Thought Piece: GDSI results soon – Will Irish Business Destinations fall down the table? 

The GDS-Movement evolved from the Global Destination Sustainability Index (GDS-Index); one of the world’s most-trusted performance improvement programme to assess and accelerate the progress of a destination´s regenerative journey. It measures, benchmarks, and enhances the sustainability strategies, action plans, and initiatives of destination management organisations, municipal authorities, and their tourism supply chains, globally.

The GDS-Index is community of sustainable destinations dedicated to shaping a better world through tourism and events. By joining, destinations gain access to valuable resources, networking with sustainability leaders, and the opportunity for recognition through the annual GDS-Awards and the Index.

Participation in the GDS-Index signifies a commitment to environmental, social, and economic well-being, boosting a destination’s reputation and attracting conscientious travellers and event organisers. Collaboration and knowledge-sharing foster continuous improvement, showcasing sustainable leadership and driving positive change in the global tourism and events industry.

GDS-Index membership is becoming increasingly important for destinations looking to attract conferences, events and other MICE business.

Ireland have 7 Destinations ranked within the Top 40 Sustainable Destinations (2024) out of 100 Destinations worldwide, and growing

A key element of the Index is the Supplier Performance where Hotels, Airports, Agencies, Restaurants, Venues, Attractions, Academia and Tourism & Event Businesses are measured – how many of each are there and how many hold recognised environmental or sustainability certification

The 2025 Index will be published in September – will we still have 7 Destinations in the top 40?

GHP is not so sure for a few reasons

• Some hotels are telling us “We have decided that we will not continue to be 3^rd party environmentally certified this year, we might look at it again next year”
  • Pause here and consider this, say it out loud, it should make you uncomfortable
• New hotels adding to the stock not getting certified, that will lower the %
• Other destinations with more committed partners

There is no doubt that Environmental Sustainability is still well down on the list of “Must Haves” for Irish hotels. We know we will be mainstream when hotels celebrate securing certification with as much gusto as they announce their “Great Place to Work” award

In the meantime, here is my forecast for the Top 40 for 2025

• At least 2 Destinations will fall out of the Top 40
• 1 Destination will fall out of the Top 20

Unfortunate, but when sustainability is long-fingered by so many businesses, understandable.

We will let you know when the results are in