The GDS-Movement unites and enables destination management professionals to create flourishing and resilient places to visit, meet, and live in. Our mission is to co-create sustainable and circular strategies, mindsets, and skill sets that enable destinations of the future to thrive, and society and nature to regenerate.

What do we do?

We work with 100+ pioneering municipalities, national/regional destination management organisations, and convention bureaux, to co-create their tourism and events strategies, benchmark, and improve their sustainability performance, and transform their value chains in order to catalyse regeneration.

GDS-Index
GDS-Consulting
GDS-Forum
GDS-Academy
GDS-Insights
Latest Insights
Blog
Announcing the The Visit Belfast, Green Tourism, and
GDS-Movement White Paper
Blog
Announcing the Shortlisted Finalists of the 2023 Innovation and Impact Awards
Blog
Changemaker Check-in: Alejandra H. Zita Scoops Wins in the LATAM Region
Blog
From Top 30 to Top 40: the 2023 GDS-Index (coming soon)
Blog
Valencia, Unveiled
Blog
Introducing the 2023 GDS-Awards
“The GDSM is a fantastic initiative that motivates and inspires our destination and stakeholders to engage in sustainable practices. It is a movement that meets destinations where they are and manages to consider the uniqueness and different prerequisites of the cities, its surroundings and its tourism operators. Besides that, it has given us a platform to monitor our progress and a place to showcase our successes and our position in the market in terms of sustainable tourism management.”
Victoria Barton - Project Manager, VisitAalborg
The GDSM is an inspiring gathering of destinations, driven by the same strong desire to become more sustainable. This powerful network of determined, highly-qualified professionals, helps us build a greener global industry. The benchmarking platform is an efficient tool to identify a destination's strength and its weaknesses, and improve its actions for the years to come.
Amélie Déchénais - Convention Bureau Manager, Bordeaux
The GDS-Index is a unique example of how collaboration, including the sharing of best practices and expertise, can improve performance of destinations for the benefit of both our clients and local communities. It has provided us with opportunities and inspiration that has helped position Copenhagen as a leader in sustainable practices.
Kit Lykketoft - Director of Convention, Copenhagen
The GDS-Index helps us in many different ways. It allows us to hold a mirror up to ourselves and look objectively at the strengths and weaknesses of our activities in the area of sustainability. In addition, through the benchmarking option, we can learn a lot from other destinations and destination organisations. The GDS Index is, therefore, both an evaluation and inspiration tool for us. It stimulates us to continue working on sustainability and the flourishing of our destination and organisation.
Peter De Wilde - CEO, VisitFlanders