s operations since 2020. It also has an ambitious goal of adding 50 percent more tree canopy by 2030 and 75 percent by 2050, and it has a strong focus on upscaling solar power to become the main source of energy. Sydney has doubled down on walking and cycling infrastructure, including the George Street transformation<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Although Sydney has a lot to talk about \u2014 including a hyper-efficient mass transit system \u2014 it remains an emerging destination for sustainability. Indeed, if you\u2019re visiting Sydney, you wouldn\u2019t notice most of these initiatives unless someone pointed them out.<\/p>\n Belfast: A green rebirth\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
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