Published by Neil ThompsonLiverpool has been announced as the winner of 'The Most Improved Destination Award' at The Global Destination Sustainability Movement (GDS-Movement) awards in Valencia. The award was presented to Jenny Jensen of Liverpool Convention Bureau
The Global Destination Sustainability Movement (GDS-Movement) announced the winners of the 2023 GDS-Awards, recognising outstanding efforts in destination sustainability. These prestigious awards, presented during the GDS-Awards ceremony in partnership with the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA), were revealed during the 2023 GDS-Forum hosted in Valencia, Spain. The event was made possible by VISIT VALÈNCIA, City Destinations Alliance, and GDS-Movement.
GDS-Movement, renowned for its commitment to driving sustainability in the tourism and events industry, honours destinations that lead the way in sustainability initiatives, those that have shown remarkable improvements, and those that are pushing the boundaries of innovation and impact. In 2023, the awards ceremony featured an additional category, the GDS-Movement and #MEET4IMPACT Impact Award, in collaboration with #Meet4Impact.
The Most Improved Destination Award acknowledges the participating GDS-Index destination with the highest score increase, regardless of its ranking.
"We are so pleased that Liverpool has been recognised as the Most Improved Destination at the GDS Awards for our GDS-Index score. The work undertaken by Jennifer Jensen for Liverpool Convention Bureau in collaboration with our partners and key stakeholders to improve Liverpool's score over the last few years shows how dedicated we are to sustainable tourism across the region. This is a huge confidence boost for the city's visitor economy and the start of our journey for making positive change and putting Liverpool on the map as a leading destination for sustainable tourism and events."
Susan Finnegan, Acting Head of Visitor Economy for Marketing Liverpool
Innovation Award, which celebrates destinations employing innovative solutions to enhance sustainability performance was won by Washington DC, United States of America, and was represented by Destination DC at Washington DC
"Destination DC is thrilled to win the GDS-Movement Innovation Award and honoured to be acknowledged for Destination DC’s DEI Fellowship programme as a sustainable and positive solution in hospitality. By engaging closely with our destination’s smaller businesses and community members we can ensure companies that don’t have the financial wherewithal can take advantage of opportunities to get a piece of the pie that is the $8 billion hospitality industry in DC alone. We are proud of this award and the advancement we are making to challenge our industry in DEI and sustainability.", said Elliott L. Ferguson, II, President and CEO, Destination DC
The GDS-Movement and #MEET4IMPACT Impact Award highlights a destination management organisation committed to building positive legacy and impact through business events - it was handed to Sydney, Australia, and represented by BESydney
"BESydney has been recognised as a leader in legacy research for decades and we want to build on this foundation to create social impact programmes that leverage business events to generate and measure positive, long-term social, economic and environment impacts. We know business events have the potential to create incredible positive change for global communities - across all industries. BESydney is taking this responsibility very seriously and is very grateful and humbled by the recognition of our work to-date.", commented Lyn Lewis-Smith, CEO, Business Events Sydney (BESydney)
Guy Bigwood, CEO and Chief Changemaker of GDS-Movement, stated, "GDS-Movement salutes the 2023 GDS-Awards' winners for their profound achievements that inspire and inform. Sustainability is a systemic solution where everybody wins, and winning practices can be analysed, borrowed, adapted, and scaled for exponential positive impact. We encourage all destinations to take their cue from these leaders and work together with us to transform tourism and events into a tool for regeneration in every destination on earth."
Winners receive recognition with on-stage exposure at the 2023 GDS-Awards Ceremony, inclusion in the 2023 GDS-Index report, and the opportunity to present their initiatives at the dedicated GDS-Movement "Feeling the Pulse" webinar on October 11 and 12, 2023.
Attendees at the Feeling the Pulse webinar can expect to gain industry insights based on the most recent, verified data available, explore trends in destination sustainability practises, and learn from the winning destinations whose initiatives and efforts are deserving of international attention.
To learn more and register for the Feeling the Pulse webinar, please visit the following links:
October 11, 09h00 CET: Registration Link
October 12, 17h00 CET: Registration Link
