6Time: The objective of the Carbon Neutral Tourism project is to reduce CO2 emissions from the tourism industry and to increase energy efficiency in Finland by developing smart solutions and operating models using data for operators in the field. At the same time, the project will increase operators’ understanding of the sector’s carbon footprint and its concrete reduction measures. During the project, suitable metering will be developed, relevant data sources will be developed and combined, these will be put together in a common data repository, and through smart solutions, data will be converted into usable and easily accessible information. This information will be used to make the necessary changes to reduce emissions from the tourism sector. The necessary solutions will be developed in co-operation with different actors. The project will build the digital tools needed for solutions and develop a CO2-TIS (Carbon Neutral Tourism Intelligence System) operating model that will be effectively disseminated during the project. The model is piloted in every city to ensure results. The project implements the common carbon-neutrality objectives of the participating cities and the whole 6Time region by addressing an area that has not been approached in a similar way in the past as a whole due to its fragmentation. The project also responds to the widely stated need for tourism companies and public operators to find smart solutions for data collection and exploitation. In the long term, the use of model and tools can be extended to other development themes.Tourism is one of the fastest growing sectors in the world and, globally, one in ten jobs is in the tourism sector (World Travel & Tourism Council 2019). The exports of the tourism sector at international level are bigger than those of the automotive or food industry (UNWTO 2019). Tourism and experience economy is also one of the largest and fastest growing industries in Finland. According to the TEM, tourism in Finland is as large as agriculture, forestry and fisheries and one and a half times bigger than the food industry. Total employment is around 140,000 person-years. It is therefore an important industry. At the same time, the tourism sector is an important and growing producer of CO2 emissions. Together, flying, hotels, land transport, food and many other tourism-related activities contribute to a significant share of global CO2 emissions. How can CO2 emissions in the tourism sector be influenced quickly enough?The main problem is the lack of knowledge and the tools and operating models to be developed through it. For example, when it is possible to measure CO2 emissions in steel production relatively easily, it is very challenging for the tourism sector precisely because of its fragmentation. There is therefore a need for a usable approach to the benefit of both public and private tourism operators, the associated digital tools and a common actor. Data sources used in the operating model may include air traffic data, land traffic data, tourists’ overnight stays, business data, etc. Data can be used, for example, to determine the right amount of hotel investments, to select sustainable destination markets, to manage tourist flows in a sustainable efficient and manner, to find latent seasons and to smooth year-round. A private operator is also able to make concrete local changes to its own services and, for example, to its real estate. In a broader context, the sector can also be more effectively compared to other sectors and set concrete targets for CO2 emissions based on cumulative annual reference data. The right kind of data can also be used to monitor the development of the sharing economy, such as Airbnb, or to highlight the motivations of domestic tourists by studying, for example, Google analytics or internet conversations. By bringing all data in one place and utilising artificial intelligence or machine learning, the whole sector can make more sustainable choices based on the right information. Energy efficiency will also be improved by providing companies with concrete development targets to reduce consumption with the help of data. For example, circular economy solutions developed in Finland are still invisible in tourism companies. A similar solution combining high-quality data has not yet been implemented anywhere in the world, but there is talk about it everywhere or, more accurately, about its need. Finding, building and targeting common sustainability solutions — resource efficiency, avoiding part-optimisation, effectiveness of resultsHelsinki, Tampere and Turku is a unique opportunity in Helsinki, Tampere and Turku with the right measures to contribute to the goals of carbon neutrality in the tourism sector and at the same time jump to the top of the world in promoting the carbon neutrality of tourism in a credible way.