Innovation

It is innovative to be featured at several levels regarding sustainable activities for such a small hostel in a small town. As Wadden Sea National Park’s partner, Mr Philipsen and Mrs Rishede have been very proactive to spread the fact that the park itself is the largest unbroken system of inter-tidal sand and mudflats in the world; and inform foreigners about what to experience in Ribe. Therefore, Danhostel was awarded the title of The Green Leaders on Tripadvisor which has four statuses: Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum. The higher the status, the greater the impact of a property's green practices. Danhostel was awarded Silver Green Leader for its Green Key certified, water-efficient bathroom fixtures, composts yard waste, composts food waste, toiletries with recycled packaging and recycling practices.

Danhostel also is the only environmentally certified accommodation in Ribe awarded The Green Key - an eco-label for sustainable tourism. For example, Danhostel does not use herbicides for weeding, and all daily cleaning products and soaps are eco-labeled. Mr Philipsen and Mrs Rishede review water consumption once a month to make sure to use water more efficiently. Meanwhile, making it easier for guests to care for the environment without diminishing the guests experience and comfort by offering guidance. Danhostel accommodates guests with various disabilities (Accessibility Label). Danhostel Ribe emphasizes use of bicycles as transportation to the town and encourages tourists to rent bicycles; therefore, the hostel was awarded two bicycle friendly quality labels, the Danish Quality label “Cycling Denmark” and the international cycle label “Bed+Bike;” therefore, this hostel is an ideal base for cyclists.

While living in a more sustainable environment, Danhostel assists local business by collaborating with factories that produce local beer, bakeries that sell home made bread (which Danhostel serves as part of its organic breakfast), dairy farms that produce organic cheese at a competitive price. From a business perspective, Danhostel and other local business can benefit from each other.

Sustainable tourism never was just a matter of environmental initiatives at Danhostel Ribe, but also a matter of perceiving a deeper understanding of and carefully developing a wonderful tourism attraction of Ribe and the Wadden Sea National Park in a sustainable way. Furthermore, another innovative part is Danhostel runs financially well within a limited budget in a sustainable way while making it become a place where people would like to go to learn about sustainable living and environment in a welcoming atmosphere.

Inspiration

Mr Jens Philipsen and Mrs Gudrun Rishede were both teachers before they established Danhostel. Teaching students is their interest and even after they retired, they continued to educate young people to become environmentalists because they considered it important to explore the idea to young generations. Their passion about teaching the younger generations became an inspiration for establishing Danhostel. Nowadays, the hostel accommodates numerous school groups and the majority of them are teenagers (age 13~16) and 40 percent of individuals came from all over the world. The hostel hosts approximately 20,000 to 21,000 guests per year.

Overall impact

As Wadden Sea National Park’s partner, they are allowed to use this label at the hostel. Mr Philipsen and Mrs Rishede have been very proactive to spread the news, some are articles and research. The Wadden Sea is the largest unbroken system of tidal flats worldwide, this fact enables Mr Philipsen and Mrs Rishede to inform visitors about what to experience in the Wadden Sea, and they translate the information into German, English and Swedish. In 2010, the official opening of the Wadden Sea National Park took place outside the hostel along with the participation of His Royal Highness Prince Joachim, Danish Minister of Environment, Karen Ellemann and the mayor of Esbjerg Municipality, Johnny Søtrup. These activities benefit hostel’s business and the community itself. Therefore, Mr Philipsen and Mrs Rishede have been able to spread more information to their guests who come from all over the world while raising awareness of Ribe (8,500 inhabitants) among big cities and attractions in Denmark.

Business benefit

Business does well while doing good. Danhostel benefits from collaborating with local businesses. They provide local businesses with business and this helps the local community too. For example, Danhostel sells local beer, and serves local homemade bread for breakfast.

Social and environmental benefit

Living in a small community require individuals to participate and work closer with each other; thus, the work in the community can be done more efficiently. Ribe is such a peaceful and beautiful community since there are only 8,500 inhabitants and it is famous for the “black sun.” Mr Philipsen and Mrs Rishede concentrate on educating young people about the environment; therefore, raising awareness of sustainable tourism in Ribe. There is a huge contribution to society and the community. Indeed, it has a positive impact on the environment and community.

Interview

Jens Philipsen; Gudrun Rishede, Host & Manager