Guadalajara Becomes First Latin American Destination to Join GDS-Index Lite

Guadalajara has become the first destination in Latin America to join GDS-Index Lite, a programme developed by GDS-Movement to help destinations measure, benchmark and strengthen their sustainability performance.

The milestone marks another step in the Mexican city's long-term strategy to position itself as a leading destination for international meetings and events while embedding sustainability into its destination management and development agenda.

GDS-Index Lite is the latest addition to the GDS-Movement's sustainability assessment framework, offering destinations at an earlier stage of their sustainability journey a structured evaluation of their current performance. Using a methodology aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the programme helps identify strengths, priorities and opportunities for improvement, while providing practical guidance to support continuous progress towards internationally recognised sustainability standards.

For Guadalajara, participation represents more than a benchmarking exercise. It builds on an ongoing collaboration between the Guadalajara Visitors and Conventions Bureau and GDS-Movement, whose most notable joint initiative to date has been the development of the sustainability and legacy strategy for Intermoda, Latin America's largest fashion business exhibition. That project focused on embedding environmental and social responsibility into the event while creating measurable benefits for the local community.

The move also reflects a broader shift within the meetings industry, where destinations are increasingly expected to demonstrate measurable environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance alongside venue capacity and visitor appeal.

Guy Bigwood, CEO of GDS-Movement, said: "We are delighted to welcome Guadalajara to GDS-Index Lite. With it, Guadalajara has demonstrated a clear vision and a firm commitment to transforming its tourism and meetings industry towards a more responsible, resilient, and people-centred model."

He added: "Our previous experience collaborating on the Intermoda project allowed us to see Guadalajara's ability to drive innovative initiatives and mobilise local interested parties around common goals firsthand. We are convinced that this is just the beginning of a path with a significant impact for the destination and potentially the region."

For Gustavo Staufert Buclón, General Director of the Guadalajara Visitors and Conventions Bureau, joining the programme reinforces Guadalajara's ambition to strengthen both its sustainability credentials and its international competitiveness. "Guadalajara's inclusion in GDS-Index Lite reaffirms our vision of consolidating our position as a leading destination for international meetings and events tourism in Latin America. This alliance will allow us to continue raising our sustainability standards, generate a positive impact on our community, and strengthen our global competitiveness."

He continued: "Guadalajara has the talent, infrastructure, and innovation capacity necessary to lead a new generation of MICE destinations committed to more sustainable development and more responsible environmental, social and economic heritage."

GDS-Index Lite serves as an entry point to the Global Destination Sustainability Index (GDS-Index), one of the meetings industry's best-established benchmarking frameworks for destination sustainability. By participating in the programme, Guadalajara will gain access to a structured improvement process designed to strengthen policy, governance and stakeholder collaboration while preparing the destination for future participation in the full GDS-Index.

As destinations increasingly compete not only on infrastructure but also on their environmental and social performance, Guadalajara's decision signals a growing recognition that sustainability is becoming a defining factor in the future competitiveness of the global meetings industry.
 

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