Over the past year research has been ongoing into pioneering thinking in sustainable destination management. We are pleased to exclusively reveal 4 of the key trends to be discovered in the soon to be released whitepaper on the 2016 Global Destination Sustainability Index:

1. Targeted Storytelling
   Advertising is out, storytelling is in. DMOs are segmenting consumer profiles and developing more reactive and nuanced content based on Big Data. 
    
2. DMOs as an Economic Development Agency
   Destinations have evolved to become much more strategic about how they attract and create events that support their city's development agenda.
    
3. Localism
   Today’s discerning traveller seeks the authentic, seeks the original and seeks to experience the local.
    
4. Peak Tourism- The need to engage the community
   The balance has become precarious between the environmental capacity and quality of life for residents of popular destinations.

Learn more about how these trends and a raft of other developments are impacting MICE destinations and how event strategies are adapting in the whitepaper released in May.  The depth of the research is attributed to the Global Sustainable Destination Index, now being used in over 36 cities on 5 continents.

Melbourne Convention Bureau are using the index to bring together key stakeholders and leverage the city’s credentials to attract conferences, Karen Bolinger, CEO states  “As a leading convention bureau, we are using the GDS-Index to benchmark and ensure that conference organisers benefit from hosting sustainable events, while working with industry partners to enhance the Melbourne experience now and into the future”.

Malmö Convention Bureau see the index as a catalyst to transformation and enabling stronger relationships locally: Katarina Olsson, Head of Malmö Convention Bureau shares that “The index inspires us to work in a structured way towards our goal to become one of the most sustainable destinations in the World. It has helped us in highlighting our challenges and aids the wider development of the city”. 
 
Visit www.gds-index.com for more insights into this industry changing collective, receive our newsletter or to join.
 
To learn more of the insights of the whitepaper, don’t miss the strategic session at IMEX’s EduMonday on Monday 15th May at 17:00 in the Congress Center Messe Frankfurt. Registration is compulsory for this brand new education experience, visit the IMEX website for more information.