Destinations have moved from ‘ambition to action’ in their sustainability
efforts, according to the Global Destination Sustainability (GDS) Index, which found
the average performance across participating destinations has increased by 31%
over the last decade.
Despite economic uncertainty, destinations have made a concerted
effort to ‘build regenerative futures’ said Guy Bigwood, CEO and chief changemaker
at GDS Movement, with the number of destinations developing climate strategies increasing
by 23% to 77% in the last year.
Leading the way in the GDS-Index 2025 is Helsinki, which scored
the highest – 93.5% - of the top 40 sustainable destinations for the second
year running.
The Finnish capital scored highly in all criteria. It has
phased out coal, banning it from 2029 and is the first major European capital
to earn a Green Destinations certification. Most of the city’s tourism infrastructure
– 99% of hotel rooms; 100% of convention centres and 80% of attractions – is
also third-party certified.
Nina Vesterinen, tourism director, City of Helsinki,
said:
“We are so happy with this result because Helsinki invests substantially in
sustainable development, and this recognition reaffirms our right direction.”
Hot on Helsinki’s heels are Gothenberg (91.5%) and Copenhagen
(89%) who make up the 2025 Top 3 Leadership Destinations.
Other cities in the top 10 of the 2025 GDS Index Top 40 were
Aalborg; Glasgow; Tampere; Aarhus; Lyon; Belfast, and Reykjavik.
Nine new destinations entered the top 40 this year with
Bergen, Bordeaux and Oslo dropping out of the index.
Most Improved
Adelaide was named Most Improved Destination. The rise was fuelled
by its Integrated Climate Strategy 2030 and the launch of its first
sustainability roadmap. It is also the first Australian city to achieve carbon
neutrality for its direct emissions.
Business Events Adelaide CEO, Damien
Kitto said it was only the second year his destination had participated. "Our aim in 2024 was to understand how
Adelaide compared with other destinations, and it is fantastic to see such a
significant improvement in such a short time.”
Krakow in Poland and The Malverns in the UK were second and
third on the list of Most Improved.
The benchmarking and improvement programme, which evaluates destinations across four key pillars: environmental strategy and performance; social
sustainability; destination management, and supplier engagement, said 'most improved' destinations were those who had made the most significant
progress in their sustainability performance.
The Malverns, a destination with a presence in Herefordshire and Worcestershire in England, earned its third-place position by 'demonstrating a substantial commitment to enhancing its sustainable tourism
offerings.'
Bigwood said: “Every destination featured in the GDS-Index
has demonstrated leadership and commitment - each one deserving recognition for
its efforts to build a more regenerative future.
“As we mark the 10th year of the GDS-Index - with 626
benchmarking assessments completed across 35 countries since 2016 - one thing
has remained constant: the courage of this community to lead with vision and to
innovate with purpose.
"From shifting seasonality to changing governance and a
pushback against sustainability, members of the movement meet each wave with
intention, creativity, and a fierce resolve to do better, faster, together.
It’s not just about riding the wave, it’s about learning how to read it, shape
it, and surf it to make it count.”
The full GDS-Index 2025 report can be downloaded here: https://www.gds.earth/reports/
