City Destinations Alliance
The alliance of Tourist Boards, Convention Bureaux and Destination Management Organisations in Europe
We are the European knowledge sharing alliance for cities and urban regions. While working on the DNA of our cities, we are committed to a sustainable, inclusive and responsible visitor economy that benefits people, planet and prosperity.
We are much more than a network. We want to publicly advocate for our common goals while still learning from each other.
Our vision is for all cities in Europe to flourish as great places to live, work, meet and explore. As a community of DMO professionals, our promise to each other is to always be curious and forward-thinking, share our inspiration and never stop learning.
Highlights
The reference for Leisure, Meetings Industry and City Marketing in Europe.
CityDNA Committees
Help Shape the Future of CityDNA:
CityDNA is launching six new standing committees, giving members a direct role in shaping the Alliance’s priorities. Bring your expertise, connect with peers across Europe and help turn shared knowledge into action over two years.
City Travel Report by CityDNA 2025-2026
A Strategic Shift Toward Value Over Volume
The City Travel Report by CityDNA provides a vital perspective on the volume of urban tourism in Europe, enabling individual city destinations to chart trends and to benchmark themselves in terms of volume and other parameters, especially key source markets. It presents compelling evidence of the economic significance of contemporary urban tourism.
The Score is Not the Story
VivaCITY Whitepaper from CityDNA & Simpleview
What’s Beyond the Sustainability Score? In a time when certifications and indexes dominate the sustainability narrative, this whitepaper invites destination leaders to look deeper—beyond metrics and toward meaningful, transformative strategies.
The CityDNA Tórshavn Declaration
From Shared Priorities to Action
The CityDNA Tórshavn Declaration is a collective strategic framework developed with and for members. It captures the key priorities shaping the future of Europe’s city destinations and translates them into concrete areas of action.
Climate Change and the Future of Tourism
Trend Room Whitepaper
The Whitepaper written in collaboration with ETFI is based on findings from a scenario workshop that explored how the impacts of climate change will transform the travel landscape of urban tourism destinations in the long term of 5 to 10 years by means of future scenarios (2035 is taken as time horizon).
Featured Events
#CityDNA events provide members with information, contacts and business leads they cannot afford to miss out on.
Members know best…
The CityDNA Knowledge Groups play a strategic role in helping us develop new ideas, products, insights and solutions in the areas of City Cards, Marketing & Communication, Meetings Industry, Research & Insights, Sustainability, Tourist Information Centres or Trends. They are incubators of new ideas and an important source of insights and expertise.
When it comes to looking at the future, the constantly evolving CityDNA Summer School is a unique opportunity for young professionals just entering the Meetings Industry to spend three days with some of the biggest names in our business, to understand the nature of the Meetings Industry, and acquire practical marketing skills. An unforgettable career-defining experience!
By providing data, we can benchmark the performances of our destinations with bednights and in meetings statistics, as well as the financing and spending structures of our organisations. For the 50% of our members who do not have their own research departments, City Destinations Alliance can provide a unique & essential source of information.
City Destinations Alliance knows that we, as members, have specific interests and provides us with the opportunity to have our own platforms, events and forums. CityDNA also helps us members to align our own strategic agenda with whatever demands, challenges and opportunities tomorrow will bring.
Every year, we have more and more City Cards specialists participating in the City Cards Expert Meeting and strengthening the network. Through best practices and knowledge exchange, these meetings allow CityDNA member destinations to fine-tune their City Cards product, the associated communication and sales strategy, with the goal of managing the destination in a sustainable way.
City Destinations Alliance is a member organisation. It is with us members and by the members. Through its strategy, CityDNA explores a more sustainable tomorrow together with a great purpose and appetite for experimenting in the visitor economy that contributes to a better life in the city. This knowledge is essential in my daily job!
Knowledge exchange and best practices’ sessions are core activities in City Destinations Alliance: from meetings statistics to legacy or ambassador programmes, we are always kept up to date by the best examples in Europe and from around the world.
City Destinations Alliance is the only organisation to gather all CEOs of European destinations to discuss the latest market trends and new developments in policy, strategy and operations. But more important: it gives me a network of persons with whom I share challenges and endeavours, be it sustainability challenges, citizens support or how to measure the broader pros and cons of tourism. In short: This meeting is on the very top of my list.
CityDNA Live
![[TREND ROOM WHITEPAPER] Who will shape the future of urban tourism: destinations, travellers or algorithms? 🤖
As...](https://citydestinationsalliance.eu/wp-content/plugins/social-wall/img/placeholder.png)
[TREND ROOM WHITEPAPER] Who will shape the future of urban tourism: destinations, travellers or algorithms? 🤖
As artificial intelligence transforms how travellers discover, plan and experience destinations, what role will Destination Management Organisations (DMOs) play in an Read moreincreasingly AI-driven world?
CityDNA is pleased to unveil its latest Trend Room Whitepaper, “The Role of DMOs in an AI-driven World: Shaping the Urban Tourism Landscape”, exploring how AI could reshape European city destinations by 2031.
Developed in collaboration with the European Transformative Futures Institute (ETFI) at NHL Stenden University of Applied Sciences, and drawing on insights from 30 CityDNA members, the whitepaper presents four possible scenarios for 2031 and identifies strategic priorities to help DMOs anticipate change, safeguard local value and remain influential in an evolving visitor economy.
🌍 Beyond embracing new technologies, the challenge for DMOs is to remain active players in shaping this transformation, retaining their influence, protecting local interests and ensuring that innovation creates value for residents, visitors and local communities.
🔍 Exclusive for CityDNA Members:
Discover the full Trend Room Whitepaper, now available on the CityDNA Intranet!
Because the future of tourism should not be shaped by algorithms alone. People, communities and destinations must remain at its heart.
#CityDNA #CityDNATrendRoom #ArtificialIntelligence #DestinationManagement #UrbanTourism #TourismFutures #StrategicForesight
[CITYDNA CVB CAFÉ ☕] Already heading to Barcelona for IBTM World? Make the most of the trip and join the CityDNA CVB community the evening before the tradeshow begins.
In just 13 days, CVB professionals will come together for a special edition of the CityDNA CVB Café, an evening of Read morepeer exchange, open discussion and networking around the evolving role of Convention Bureaux within the wider destination ecosystem.
Through interactive roundtables, participants will explore how CVBs are adapting, where they can bring greater strategic value and what support they need to meet the challenges ahead.
The perspectives shared will also contribute to the development of CityDNA’s new strategy.
And after the discussions, the conversation continues over a networking dinner, a chance to reconnect with familiar faces and meet new peers before a busy few days at IBTM World.
📍 Barcelona
🗓️ November 16, 2026
🕡 18:30
🏨 Hotel Porta Fira
⏳ Only 8 days left to register, registrations close on November 11.
Already coming to Barcelona? Make the most of the trip and start the week with the CityDNA CVB community.
👉 Register here: https://citydestinationsalliance.eu/event/citydna-cvb-cafe-2026-barcelona/
#CityDNA #CityDNACVB #IBTMWorld #ConventionBureau #BusinessEvents #DestinationManagement
[PRESS RELEASE 📣] /// Beyond Growth: Europe’s Cities Rewrite the Rules of Tourism ///
At its Autumn Conference in Verona, City Destinations Alliance (CityDNA) set out how Europe’s city destinations are responding to AI, climate pressure, tourist taxation and the question every city Read morenow faces: who is tourism really for?
Read the press release: https://citydestinationsalliance.eu/beyond-growth-europes-cities-rewrite-the-rules-of-tourism/
#CityDNA #MovingTogether #CityDNAVerona2026 #VisitorEconomy #DestinationManagement #PeerLearning
[CITYDNA VISITOR EXPERIENCE EXPERT MEETING ℹ️] Only 2 weeks left to register, and the event is almost full!
The 13th CityDNA Visitor Experience Expert Meeting is coming to Valencia, bringing together Tourist Information Centre managers and front office professionals from across Europe Read morefor one and a half days of peer learning, practical exchange and networking.
Under the theme “How TICs Empower Local Communities”, the meeting will explore how Tourist Information Centres can create wider social, economic and community value while continuing to strengthen the visitor experience.
Participants will exchange perspectives on how TICs can:
📌 strengthen links with local communities
📌 share practical approaches and good practices
📌 respond to changing visitor expectations
📌 demonstrate their wider value within the destination ecosystem
📍 Valencia
🗓️ November 19-20, 2026
With the event almost at capacity, only a few seats remain.
This meeting is open to TIC managers and front office professionals from both CityDNA member and non-member destinations.
👉 Secure one of the remaining places: https://citydestinationsalliance.eu/event/13th-citydna-visitor-experience-expert-meeting-2026-valencia/
#CityDNA #CityDNAVisitorExperience #VisitorExperience #DestinationManagement #VisitorEconomy Visit València -Spain
[CITYDNA INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE & GENERAL ASSEMBLY 📅] Save the date!
In April 2027, the CityDNA community will come together once again for three days of exchange, learning and collective reflection on the future of Europe’s visitor economy.
Our next CityDNA Read moreInternational Conference & General Assembly will take place in Bremen, Germany, bringing together destination leaders and professionals from across Europe to share perspectives, challenge thinking and strengthen collaboration across the Alliance.
📍 Bremen
🗓️ April 14-16, 2027
Save the date, more details on the programme, theme and registration will follow!
We look forward to bringing the CityDNA community together in Bremen!
#CityDNA #VisitorEconomy #DestinationManagement #CityDestinations #Bremen WFB Wirtschaftsförderung Bremen GmbH
[CITYDNA SUMMER SCHOOL 🎓] Two months ago, Dijon became the meeting point for the next generation of destination professionals, and for 40 years of CityDNA Summer School history.
The 40th CityDNA Summer School brought together participants, faculty and alumni for a week of learning, Read moreexchange and connection around the realities shaping today’s visitor economy.
Beyond the sessions and case studies, the Summer School is about something that has remained constant across four decades: creating a space where professionals can learn from one another, challenge their thinking and build relationships that continue long after the programme ends.
This milestone edition in Destination Dijon was also an opportunity to look back at how the Summer School has evolved, while keeping its core purpose firmly focused on the future.
🎥 Here is a look back at some of the people, conversations and moments that made the 40th edition so special.
And the story continues: the 41st CityDNA Summer School heads to Sofia in 2027!
Heading to IBTM World in Barcelona? Meet the CityDNA team to learn more about the Summer School, exchange on professional development within the visitor economy and find out what is coming next.
And for the CVB community, two more opportunities to connect are just around the corner:
☕ CityDNA CVB Café, Barcelona, November 16, 2026, ahead of IBTM World
https://citydestinationsalliance.eu/event/citydna-cvb-cafe-2026-barcelona/
🏙️ 2nd CityDNA CVB Expert Meeting, Timișoara, January 26-27, 2027
https://citydestinationsalliance.eu/event/2nd-citydna-cvb-expert-meeting-2027-timisoara/
Come and meet the CityDNA community, in Barcelona, Timișoara and beyond!
#CityDNA #CityDNASummerSchool #CityDNACVB #VisitorEconomy #DestinationManagement #ProfessionalDevelopment
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[CITYDNA CVB CAFÉ ☕] 3 weeks to go until the CityDNA CVB Café in Barcelona!
Before the tradeshow begins, the CityDNA CVB community will come together for an evening of peer learning, open discussion and networking focused on the evolving role of Convention Bureaux within the wider Read moredestination ecosystem.
Through interactive roundtables, participants will exchange experiences around the questions many CVBs are facing today:
📌 Where can CVBs bring greater strategic value?
📌 How are other destinations adapting their role and priorities?
📌 What challenges are peers facing, and what solutions are emerging?
There is no need to arrive with all the answers. The Café is designed to create space for questions, honest exchange and practical learning from peers.
Perspectives shared during the evening will also contribute to the development of CityDNA’s new strategy.
And the conversation will continue over a networking dinner, an opportunity to reconnect with colleagues and build new relationships before a busy week in Barcelona.
📍 Barcelona
🗓️ November 16, 2026
🕡 18:30
🏨 Hotel Porta Fira
⏳ Registration deadline: November 9
Three weeks to go: secure a place and join the conversation.
👉 Register here: https://citydestinationsalliance.eu/event/citydna-cvb-cafe-2026-barcelona/
#CityDNA #CityDNACVB #ConventionBureau #BusinessEvents #DestinationManagement #VisitorEconomy
