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

The creation of a strong vision and strategy is a core part of creating a high-performing, sustainable visitor economy on its way to regeneration. Using our tried and tested methods and tools, we can actively support your destination's sustainability strategy development and implementation, its storytelling, and action plans to contribute to move tourism from the path of reaction and recovery to thepath of rejuvenation and "well-th".venation and "well-th".
GDS-Index-Service

Strategy

Development and Improvement

Impact

The business and tourism industry has the potential to be a vehicle for positive and lasting change. To achieve this, it is crucial to measure and understand a destination's current social, economic, and environmental impacts. Impact assessment takes cohesive skill, methodology, and systems.We can help you to develop and implement impact measurement frameworks and accompany you to ensure that your strategy and communications are data-driven and optimised to contribute to the flourishing of your destination.
GDS-Index-Service

Impact

Measurement and Reporting

Communication

Sustainability efforts deserve to be recognised and shared, not only to raise a destination's profile and make it more desirable but to encourage others to do the same. We support destinations to identify, express, and promote their efforts, impact, and best practices, and to gain a collaborative edge that ensures the well-being of people, place, and planet.
GDS-Index-Service

Communication

Let the World Know

Social Innovation

We believe in (and practise) extreme collaboration because it is inclusive and brings out the best of a process or potential as well as that of the people driving it. In our experience, a co-creative process including a diverse set of stakeholders fosters engagement and innovation and amplifies the overall impact of new initiatives.
GDS-Index-Service

Social Innovation

For Regeneration

Research

Do you want to survey the meetings and events industry, or gain an overview of stakeholder sentiment towards sustainability? From IMEX to Fáilte Ireland to Thailand and our own research, we have worked with organisations of all sizes to supply the data needed to inform the next step on their sustainability journey and move them closer to a more holistic tourism practice that empowers visitors and residents to contribute to the place they are enjoying.
GDS-Index-Service

Research

Investigating the New Normal

Events

Let us help you become world-class "ZERONAUTS" by developing and supporting the implementation of a best-in-class regenerative event practice. A regenerative event designs out waste and carbon emissions, keeps products and materials in use, incorporates inclusivity and diversity, and regenerates natural systems.
GDS-Index-Service

Events

Elevate your sustainability efforts

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

The creation of a strong vision and strategy is a core part of creating a high-performing, sustainable event on its way to regeneration.
GDS-Index-Service

Strategy

Regenerative Events Strategy

Communication

Sustainability efforts deserve to be recognised and shared. We support event organisers to identify, express, and promote their efforts, impact, and best practices, and to gain a collaborative edge that ensures the well-being of people, place, and planet.
GDS-Index-Service

Communication

Sustainability and Regeneration Communications

Offsetting

We support destinations to identify, express, and promote their sustainability efforts, impact, and best practices, and to gain a collaborative edge that ensures the well-being of people, place, and planet.
GDS-Index-Service

Offsetting

Carbon Offsetting for Events

Footprint

Do you want to survey the meetings and events industry, or gain an overview of how interested parties feel about sustainability?
GDS-Index-Service

Footprint

Carbon Footprint Calculations

Consulting

A custom offer tailor made to your company or organisation. We work with both corporate companies, associations, venues to get them started or advance or their regenerative journey
GDS-Index-Service

Consulting

Regenerative Events 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
Kit Lykketoft

Kit Lykketoft

Director of Convention, Wonderful Copenhagen

"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."

Peter De Wilde
Peter De Wilde

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
Fanny Beaulieu Cormier

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
Remi Deve

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
Anna Look

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."

Interested?