The Global Destination Sustainability Movement (GDS-Movement) is a pioneering, international change agency that acts to catalyse socio-economic and environmental transformation in cities and regions. Our mission is to empower tourism and events professionals with the mindsets, skill sets, and toolsets to co-create more regenerative and resilient destinations to visit, meet, and live in.

If you work in destination management or events and have an interest in sustainability and regeneration, GDS-Movement is here to support you. 

The GDS-Index is the world’s most-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 destination management organisations, municipal authorities, and their tourism supply chains, globally.

The GDS-Movement is a pioneering, international change agency committed to supporting regenerative destinations and events globally. The GDS-Movement incorporates a variety of services including the GDS-Index, GDS-Academy, GDS-Consulting, and more. 

You can get involved in the GDS-Movement by benchmarking your destination in the GDS-Index, learning in our Masterclasses, or enjoying bespoke support through our consulting support. 

Click here to subscribe to the GDS-Movement Newsletter.

Have a look at how to join the team. If you are interested in working with us, but we do not currently have a vacancy, please submit an unsolicited application. 

It is a balanced, living-systems approach to developing and managing a flourishing and equitable visitor economy. It aims to use tourism and events to transform environmental, social, and economic problems. It aims to restore and rejuvenate communities, their people, and place, rather than degrade or merely sustain conditions. It is community-centric, inspired by nature, inclusive and circular by design. Regenerative Destination Management forms the basis of all the contributions GDS-Movement makes to tourism and events.  

1. Data Collection: You identify who to contact for data and delegate to them, with our support. 
2. Submit Data: Using our online data and analytics portal Omni, you upload your data alongside supporting documents. 
3. Benchmark: Our team evaluates the answers, making sure your contact understood them all correctly, and then releases your score. 
4. Results: The results usually go live during the annual GDS-Forum in the northern hemisphere autumn (fall). 
5. Assessment Report: Our team creates an in-depth analysis of your performance, and presents this to you alongside tailored recommendations for the next steps. 
6. Time for Action: To make your destination more sustainable, it is now over to you to implement our recommendations. If you are unsure of where to start, you may be interested in getting more support from us. 

In 2025 the GDS-Index Portal (Omni) will be open from March-May (Exact dates TBC). You can also find the full timeline at the bottom of this page.

Destinations can improve their score by implementing the recommendations provided in the GDS-Index report, strengthening strategies and practices across the four pillars, and implementing innovative solutions for sustainable tourism. Continuous improvement, collaboration with local stakeholders, and engagement with the GDS-Movement’s resources and guidance are key to progress. 

Data is collected through a structured assessment process, where destinations submit relevant information and evidence. Destinations must provide documentation and third-party certifications to support their claims. The GDS-Movement assesses this evidence to ensure accuracy, its relevance and to evaluate where performance can be improved. 

You can find all the tutorial videos on our YouTube channel, on the Omni playlist. There is also an FAQ section in Omni. 

Yes, you can. How you can access it will vary, as different tools have been used for benchmarking in recent years. From 2020 onwards, you can download the results directly from OMNI. For years occurring prior to 2020, please contact us and we will send you your results. 

It usually takes about 25 – 40 hours initially, and 15 – 20 hours subsequently. This includes corrections to your submissions during the review process. The first time you submit a benchmarking application, it typically takes 1 – 2 months to gather the data. This is mainly due to the delays in accessing and retrieving data from the local council and suppliers.  

Top Tip: start gathering data as early as possible, so that you can account for time-lags in local council and supplier responses (e.g. hotels and PCOs, holidays).

Yes, you can submit documents in languages other than English, as long as they are in a text-searchable PDF format and you indicate the parts/pages relevant to the criterion you are answering. 

Yes, you can create sub-users and delegate criteria to them. This is particularly useful when looking for data from outside of your organisation, as you can create sub-users for those working, for example, in your local council. 

Have a look here

The criteria are reviewed and enhanced annually, by the GDS-Movement team following online and offline consultation and input from assessors, key destinations and the Technical Advisory Committee. 

Based on this input the GDS-Movement develops a first draft together with Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) and then goes through a series of workshops to develop and finalise the criteria. The TAC must approve the final draft.  

The Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) is a team of experts in sustainable destination management, from diverse sectors and areas of cities, tourism, events, and not-for-profit organisations. Its role is to provide constructive criticism and new ideas on the development of the GDS-Index benchmarking criteria, reporting indicators, research, academy, and technical platform development. The committee consists of 18 to 20 members serving a 3-year term. New members need to apply. Find the current TAC list here. 

The GDS-Index is updated annually, with each destination reassessed each year. This allows destinations to track their progress over time, measure the impact of new initiatives, and benchmark against other destinations. 

The GDS-Index is aligned with internationally recognised sustainability frameworks, including the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) Destination criteria, and the Paris Climate Agreement. Additionally, the GDS-Index process is also guided through the ISEAL Code of Good Practice. This ensures that destinations follow best practices and make meaningful contributions to global sustainability targets. 

The GDS-Index has 100 cities committed to continually improving the social, economic, and environmental well-being of their destinations through tourism and events benchmarking. They are spread across the earth that sustains us and are co-creating the global journey towards regeneration through measurement and management. Find out more about this year’s participating destinations here.

The GDS-Index assesses destinations across four key pillars: 

• Environmental Performance: Measures environmental policies, carbon footprint, waste management, and renewable energy use. 

• Social Performance: Assesses inclusivity, community impact, accessibility, and local quality of life. 

• Supplier Performance: Examines the sustainability efforts of local tourism and event suppliers. 

• Destination Management: Focuses on governance, strategy, and the destination’s alignment with sustainability and climate goals. 

 For more please see the methodology. 

Each performance indicator is assigned a maximum number of points, and according to how well the destination fulfils each indicator, it obtains some of these points, no points, or all points (a full score). All the indicators’ points for each category are then aggregated to get the category score and calculated. To get the total score of the index, all category scores are aggregated.  

Each destination is scored based on data submitted across the four pillars. The scoring ranges from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating stronger sustainability performance. Destinations receive a detailed report with tailored recommendations, insights, and benchmark comparisons with other destinations in the programme. 

There is an annual fee to participate in the GDS-Index, which covers the cost of the assessment, reporting, and access to resources and support from the GDS-Movement team. Pricing varies depending on the location, size and needs of each destination. For more information, please contact us directly. 

Each year, the GDS-Index publishes an annual report that provides insights into the overall performance of participating destinations, highlights best practices, and celebrates top-performing destinations. You can find the latest report on our website here. 

The GDS-Movement is an international change agency dedicated to catalysing socio-economic and environmental transformation in cities and regions. To support this mission, the GDS-Movement offers consultancy services and the GDS-Index, a trusted performance improvement programme to assess and accelerate the progress of a destination’s regenerative journey. With a strong commitment to transparency and impartiality, we ensure that all GDS-Index assessments and advisory processes remain unbiased, empowering destinations to make better-informed, more strategic sustainability decisions. 

The GDS-Index enables destinations to evaluate and accelerate their progress on the regenerative journey. Assessments are conducted over a four-month period. The timeline is available here. During this period, each destination is assigned an independent assessor who performs two rounds of assessments, between which the destination can clarify any queries or supply outstanding info, followed by a rigorous, cross-checked quality control process, and concluded with combined-data evaluations to extract GDS-Index-wide insights and trends. 

In parallel, GDS-Movement provides tailored support to DMOs, guiding them to better define and develop their vision and strategy, build sustainability capacity, engage interested parties, and communicate their sustainability efforts more accurately and effectively. Each year, the GDS-Index methodology and criteria are carefully reviewed in a robust and comprehensive review process including the Technical Advisory Committee, participating destinations past and present, industry experts, and GDS-Movement’s own changemakers. In the process, we gather valuable feedback to help improve the criteria and make it more future fit. 

Through these practices, GDS-Movement upholds a high standard of transparency and impartiality, fostering trust and credibility among destinations on their regenerative journeys and industry peers. The Methodology and criteria are copyrighted, and published each year, further supporting academic discourse*. 

* The GDS-Movement™ and all sub-brands, including the 
GDS-Index, are protected by international copyright law. The GDS-Index criteria can be used for the purposes of benchmarking by tourism and event destinations, and for academic research.
Copyright © 2024 The GDS-Movement™ 

Those who wish to emulate or adapt these approaches for their own sector, industry, or focus, can request permission in writing to info@gds.earth. 

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 sustainability performance.  

Scope: Unlike other destination standards and rankings, the GDS-Index was originally and exclusively created for the events and meetings industry. Since 2020, leisure tourism has been integrated into its criteria and methodology, making it a unique and holistic programme to evaluate and drive performance across the visitor economy in urban destinations. 

The GDS-Index is not a certification. It serves to benchmark, drive performance and accelerate the progress of a destination towards third-party verifications and accredited sustainable management systems such as Virio, Earthcheck, Biosphere and Green Destinations. 

It is not a ranking of all cities in the world: The GDS-Index benchmarks destinations that choose to participate. Each destination’s ranking reflects its performance relative to other participants for that year. The word “global” in its full name, The Global Destination Sustainability Index, refers to the intake and spread of cities, not their ranking, as we welcome destinations from anywhere on earth. 

The GDS-Index was originally created for the events and meetings industry in 2015. From 2020, leisure tourism was integrated into the criteria and methodology, making it relevant for more destinations, and a more holistic programme. You can learn more about the history of the GDS-Index here. 

The GDS-Index is owned and managed by GUBI Consulting SL, which trades as the Global Destinations Sustainability Movement. The GDS-Movement is a change agency dedicated to empowering destinations to become more sustainable, regenerative, and resilient. The GDS-Movement collaborates with partners across the tourism and events industries to improve performance, provide resources, and support destination leaders in implementing better sustainability practices. The GDS-Movement and the GDS-Index intellectual property is trademarked in Europe, and around the world.  

The GDS-Index promotes more sustainable tourism and events practices, helping destinations minimise their negative environmental impact, boost local economy, and create a more positive experience for residents and visitors. It also fosters a culture of greater transparency, accountability, and impartiality, encouraging destinations to continuously improve their sustainability initiatives and programmes. 

Unlike other standards and rankings, the GDS-Index was originally created specifically for the events and meetings industry, and is the only tool of its type in the world. Since 2020 we integrated leisure tourism into the criteria, making it relevant for all business and leisure tourism destinations. 

The criteria are reviewed and enhanced annually, and a draft is developed by the GDS-Movement team following consultation and input from key destinations. These draft criteria undergo an in-depth revision from the GDS-Index Technical Advisory Committee (TAC), which includes destination sustainability experts from NGOs, DMOs, and cities around the world. 

You can access our full methodology here

Each year, when the GDS-Index results are announced, we celebrate the efforts of  destinations at the annual GDS-Forum with these awards: 

1. The Leadership Award – the destination scoring the highest on the year’s GDS-Index, demonstrating its continual commitment, inspired vision, prompt action, and measurable impacts. 
2. The Innovation Award – for a destination using innovative solutions to drive sustainability performance.  
3. The Most Improved Destination Award – for the destination that has demonstrated the highest level of overall improvement from the previous year. This is independent of its ranking. 
4. The Impact Award – for a destination management organisation committed to legacy and impact through business events. It is a collaborative initiative developed by GDS-Movement and #MEET4IMPACT. 

These awards are collectively referred to as the Global Destination Sustainability Awards or GDS-Awards. Find out more here!

Participation in the GDS-Index offers multiple benefits: 

• Access to a comprehensive sustainability benchmarking report and performance analysis. 

• Insights and recommendations to improve sustainability initiatives. 

• Opportunities for networking and knowledge-sharing with other destinations. 

• Increased visibility and credibility as a sustainable destination. 

• Access to resources, best practices, and support from the GDS-Movement community. 

The GDS-Index is open to destinations of all sizes worldwide, including cities, regions, and countries. Destination Management Organisations (DMOs), tourism boards, and convention bureaus are typically the main participants. Each destination is encouraged to join to benchmark their sustainability performance and identify improvement areas. 

Cities can participate in the GDS-Index by signing up through the GDS-Movement website or contacting the GDS-Movement team directly. An annual fee is required to support the assessors’ time and effort in evaluating submissions, access to the Omni Platform, participation in the Movements online education programme and coaching. Once signed up, cities complete a structured assessment covering sustainability criteria across the environmental, social, supplier, and destination management pillars. Then, cities provide data and supporting documentation that the assessors review. Upon completing the assessment, cities receive a detailed report with scores, benchmarks, and recommendations for improvement – the Performance Improvement Report (PIR).

Here you can find further information on what to expect on the GDS-Index Journey  

Yes, the GDS-Index publishes an annual report showcasing the performance of the Top 40 participating destinations. Data of those destinations outside of the top 40 are used to calculate averages, but these individual cities’ data is not published – we leave this to the discretion of each destination.  Destinations that excel are recognised through awards and case studies featured on our website and in industry events. 

The GDS-Index is designed specifically for destinations, but private companies can support and align with destinations in their sustainability efforts. Companies can also join our partner network, where they collaborate with destinations on sustainability initiatives. 

GDS-Index Lite is an accelerator programme developed by the GDS-Movement to support destinations in the earliest stages of their sustainability journey. It is a capacity-building and self-assessment tool designed to help destinations understand their current sustainability performance/opportunities, build internal capabilities, and prepare for full participation in GDSIndex benchmarking assessments.

GDS-Index Lite and the GDS-Index share the same goal, to help destinations become more sustainable, regenerative, and resilient, but they differ in depth, purpose, and process. GDSIndex Lite is a learning pathway, where GDS-Index is a performance pathway.

GDS-Index Lite is a capacity-building and self-assessment programme designed to help destinations begin their sustainability journey. It focuses on learning, preparedness, and building internal capability.

The GDS-Index, on the other hand, is a comprehensive benchmarking and performance improvement programme for destinations with established sustainability contributions, and data. It emphasises accountability, third-party benchmarking, and international visibility.

While GDS-Index Lite uses 30 indicators 10 of these optional) for a simplified self-assessment, the GDS-Index includes more than 76 indicators across all categories and is independently assessed and verified by GDS-Movement changemakers.

Both use indicators from the same source. The 30 GDS-Index Lite indicators are directly sourced from the official GDS-Index criteria, without adaptation, ensuing full alignment with the methodology and global sustainability frameworks.

To learn more about how these indicators are developed and reviewed annually, see “What is the GDS-Index methodology?” in the GDS-Index FAQ section.

Results from GDS-Index Lite remain private, focusing on learning and progress. By contrast, GDS-Index results are published annually, with destinations featured in the public Top 40 ranking and the annual insights report.

GDS-Index Lite is based on World Bank Income Level (by country) and is most suitable to:

• Destinations new to sustainability assessment
• DMOs without a formal sustainability strategy
• Destinations with limited access to regional funding
• Small teams or those with data gaps
• NTOs seeking to develop the sustainability journeys of a group of destinations
• Destinations needing to build internal sustainability performance skills, ensure greater stakeholder alignment, or develop better data practices
• Teams wanting to “test-drive” the GDS-Index approach with a lower resource commitment

The GDS-Index is ideal for:

• Destinations with existing sustainability plans, data, and capacity
• DMOs with clear goals and a desire to benchmark globally
• Teams seeking external validation, visibility, and deep performance insight
• Destinations pursuing global recognition, leadership, and certification readiness

No, GDS-Index Lite is a starting point. If a city or region shows benchmarking assessment potential, we recommend that route. The Lite pathway is progressive, and supports a city to qualify to participate in GDS-Index within 2 years maximum.

GDS-Index Lite evaluates destination sustainability performance across the same four categories as the GDS-Index (Destination Management, Environment, Social, and Supplier) using a smaller set of 30 criteria:

Mandatory core (20 criteria):

• Strategic management, stakeholder consultation, DEI management, climate action, accessibility, circularity, SDG alignment, etc.

Optional exploration (10 criteria):

• Visitor management, biodiversity, community engagement, decent work, training suppliers, and more.

These are mapped to the UN SDGs and GSTC Destination Criteria, ensuring alignment with global frameworks.

GDS-Index Lite is a transitional programme with structured onboarding, coaching, and iterative assessments, intended to build readiness for the full GDS-Index.

The journey includes:

1. Kick-off and Orientation – Training webinars and onboarding support
2. Self-Assessment Submission – Using 30 GDS-Index Lite indicators in OMNI
3. Support and Feedback – Receive guidance, traffic light visuals, and areas for improvement
4. Updated Submission – Implement insights and submit improved data
5. Performance Review – Optional peer comparisons and final report
6. Progression to GDS-Index – With enhanced readiness, data, and internal alignment. The estimated timeframe is 1-2 years

With GDS-Index Lite, destinations receive:

• Access to OMNI, the proprietary GDS-index benchmarking and analytics platform
• Online coaching and support sessions (up to 8 hours standard / 28 hours for premium)
• A performance Improvement Report with feedback and recommendations
• Webinar invitations to GDS-Movement’s “Feeling the Pulse” series
• Use of logos and mention on website as a GDS-Index Lite Partcipant
• Optional consulting packages tailored to a destination’s needs

No. GDS-Index Lite is a private learning and improvement process. Results are not published, and there is no public ranking or competitive benchmarking. However, we publicly acknowledge and celebrate all Lite participants as part of the movement.

Starting* with GDS-Index Lite:

• Reduces pressure by focusing on learning over performance
• Helps smaller or resource-limited DMOs build internal capacity
• Creates space for experimentation and stakeholder alignment
• Lays a strong foundation for successful transition to the full GDS-Index

*GDS-Movement reserves the right to assess and advise on the most appropriate pathway for a destination.

Visit the GDS-Index Lite webpage (https://www.gds.earth/index/gds-lite/) to download the guide and begin your journey. Or contact the GDS-Movement team directly via info@gds.earth.

Our consulting service can be broken down into 6 categories:  

1. Strategy (development and improvement)  
2. Impact and Legacy (Measurement and reporting)  
3. Communication (Let the world know about your actions)  
4. Social innovation (e.g. Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion also known as DEI)  
5. Research (Investigating transformation) 
6. Events (positive impact through MICE meetings and more)  

For more info, visit our Consulting page.

We work with National and Regional Destination Management Organisations as well as Convention Bureaus from around the world.

We’ve supported event organisers, national tourism organisations, local councils, and associations.

If your organisation enquires about our expertise in driving sustainability and regenerative practices in destinations, reach out to us today!

The GDS-Forum is the global event that convenes and unites destination management professionals to catalyse innovation for regeneration. For more information, tap/click here.

GDS-Movement is currently inviting proposals from potential host cities for the next GDS-Forum. For more information about the GDS-Forum, visit here.

The GDS-Academy provides leading-edge training for event and tourism professionals to turn concepts into action, and then into impact. We run events management courses, storytelling courses, and other destination specialist courses. Click here to find out more. 

The GDS-ICCA-CityDNA Certificate in Regenerative Destination Management is open for public enrolment, please check the course listing to join the next cohort. The rest of the courses are in-house, so please email us at academy@gds.earth for more information.

You can download our media kit with our mission and vision, logo, links, and more here.

You can access this comprehensive guide to see how our logo should be used.

Please reach out to our PR Manager, Anja Spice, if you would like to submit an article to the GDS-Movement blog. 

If you would like to share one of our articles on your website, please contact us.