Examples of areas where Danish meeting cities excel in the sustainable transition according to GDSI
Based on 70 different criteria - and aligned with the 2030 agenda and UN One Planet Sustainable Tourism Programme GDSI is the most extensive sustainability index for destinations, which is why MeetDenmark is actively using GDSI as a development and benchmarking tool when working with selected initiatives in MeetDenmark’s sustainability plan.
Wonderful Copenhagen’s conference, Planet Copenhagen in September 2022. Photo, Daniel Rasmussen, Wonderful Copenhagen.
Copenhagen represented by Wonderful Copenhagen
Wonderful Copenhagen’s strategy Tourism for Good highlights a 2030 ambition to positively impact local and global tourism development. Wonderful Copenhagen was the first tourism organisation in the world to be certified ‘Green Tourism Organisation’, and thereby holds a third-party certification for its own office operations.
Wonderful Copenhagen’s strategy Tourism for Good highlights a 2030 ambition to positively impact local and global tourism development. Wonderful Copenhagen was the first tourism organisation in the world to be certified ‘Green Tourism Organisation’, and thereby holds a third-party certification for its own office operations.
The organisation’s Copenhagen Sustainability Guide 2.0 was launched earlier this year and developed as a pre-planning tool for events, highlighting ambitions and how these may
contribute to the UN Sustainable Development Goals. With explicit insights into, the guide provides hands-on suggestions for sustainable choices, actions, and the effects hereof.
Copenhagen has been named best-performing capital in this year's GDS-Index. In 2021, Wonderful Copenhagen also won the GDSI Innovation Award for its Copenhagen Legacy Lab initiative - a strategic approach focused on creating long-term positive impact and on inspiring associations to engage with local public, business and science communities alike.
The tourism industry in Copenhagen continues its journey towards sustainable transition and supports initiatives related to the topic. Lately, local industry players also joined forces with Wonderful Copenhagen by developing and signing the Planet Copenhagen Manifesto, once again underlining the destination’s ongoing efforts and leading position within this field.
Aalborg represented by Destination Nord
As a part of the organisation’s many activities on sustainability, Destination Nord engages with the destination partners in the local value chain around conferences in a structured and continuous manner. Destination Nord stages individual meetings with a set frequency, where they follow up and advise on the progress of the individual destination partner as hotels, venues etc. in relation to the sustainable transition.
The actions above contributes to the destination’s high score for venues in the Supplier Performance area of the GDSI.
ReThinker, Claus Christensen, from Aarhus ReThinker - volunteer program talking to a meeting delegate on the street. Photo, Per Bille .
Aarhus represented by VisitAarhus
With formal citizen meetings, focus groups and resident sentiments, the city of Aarhus engages and consults the local community on important tourism topics. This has led to a maximum score on GDSI’s indicator concerning engagement and consulting with the local community.
The ReThinker Volunteer Program was developed and implemented when Aarhus was the European Capital of Culture in 2017. Today it’s managed by VisitAarhus with a vision to continue developing the program and the diverse, dedicated group of 2000 volunteers, which helps support the city’s blossoming cultural and business sectors making a positive impact on visitors and residents alike. The
ReThinker Volunteer Program was nominated for the GDSI Innovation Award in 2021.
Middelfart, Odense and Svendborg represented by Destination Fyn
Destination Fyn engages in multiple activities around sustainability. Fyn consists of ten municipalities, and it is only through a joint effort that the area can develop in terms of sustainability. Destination Fyn plays an important role as the driver of this collaboration. For instance, they facilitate capacity building, regular meetings, and sessions where meeting cities can be inspired by each other. On top of that,
Destination Fyn is focused on helping both companies within the tourism industry and the municipalities towards a sustainable development by collecting and using data more strategically.
The collaboration feeds into Fyn’s total score in the area of Destination Management Performance in GDSI.
