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.
Moving Together
CityDNA Autumn Conference, Verona, October 19-21, 2026
Join us to explore how mobility, accessibility, data, AI and business events are reshaping city destinations. Discover how cities can respond to changing visitor flows and move forward together with greater alignment and collective purpose.
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.
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.
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.
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).
City Travel Report by CityDNA 2024-2025
A New Era of Recalibration for European City Tourism
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. Put simply, cities are the dominant geographical focus of European tourism, especially the lucrative (and therefore much sought after!) short break and congress and/or conventions segments.
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
![[CITYDNA SUSTAINABILITY KNOWLEDGE SESSION 🌱] What is the real value of sustainability certification for destinations?...](https://citydestinationsalliance.eu/wp-content/plugins/social-wall/img/placeholder.png)
[CITYDNA SUSTAINABILITY KNOWLEDGE SESSION 🌱] What is the real value of sustainability certification for destinations?
Across Europe, destinations are taking different approaches to measuring progress, demonstrating credibility and driving meaningful change. Certification is one possibleRead more route, but what does it actually add to a destination’s sustainability strategy?
On October 12, the CityDNA Sustainable Destination Management Knowledge Group will bring together different perspectives: from destinations with long-term certification experience, to those currently pursuing certification, and those building sustainability credibility without it.
Together, the session will explore questions including:
📌 What value does certification create beyond the label?
📌 Can the process strengthen governance, measurement and stakeholder engagement?
📌 Is certification primarily a branding tool, a governance tool, or both?
📌 Can destinations build strong sustainability credibility without certification?
Rather than comparing individual certification schemes, the conversation will focus on where certification may (or may not) add value within a broader approach to sustainable destination management.
Joining the discussion:
🎙️ Olivier Mathieu, Lausanne Olympic Capital
🎙️ Dr Anna Amacher Hoppler, Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts
🎙️ Giuseppe La Carrubba, Appennino Slow / eXtraBo
🎙️ Alenka Soršak, Ljubljana Tourism
🎙️ Kim van Doorn, amsterdam&partners
🗓️ October 12, 2026
🕒 15:00-16:00 CET
💻 Online
🔒 Open to CityDNA members only
What matters most: the certificate itself, or what happens along the journey?
👉 CityDNA members can register on the Intranet
#CityDNA #CityDNASustainability #SustainableTourism #DestinationManagement #DestinationStewardship
[CITYDNA CVB CAFÉ ☕] What role should Convention Bureaux play in the destination organisations of tomorrow?
As CityDNA develops its new strategy, the next CityDNA CVB Café in Barcelona will bring CVB professionals together for a special edition focused on the evolving role of Read moreConvention Bureaux within the wider destination ecosystem.
Are CVBs evolving fast enough? Are DMOs fully leveraging the strategic value they can bring? And how should CityDNA support CVBs in the years ahead?
Through the Café’s interactive roundtable format, participants will exchange experiences, challenges and perspectives, with the discussions also contributing directly to the development of CityDNA’s new strategy.
The evening will conclude with a networking dinner ahead of IBTM World.
📍 Barcelona
🗓️ November 16, 2026
🕡 18:30
🏨 Hotel Porta Fira
💶 €49 per person
⏳ Registration deadline: November 9
Places are limited, register now: https://citydestinationsalliance.org/events/EventDetails.aspx?alias=cvbcafebarcelona2026
#CityDNA #CityDNACVB #ConventionBureau #VisitorEconomy #DestinationManagement
[MOVING TOGETHER 👣] What happens when the room stops listening, and starts working?
On October 21, during #CityDNAVerona2026, three Member-Led Workshops put destination experience at the centre of the conversation.
The focus: three questions that cities across Europe are Read morealready facing.
The Mobility Transition / How People Move is Changing. Are we?
The Accessibility Imperative / Moving Together Means Nobody Left Behind.
The Intelligence Layer / AI is Here. Do we Move With it, or Around it?
These are not traditional conference sessions. They are 90-minute working conversations where members, Board representatives, destination professionals and partners bring their own experience, questions and use cases to the table.
What emerges in the room will help inform CityDNA’s future strategic direction, and feed into the conference closing conversation.
Because Moving Together is not only about sharing ideas. It is about shaping what comes next, together.
📍 Verona
🗓️ October 19-21, 2026
Registration closes on October 8: https://citydestinationsalliance.org/mpage/HomepageCityDNAVerona2026
#CityDNA #MovingTogether #CityDNAVerona2026 #DestinationManagement #VisitorEconomy #CityGovernance #ArtificialIntelligence #AccessibleTourism
[MOVING TOGETHER 👣] Conferences move more than delegates.
They move knowledge, investment and ideas into a city, creating value that can continue long after the event itself.
At #CityDNAVerona2026, Moving Knowledge: Conference Ambassadors and the Legacy Beyond Tourism will Read moreexplore how conference ambassador programmes can turn local researchers, clinicians and industry leaders into strategic partners for a destination.
Powered by the CityDNA CVB Knowledge Group, the session brings together CityDNA research and practical experience from across the business events community.
Moderated by Iain Stirling, International Portfolio Director, Mash Media Group, the panel will feature:
Carlotta Ferrari, General Manager, Destination Florence
Pádraic Gilligan, Co-Founder, SoolNua
Louise McQuillan, Senior Business Development Manager, Visit Belfast
Klaus Schmidhofer, Head of Innsbruck Convention Bureau
Together, they will explore how ambassador programmes are structured, resourced and measured, before opening the discussion into round tables and Q&A.
A session for cities already running ambassador programmes, and for those beginning to explore their potential.
📍 Verona
🗓️ October 19-21, 2026
Explore the programme and register before October 8: https://citydestinationsalliance.org/mpage/ProgrammeCityDNAVerona2026
#CityDNA #CityDNACVB #MovingTogether #CityDNAVerona2026 #BusinessEvents #ConferenceLegacy #VisitorEconomy #DestinationManagement
[MOVING TOGETHER 👣] Why Verona?
A UNESCO city, a major rail hub and a destination navigating real questions around visitor flows, mobility, governance and year-round value.
For #CityDNAVerona2026, Verona is more than the host city. It becomes part of the learning Read moreenvironment.
From walkshops through the historic centre to conversations about how destinations move, adapt and create long-term value, the conference theme comes to life on the ground.
📍 Verona
🗓️ October 19-21, 2026
Explore the programme & register before October 8: https://citydestinationsalliance.eu/event/citydna-autumn-conference-2026-verona/
#CityDNA #MovingTogether #CityDNAVerona2026 #VisitorEconomy #DestinationManagement #CityGovernance #UrbanMobility
Verona Garda Convention Bureau Destination Verona & Garda Foundation
[DEPLOYTOUR 🚀] 📢 Call for abstracts: Tourism Data Spaces
How can destinations and tourism organisations share data more effectively, while building trust, ensuring interoperability and creating value across the visitor economy?
The International Conference on Tourism Read moreResearch (ICTR), together with #DEPLOYTOUR, is inviting researchers and practitioners to contribute to the mini-track:
“Tourism Data Spaces: Data Sharing, Governance and Interoperability in Tourism”
Chaired by Prof. Dr. Nuno Antonio and Prof. Dr. Bruno Jardim, the track will explore key questions around data governance, sovereignty, standards, business models, AI-enabled services and real-world tourism data space initiatives.
For destination professionals, this is also an opportunity to bring practical experiences and use cases into the conversation and help connect research with the realities of destination management.
📅 Abstract deadline: October 7, 2026
📍 Brig, Switzerland
🗓️ April 29-30, 2027
➡️ Mini-track information: swll.to/BprMp
➡️ Submit an abstract: swll.to/x2Gutc3
The track is connected to #DEPLOYTOUR, the Digital Europe Programme project supporting the deployment of the Common European Tourism Data Space.
#CityDNA #DataDrivenDestinations #TourismDataSpace #DataSharing #VisitorEconomy
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[D3HUB FINAL EVENT 📊] How can European destinations turn data into better decisions, stronger collaboration and long-term value?
At the D3HUB Final Event in Palma de Mallorca, CityDNA’s Camille François joined John Fitzgibbon (NECSTouR), Klaus Ehrlich (RuralTour) and Tim Fairhurst Read more(ETOA) for the panel “Collaborate, accelerate and scale up the destinations’ data-driven journey”.
The discussion highlighted the importance of networks in connecting destinations, sharing knowledge and building the skills and capacity needed to make data truly useful. For CityDNA, becoming data-driven is not simply about having more data — it is about ensuring destinations can translate it into insights, collaboration and informed action.
The event marked the conclusion of three years of D3HUB work towards a European centre of excellence supporting smarter data management across tourism destinations.
🔗 Learn more about the D3HUB Final Event: https://necstour.eu/d3hub-final-event-brings-together-leading-european-figures-in-tourism-led-by-the-european-commissions-director-general-for-tourism/
#CityDNA #D3HUB #DataDrivenDestinations #DestinationManagement #VisitorEconomy #TourismData
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[MOVING TOGETHER 👣] Verona’s streets are the session.
On Tuesday, October 20 at #CityDNAVerona2026, four small-group walkshops take the conversation out of the conference room and into the city.
Accessibility. Visitor journeys. Tourism’s value. Climate and resilience.
Read more
Each walkshop is limited to 12-15 people, prebooked, with one walkshop per person so more delegates can take part.
This is Moving Together, literally.
📍 Verona
🗓️ October 19-21, 2026
Explore the walkshops & register before October 8: https://citydestinationsalliance.eu/event/citydna-autumn-conference-2026-verona/
#CityDNA #MovingTogether #CityDNAVerona2026 #DestinationManagement #PeerLearning #AccessibleTourism #SustainableTourism
Verona Garda Convention Bureau Destination Verona & Garda Foundation