The Global Destination Sustainability Movement and Tripadvisor have entered into a partnership to acknowledge and promote sustainable travel destinations through the Travellers Choice Best of the Best Destinations Awards. This collaboration introduces a new subcategory for 2024, named Best Sustainable Destinations, which combines review data with audited excellence in social, economic, and environmental performance.
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TripadvisorThe Global Destination Sustainability Movement and Tripadvisor have entered into a partnership to acknowledge and promote sustainable travel destinations through the Travellers Choice Best of the Best Destinations Awards. This collaboration introduces a new subcategory for 2024, named Best Sustainable Destinations, which combines review data with audited excellence in social, economic, and environmental performance.
The awards highlight preferred sustainable destinations based on rankings and reviews, integrating verified and validated GDS-Index data. The GDS-Index, a destination-level program by GDS-Movement, assesses and guides the social, economic, and environmental sustainability of tourism and events in participating cities worldwide.
In 2023, the GDS-Index measured sustainability efforts in 100 destinations, evaluating city environment performance, city social sustainability performance, tourism supply chain, and destination management organization. The index utilizes 69 sustainability indicators aligned with the United Nations 17 Sustainable Development Goals.
Cities recognized in the GDS-Index stand out for their sustainability commitments, as reflected in Tripadvisor ratings, with a focus on destinations where sustainability discussions were prominent in positive English-language reviews. Tripadvisor’s Best of the Best Sustainable Destinations 2024 list features the top 10 global destinations preferred by conscientious travelers seeking responsible options.
The leading cities in Tripadvisor’s list include: Copenhagen (Denmark), Stockholm (Sweden), Bordeaux (France), Helsinki (Finland), Singapore (Singapore), Melbourne (Australia), Oslo (Norway), Brussels (Belgium), Galway (Ireland), and Belfast (United Kingdom). Europe dominates with eight out of the top 10 environmentally and socially responsible cities, while the Asia-Pacific region is well-represented, with Singapore and Melbourne recognized for their sustainability efforts.
Guy Bigwood, CEO of GSD-Movement, expressed satisfaction with the collaboration, emphasizing the role of recognized cities as sustainable tourism role models. Tripadvisor President Kristen Dalton highlighted the importance of sustainability to their global community of travelers and the significance of recognizing destinations committed to environmental change. The GDS-Movement’s mission is to empower individuals with the mindset, skillset, and toolset to create regenerative destinations for visitation, meetings, and residence. More information can be found at www.gds.earth.
Source: Tripadvisor
