Most sustainable travel destinations worldwide 2024

The Global Destination Sustainability Index (GDS-Index) is an index score that measures how sustainable global travel destinations are based on a series of criteria, such as environmental performance and sustainable development goals. In 2024, Helsinki in Finland recorded the highest score, with a GDS-Index of 92.43. That year, seven out of the 15 leading destinations in the ranking were cities in Nordic countries.

Leading sustainable travel destinations worldwide in 2024 (index score)

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Release date

October 2024

More information

Region

Worldwide

Survey time period

2024

Special properties

travel destinations that are members of the GDS-Index

Supplementary notes

The 2024 Global Destination Sustainability Index (GDS-Index) measured the sustainability of 99 travel destinations worldwide based on the following performance indicators developed by the source: City Environmental Performance, City Social Performance, Supplier Performance, Destination Management Performance.

These indicators are based on qualitative data related to a series of sustainable topics and concepts, such as recycling/landfilling rates, percentages of third-party certified hotel rooms, and the existence of a destination sustainability strategy.

Destinations were then ranked based on their performance in each indicator and assigned a score. The total score, given by the sum of the points received in each performance indicator, is based on a 100-scale, with 100 being the maximum score.

The number of destinations analyzed per region was as follows: Northern Europe = 43, Central and Southern Europe = 27, North America = 18, Asia-Pacific = 11.

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