Kyoto wins first in Asia on Global Destination Sustainability Index

The latest Global Destination Sustainability (GDS) Index has shown Kyoto, Japan came in second on the list of Asian destinations. The rating was measured by social and environmental sustainability strategies, industry supplier support, and Convention Bureau strategy and initiatives.

International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) recently gave out GDS-Index Awards to top five destinations recognised for their sustainable practices in the business tourism and events industry. List of cities with the five highest overall scores are Gothenburg (Sweden); Copenhagen (Denmark), Reykjavík (Iceland), Oslo (Norway), and Uppsala (Sweden) respectively.

According to the index, top five Asian cities with highest overall scores are Kyoto (Japan), Bangkok (Thailand), Goyang (South Korea), Sapporo (Japan), and Dubai (United Arab Emirates) respectively.

The ranking was measured across four key areas including city environmental strategy and infrastructure (14 topics); city social sustainability performance (4 topics); industry supplier support (8 topics); and Convention Bureau (CVB) strategy and initiatives (12 topics). In overall, Kyoto received a total score of 60 per cent.

The Global Destination Sustainability Index (GDS-Index) is a prize-winning grassroots Scandinavian initiative that evolved into the first-ever sustainability ranking for event destinations worldwide. A collaborative partnership between ICCA, European Cities Marketing, IMEX and MCI Group, promotes knowledge sharing, capacity building, and benchmarking.