Consulting
Co-create regenerative strategies for your destination or event with our expert support. Start your journey towards a flourishing visitor economy today.
Co-Creating a Sustainable Regenerative Future for Your Event or Destination
Our mission is to support transformational initiatives that drive positive change for events, venues and destinations around the world.
As experts in facilitating strategies and roadmaps towards more regenerative visitor economies, the GDS-Movement is here to help transform your destination, venue or event’s sustainability journey. Our aim is to co-create with you a vision and strategy that steward a thriving social, economic, and environmental destination.
Destination Support
From small cities to megacities, in regions and even whole countries, we’ve worked with destination management organisation and municipalities of all shapes and sizes. Whether you’re starting out or evaluating how to raise the bar on your sustainability initiatives, we’re here to empower your destination’s visitor economy.
Strategy
Impact
Communication
Social Innovation
Research
Events
Event Support
Whether you want to survey the events industry or gain an overview of sustainability sentiments, we provide the necessary data to drive your regenerative initiatives and create a legacy. Our holistic approach to greater sustainability at events combines the latest strategies and innovations from around the world, helping you lead industry shifts while staying ahead of the curve.
Strategy
Communication
Offsetting
Footprint
Consulting
Our Framework for Strategy Development
CO-CREATING MORE REGENRATIVE DESTINATIONS
Revitalising the approach to sustainable destination development, we introduce the GDS-Movement Framework for Strategy Development which moves towards regeneration. This framework is designed to enhance a destination’s sustainability through seven key modules:
1 Strategic Planning: This involves the formulation of a clear strategy, vision, mission, goals, KPIs, and roadmaps to guide the path towards regeneration.
2 Policy Advocacy & Managment: Provides support in advocacy, legislative policy, regulation, funding, finance, and visitor management. This module ensures that the necessary policies and regulations are in place to promote sustainable practices.
3 Stakeholder Engagement: Encourages the formation of task forces, private-public partnerships, industry alliances, and community participation. The goal is to foster collaboration and engagement among all stakeholders invested in the destination’s sustainability.
4 Industry Development and Education: Focuses on improving visitor experience, industry education, standards & certifications, and innovation management. It aims to raise industry standards and cultivate a culture of innovation in sustainable practices.
5 Sustainable Promotion & Marketing: Guides the creation of a sustainable brand, messaging, market strategies, communications, PR, thought leadership, and business development. This module ensures that the destination’s sustainability efforts are effectively communicated and promoted.
6 Community Management & Empowerment: Promotes Local & Fair Trade, decent work conditions, inclusivity and diversity, community support, and social innovation. It is dedicated to supporting local communities and fostering an inclusive and diverse environment.n
7 Governance & Accountability: Helps establish solid governance structures, impact measurement, certification, and reporting mechanisms. This module ensures transparency and accountability in the destination’s sustainability efforts.
The GDS-Movement Framework is not just about creating more sustainable destinations, it’s about co-creating a more regenerative future for all through committed visitor economies.
A few of the organisations we have worked with
Kit Lykketoft
Director of Convention, Wonderful Copenhagen
Peter De Wilde
CEO, VisitFlanders
"The GDS-Index helps us in many different ways. It allows us to hold a mirror up to ourselves and look objectively at the strengths and weaknesses of our activities in the area of sustainability. In addition, through the benchmarking option, we can learn a lot from other destinations and destination organisations. The GDS-Index is, therefore, both an evaluation and inspiration tool for us. It stimulates us to continue working on sustainability and the flourishing of our destination and organisation."
Fanny Beaulieu Cormier
Sustainable Development Consultant, Tourism Montreal
"GDS-Forum was really relevant, and I highly recommend it to anyone who works to create a more sustainable tourism industry. I love the formula with the many workshops, the dance, the meditation, the networking...everything was really inspiring and pushed us to think differently and dig deeper on a various range of topics. Keep thinking outside the box. I'm looking forward for the next edition!"
Remi Deve
Chief Editor, Boardroom Magazine
"Valencia, Spain, played host to the GDS-Forum from October 2nd to 4th, 2023, the very first of its kind. As participants ventured into the uncharted waters of regenerative tourism, events, and destination management, the ‘unconference’ provided the perfect platform to brainstorm, network and come up with concrete ideas on how to do things not only differently, but definitely better."
Anna Look
Founder, LOOK AHEAD consulting
"I was fortunate to take the GDS-Movement Regenerative Events course in April 2023; the learnings and teaching style inspired my desire for more regenerative knowledge. I didn’t hesitate to sign up for the Regenerative Destination Management course because it had everything I was looking for: regularly scheduled classes, a fantastic line-up of faculty, many of whom I’ve admired from afar but never thought I’d meet let alone get small group tuition from, brilliant up to date global resources and case studies every week and the amazing atmosphere of learning alongside fellow international tourism industry peers. I highly recommend this course to take your education to the next level."
"The GDS-Index is a unique example of how collaboration, including the sharing of best practices and expertise, can improve performance of destinations for the benefit of both our clients and local communities. It has provided us with opportunities and inspiration that has helped position Copenhagen as a leader in sustainable practices."