Prestigious national award for a Nature’s Best– company – “an experience that changes your perspective”

This is big news! The Nature’s Best guality labelled destination Stora Karlsö has been awarded Stora Turismpriset – Sweden’s most prestigious national tourism award, presented annually by a government-mandated foundation.

Stora Karlsö, located off the island of Gotland, is not only a popular excursion destination, the largest seabird cliff formation in the Baltic Sea, and widely known for its red-and-yellow orchid meadows in late spring. It is also one of the world’s oldest nature reserves.

In December 2025, the island was recognised for its work on innovation and as a model for the future of sustainable tourism.

“Winning the Stora Turismpriset is a fantastic acknowledgement of our work. Stora Karlsö is more than a place – it is an experience that changes your perspective. Here you find tranquillity, limestone cliffs and an extraordinary birdlife, but also knowledge that inspires and engages. We want to invite more people to discover how nature, culture and research can come together – and how every visit makes a difference for the future. Welcome to an island that inspires the world,” says a proud Martin Voest, CEO of Stora Karlsö.

Stora Karlsö has been Nature’s Best Sweden approved for many years and also a member of The Swedish Nature and Ecotourism Association that manages the quality label.

“Stora Karlsö has, in an impressive way, shown what long-term and persistent work can achieve. From 20 to more than 40,000 breeding bird pairs – the result of 145 years of dedicated conservation work. Through balanced tourism, grazing animals and reinvestment of profits, sustainability is a natural foundation for them. They are a worthy winner of the 2025 Stora Turismpriset,” says Katrien Vanhaverbeke, Chair of the Foundation for the Promotion of Knowledge in Tourism (Stiftelsen för kunskapsfrämjande inom turism), in a press release.

Jury motivation

Stora Karlsö shows how the visitor economy can be a powerful engine for innovation – where nature conservation, research and tourism are woven together into new forms and collaborations. With active work to promote biodiversity and a model for regenerative tourism, they have created an approach that not only preserves – but improves – the place they operate in. Through the use of AI and other technologies, they open new paths for knowledge and participation. They are a true role model and source of inspiration for others.

About Stora Turismpriset

Stora Turismpriset (“The Grand Tourism Prize”) is awarded annually to a company or organisation that works in an innovative and sustainable way and shares knowledge to support the development of a sustainable visitor economy in Sweden.

The award is presented for the 32nd consecutive year by the Foundation for the Promotion of Knowledge in Tourism, whose purpose is to support the development of knowledge within Swedish tourism. The foundation is overseen by Tillväxtverket – the Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth.

Image: Press image, Tillväxtverket.