The Global Destination Sustainability Movement (GDS-Movement) is a pioneering change agency that acts to catalyse socio-economic and environmental transformation in cities and regions across the world. It benchmarks and enhances the sustainability strategies, action plans and initiatives of over 100 destination management organisations worldwide.
The 2025 GDS-Index celebrates ten years of progress, revealing a 31% increase in average performance across all participating destinations since the programme began, with a remarkable 46% rise in the Top 10’s performance. In a year still shaped by economic uncertainty, destinations have had to practise resilience to maintain momentum.
The 2025 Leadership Destination: Helsinki
For the second consecutive year, Helsinki leads the GDS-Index with a score of 93.52%, solidifying its position as a leader in sustainable and regenerative tourism and events. The city’s path includes ending its coal era for good and becoming the first major European capital to earn a Green Destinations certification.
This commitment extends to visitors, with near-universal sustainability certification across its tourism infrastructure (in properties with more than 50 rooms), 100% of convention centres, and 80% of top attractions are now third-party certified. Underpinning this is a robust climate action plan for tourism that focuses on measuring emissions and preparing for future risks.
Nina Vesterinen, Tourism Director, City of Helsinki, said: “We are so happy with this result because Helsinki invests substantially in sustainable development, and this recognition reaffirms our right direction.”
The 2025 Top 3 Leadership Destinations:
- Helsinki, Finland (93.52%)
- Gothenburg, Sweden (91.51%)
- Copenhagen, Denmark (88.76%)
The Nordic trio continues to dominate, but the leaderboard is tightening. The gap between the Top 10 and the overall GDS-Index average has narrowed significantly, decreasing from 23.2% to 20.3%, indicating an encouraging rise in overall performance worldwide.
The Most Improved Destination: Adelaide
Adelaide achieved the greatest improvement overall, soaring 23 places in the rankings in just its second year of participation. This dramatic rise was fuelled by its ambitious Integrated Climate Strategy 2030 and the launch of its first sustainability roadmap. The city demonstrated exceptional environmental leadership, making landmark progress in its supply chain, notably with Adelaide Airport becoming the first in Australia to achieve carbon neutrality for its direct emissions.
Damien Kitto, CEO of Business Events Adelaide, commented: “We are delighted that Adelaide has been recognised as the Most Improved Destination in only our second year of participation. Our aim in 2024 was to understand how Adelaide compared with other destinations, and it is fantastic to see such a significant improvement in such a short time.”
The 2025 Top 3 Most Improved Destinations:
- Adelaide, Australia
- Krakow, Poland
- The Malverns, United Kingdom
Overall,The 2025 GDS-Index shows a more dynamic and competitive Top 40, with nine new destinations entering the rankings and the gap between top and bottom narrowing. This reflects rapidly rising sustainability standards across the sector. Destinations are also moving decisively from ambition to action, with climate initiatives reported at a sector level increasing from 54% to 77%, and more than one in five now signed on to UN Tourism’s Glasgow Declaration on Climate Action—up from just 10% last year.
Third-party sustainability certification is becoming mainstream. Eighty-one percent of hotels in the Top 10 are now certified, compared to 66% in 2016, and half of the Top 10 DMOs hold certification for their own practices. Overall, 32% of destinations improved their impact and legacy scores in 2025, while regional leaders continue to emerge worldwide, with Helsinki, Lyon, Melbourne and Montreal setting the standard on their respective continents.
