GOTO Sønderborg goes live!

GOTO Sønderborg has been set up because we could see that too few people knew about Sønderborg Municipality. And those who knew about us thought we were just a small tourist town on the outskirts of Denmark.

But we’re so much more than that.

“Over the last few years, Sønderborg has grown from being a classic provincial municipality into an internationally oriented development area within cleantech, and we have a lot to offer tourists, newcomers and students alike,” says chairman Peter M. Clausen.

Time for Sønderborg to show off its charms

A lot has happened in Sønderborg in recent years. This is in no small measure thanks to the strong local action force that ensures that we are constantly evolving. But also our unique location; we are close to nature, to Europe – and to each other. And we are close to zero carbon emissions. We are building our greener future on the history that has shaped us, making Sønderborg a forward-looking, vibrant and innovative municipality.

“But if we are to maintain that position in the future, we need to ensure that people’s eyes are opened to the opportunities that are here,” says Clausen, who together with Sønderborg Municipality has been responsible for the foundation of GOTO Sønderborg.

“The Municipal Council has a clear goal to strengthen awareness of Sønderborg Municipality, because it’s important for us to get more people to move here. We have positive experiences of public-private partnerships in Sønderborg Municipality, so it makes sense for us to establish GOTO Sønderborg, where we can all work together to strengthen the story of the Sønderborg area – for everyone’s benefit,” says Mayor Erik Lauritzen.

Foundation to put Sønderborg on the map

GOTO Sønderborg was founded at the beginning of 2022 and our main task is to ensure coordinated, consistent promotion of the Sønderborg area, enticing more people at home and abroad to visit us or settle here.

“We quite simply have to be an obvious destination choice when people are deciding where they want to go as tourists or where they want to move to study, live or work. This requires us to stand united as an area and to effectively talk about everything we can offer here in Sønderborg. It’s an immensely important task, which I am truly excited to be a part of,” says director of GOTO Sønderborg Tanja Have, who herself moved to Sønderborg in 2010.

GOTO Sønderborg finally completes long-term development project

The establishment of the foundation marks the end of an effort that started back in 2003, when a comprehensive Monitor analysis of the business climate in Southern Jutland indicated that massive investment was needed in the area to prevent it from fading away completely. Based on the report’s recommendations, Sønderborg has since benefited from the building of a motorway, a completely new waterfront designed by Frank Gehry and a luxury hotel with a Michelin Star restaurant. Similarly, urban, cultural and business communities have also been undergoing rapid development.

“A great deal of work has gone into developing the Sønderborg area over the years, both from the private and public sector. Now we’ve reached the point where the foundation is in place, we just need to tell people about it. And that’s exactly what we’re doing via GOTO Sønderborg,” explains chairman of the board Peter M. Clausen.