GDS Movement Becomes a Signatory of 'The Future of Tourism'

The Global Destination Sustainability Movement joins over 350 Destinations, Businesses, Associations, Academia and Media Partners as a signatory of The Future of Tourism’s Guiding Principles, a set of commitments to steer the sector towards inclusive, collaborative and sustainable tourism.

Bringing a new perspective

The GDS-Movement is a transformation platform that engages, inspires and enables destinations to become more regenerative, flourishing and resilient places to visit, meet and live in. It welcomes over 60 leisure and business tourism destinations to its community, catalysing regeneration, developing resilience and helping cities to achieve their sustainable development goals. The GDS-Movement was created in the Business Events and Meetings Industry and joins the Future of Tourism to share additional specialism, network and influence, and an alternative point of view to the conversation.

A shared vision

The flagship and award-winning service of the GDS-Movement is the GDS-Index, a benchmarking service for urban destinations wishing to address and measure the impact of tourism.  The GDS-Index uses 69 UN SDG and GSTC aligned criteria, to evaluate the sustainability performance of the City (Environmental and Social), the supply chain and the Destination Management Organisation. References to redefining economic success, mitigating climate impacts, closing the loop on resources and operating responsible businesses are just some of the Guiding Principles for the Future of Tourism that are already mirrored in the Index.

Guy Bigwood of the GDS-Movement commented “We applaud the important work done by the founders of Future of Tourism. We are excited to participate in The Future of Tourism, and to bring an events and regenerative development perspective to the conversation. We look forward to collaborating and developing new insights, partnerships and projects together.”

Jeremy Sampson, Chairperson of the Future of Tourism said “It’s great that the Global Destination Sustainability Movement has become the latest organisation to sign up to the Future of Tourism Coalition’s guiding principles, and we are looking forward to collaborating with them. They are a great fit for the Coalition. Together we can amplify our messages and provide the tools for regenerative businesses and destinations, based on a sound understanding of the impacts of tourism on people and places.”