Europe’s leading destination management and development leaders from cities across Europe and beyond convened to explore the positive impacts derived from tourism (and events) exploring 4 key pillars, or building blocks, including Climate Action, Social Responsibility, the Circular Economy, and Societal Impact.
The event echoed the mission of the European knowledge sharing alliance for cities and urban regions to develop sustainable and responsible visitor economies that work for people, place, and planet. But whereas the 2022 edition focused on the negative impacts associated with tourism which needed to be absorbed, this year’s event sought to crystallise the positive destination management impacts derived from their visitor economies.
Speaking from the event, Michael Otremba of Hamburg Tourismus GmbH (and Vice President of CityDNA) explained the importance of the legacies of tourism for society and for the well-being of local inhabitants of the member cities in economic, sustainable development, and socially inclusive terms best illustrated by the Solitaire project from Bordeaux which supports tourism for the disadvantaged.
There’s a collaborative spirit about the CityDNA community reflected in The Iceberg’s video review, echoed by many leading DMOs including the organisation’s boundless President, Ljubljana’s Petra Stušek, and fellow board member Geerte Udo from Amsterdam.
Bookmark the 2024 edition in Bruges, 15-19th October 2024, here.
