Inspiration Hub
Welcome to our Inspiration Hub, your central destination for thought-provoking content and valuable resources. Dive into our collection of whitepapers, reports, press releases, blog articles, and press clippings to stay informed and inspired.
Our reports highlight key sustainable travel trends affecting the business and leisure tourism industry, and inspire regenerative actions by showcasing sustainability initiatives from destinations around the world. The insights contained in these reports serve as a roadmap to build more regenerative tourism through the best travel destinations engaging global destination sustainability.
The 2025 GDS-Index Report
Results, Trends, and Insights: Celebrating 10 years of GDS-Index, this is the 9th report of its kind. As the tides of change rise around the world, so too does our collective ambition. The 2025 GDS-Index marks a decade of destination sustainability benchmarking – ten years of catalysing positive transformation, empowering destination leaders, and deepening our commitment to making places thrive through the measurement and management of more regenerative tourism and events.
The 2024 GDS-Index Report
Results, Trends, and Insights: This 8th GDS-Index benchmarking report, stands as a powerful testament to the potential of collaboration, innovation, and commitment in shaping a sustainable future for the tourism and events sectors.
28 Action Steps
The guide provides a comprehensive overview of various strategies to address climate change. It covers a wide range of initiatives, including educating visitors on sustainable choices, collaborating with the food sector to reduce food waste, and supporting innovative transportation solutions like electric vehicles and high-speed rails.
How Destinations can Turn Performance into Systemic Change
This report introduces the GDS-Index System Map, developed with the University of Exeter, showing how destinations can identify leverage points, understand ripple effects, and use the GDS-Index as a strategic tool for systemic sustainability action.
A Practical Guide to the EU Empowering Consumers Directive for Destinations
This white paper explains how the EU Empowering Consumers for the Green Transition Directive affects destinations, tourism businesses, and event organisers. It outlines what makes sustainability claims clear, specific, evidence-based, and ready for stronger scrutiny from September 2026.
What Tourism Management Organisations Need to Know
This report explains three EU Green Deal Directives with significant impact on the tourism sector: the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), the Empowering Consumers for the Green Transition Directive (ECGTD), and the Green Claims Directive (GCD).
The 2023 GDS-Index Report
Results, Trends, and Insights: In the 7th GDS-Index benchmarking report, we honour the trailblazing destinations propelling a sustainable and regenerative agenda. Get data-based insights and trends informing the increasingly positive impacts of tourism and events across the earth.
The 2022 GDS-Index Report
Results, Trends, and Insights: The GDS-Index showcases brave and pioneering destinations that recognise the urgent need to collaborate towards the regeneration of our cities and towns and actively work towards creating places that visitors, communities, and nature can flourish in.
A Guide for Regenerative Destinations
This guide aims to provide a trustworthy resource that enables you and your stakeholders to choose the certification that best fits the needs of their organisation. All the certifications listed are globally recognised.
Updated March 2025
A Visit Belfast, Green Tourism and GDS-Movement Report
A report released by Green Tourism, Visit Belfast and the Global Destination Sustainability Movement shows Belfast’s transition to become a premier sustainable tourism destination – and how other cities can learn from its approach – 21 Sept 2023
The Regenerative Revolution – A New Paradigm for Event Management
This first #Natureworks paper advocates for a transformative approach to the global meetings and events industry post-COVID-19. Instead of returning to the old ‘normal,’ it calls for using the pandemic as a ‘great reset’ to create a restorative, resilient, and zero-carbon growth model. By valuing nature and embracing a Regenerative Revolution, the industry can build a healthier economy and enhance resilience against future challenges like climate change and social unrest.
Destination Funding and the Impact of Tourism Taxes
In a new pan-European study, Group NAO and GDSM explore the potential of tourism tax as a policy tool to rebuild a balanced and regenerative visitor economy beyond the immediate crisis.
2019 Report
This report serves to present unique insights on the current and future trends of sustainability in 47 destinations worldwide. It explores and examines their strategies, and the tactical actions taken by big and small Destination.
2018 Report
By analysing the research, results and interviews from the 2017 Global Destination Sustainability Index, this report explores how destinations in the GDS-Index have implemented key building blocks for sustainability.
2017 Report
This report evolved from the foundation built by the Scandinavian Destination Sustainability Index, recognises the important role DMOs and CVBs should play in supporting cities in the transition towards sustainability.
