Heléne Östberg

Heléne Östberg worked as a marketing manager for seven years with the goal of attracting as many international visitors as possible to the Skåne region in southern Sweden. But in 2019, a new strategy was developed, and in 2020, the destination's new vision was launched: Skåne - Where tourism matters. It became a turning point both for Heléne's mission and the entire organization. Instead of chasing guest nights and volumes, tourism was now to be part of the solution to complex societal challenges. The question was just how? No one knew, and there was a risk that the vision would just be empty words.

‍

Now, four years have passed, and the vision is more alive than ever. All ways of working and thinking have needed to be radically changed, and new solutions are needed. The answer to how to do it is - by systematically working with innovation. In addition to working with innovation within her own organisation, she also leads the national working group tasked with developing a common innovation agenda for tourism and the visitor industry in Sweden.