On February 16, an online meeting of the UV team of the Interuniversity Chair of New Green Transition took place with the team responsible for the development of the Destination Sustainable Index (GDS Index) by the Visit València Foundation and with the Senior Changemaker Rebecca Johnson (Global Destination Sustainability Movement). As is well known, the Visit Valencia Foundation -DMO of the City of Valencia destination- in collaboration with Global Omnium prepared the first study on the carbon footprint of the tourist activity in an urban tourist destination such as the city of Valencia. Moreover, in this line of progress towards a more sustainable destination, the Foundation has become part of the Global Destination Sustainability Movement. The preparation of the Destination Sustainability Index constitutes a key development in the process of leading the advance towards a sustainable destination in the city of Valencia.
The collaboration with the Interuniversity Chair of New Green Transition is part of this process of development and analysis of valid indicators in this continuous process towards tourism sustainability.
In this meeting, Rebecca Johnson pointed out the key aspects to achieve the incorporation of the city of Valencia to the GDS Index, thus becoming a tourist destination with sustainable certification. Likewise, she stressed the importance of the Foundation, in collaboration with institutions such as the New Green Transition Chair of the UV, who lead the implementation of a process that has to progressively involve all the stakeholders of the tourist destination.
As the GDS Movement well expresses, it is a movement that “helps destinations to co-create their tourism and events strategy, benchmarking and improving their performance in sustainability, building capacity to transform the value chain and catalyze regeneration ”. It’s time to get going and work for a city and sustainable tourist destination that is committed to regenerative growth.