The GDS-Movement is a leading, data-driven global change agency focused on driving socio-economic and environmental transformation in cities and regions worldwide. Its mission is to equip tourism and events professionals with the mindsets, skill sets, and tools needed to collaboratively create more regenerative and resilient destinations for travel, meetings, and living. Find out more about GDS-Index, GDS-Forum, GDS-Awards, and GDS-Academy.
The GDS-Index
The GDS-Index is a trusted performance improvement programme to assess and accelerate the progress of a destination’s regenerative journey. It measures, benchmarks, and enhances the sustainability strategies, action plans, and initiatives of more than 100 destination management organisations, municipal authorities, and their tourism supply chains.
Co-founded in 2016 by the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA), City Destinations Alliance (CityDNA), IMEX Group, and MCI, the GDS-Index offers an unparalleled resource for visitors, DMOs, municipalities, and event planners looking for destinations that offer the best in sustainable performance.
GDS-Index is the Global Destination Sustainability Index.
The GDS-Awards
The GDS-Awards is an annual recognition of excellence in destination leadership, innovation, improvement, and legacy initiatives. In its 9th edition, GDS-Awards recognises outstanding contributions and innovation practices through the ´Leadership Award´ based on GDS-Index ranking, the ´Most Improved Destination Award´ based on year-on-year GDS-Index benchmarking results, the ´Innovation Award´, selected by an independent panel of industry experts, and the ´Impact Award´ in collaboration with #Meet4Impact, also selected by an external panel of industry experts.
The GDS-Awards ceremony brings together the GDS-Movement, City Destinations Alliance (CityDNA) and the host community in an inspiring celebration. It serves as a prestigious platform to honour the remarkable achievements of the winners.
Read also GDS-Movement Announces Finalists for the 2024 GDS-Awards.
The GDS-Forum
The GDS-Forum is a gathering of destination leaders, sustainability advocates, and tourism experts, fostering innovation for regeneration. The GDS-Forum programme is an evolving unconventional experience in the form of a flexible and informal meeting defined by deep cooperation. It aims to unlock attendees’ collective intelligence, share meaningful exchanges, solve shared challenges, and empower participants to accelerate their destinations’ sustainable and regenerative tourism and events strategies through radical collaboration.
The GDS-Academy
The GDS-Academy, brought to you by ICCA and City Destinations Alliance, is a blended learning platform to enhance positive benefits for people and places through tourism and events. It offers a dynamic educational experience that helps destinations and events professionals understand and practice what they learn. Professionals can expect to be guided and inspired by experts and thought leaders who share their knowledge through fun modules with quizzes, polls, and lively discussions. There are in-house and open-enrolment courses for every aspect of sustainability practice in the sector.
GDS-Academy is the Global Destination Sustainability Academy.
Leadership profile: Guy Bigwood
Guy Bigwood, Chief Changemaker and CEO, for the last 15 years has been delivering award-winning consulting services focused on helping cities, governments, corporations and associations step up, scale up and speed up their sustainability programmes and regenerative practices.
Guy’s pioneering work has been recognised with 22 sustainability awards including the Events Industry Council Pacesetter Award, and recognition as a Fellow of the Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment. He was named one of the MICEBOOK and ISLA Power 50: Green Champions in October 2023.
Find out more at www.gds.earth and www.gds.earth/index.
Source: GDS-Movement #GDSmovement #RegenerativeDestinationManagement
Read also Wroclaw and Szczecin Join 2025 GDS-Index, Advancing Poland’s Sustainable Tourism and Events Strategy.
