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.
Global Accessibility Report
Accessibility is the tool, Inclusion is the Objective
The Global Accessibility Report, a collaborative effort by City Destinations Alliance and Destinations International, offers a comprehensive look at accessibility initiatives in global tourism. Released in October 2024, this report analyses data from 92 destinations worldwide, primarily in Europe and North America.
The Meetings Industry Manifesto
Priorities for the Next EU Leadership
“The Meetings Industry Manifesto: Priorities for the Next EU Leadership” is a comprehensive document that emerged from our discussions and collaborative efforts at the EU Dialogue in Brussels. This manifesto aims to enhance awareness and recognition of the Meetings Industry’s significant role in driving economic growth, fostering innovation, and promoting sustainability across Europe.
Redefining Success
How DMOs can Drive Social & Community Well-Being
CityDNA and TOPOSOPHY released a report on ‘Redefining Success: How DMOs can Drive Social & Community Well-Being’. Building upon the success of previous joint collaborations, this paper takes a deeper dive into meaningful KPI design with practical applications and real world case study examples to support and empower DMOs to broaden their positive influence, measure their social impact and communicate their value contribution for the neighbourhoods, cities and regions they serve.
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
![[LET PIGS FLY 🐷🪽] The final session of the #CityDNA #LetPigsFly Conference brought together inspiring perspectives on radical collaboration in urban tourism.
Leslie Bruce (Banff & Lake Louise Tourism) highlighted the hardships and successes in collaboration, followed by Anthony Everett (4VI) who shared how rethinking the DMO's role can lead to disruptive innovation. Claire Mertens (Visit Antwerp) presented the unique collaboration among the 5 Flemish art cities (Antwerp, Bruges, Ghent, Leuven and Mechelen). The session wrapped up with an engaging panel featuring Erwin Van de Wiele from Ghent, Anthony, and Leslie, sparking dialogue on the future of collaborative approaches in destination management.
#LetPigsFly #TourismCollaboration #RadicalInnovation
Group NAO Visit Bruges](https://citydestinationsalliance.eu/wp-content/plugins/social-wall/img/placeholder.png)
[LET PIGS FLY 🐷🪽] The final session of the #CityDNA #LetPigsFly Conference brought together inspiring perspectives on radical collaboration in urban tourism.
Leslie Bruce (Banff & Lake Louise Tourism) highlighted the hardships and successes in collaboration, followed by Anthony ...Everett (4VI) who shared how rethinking the DMO's role can lead to disruptive innovation. Claire Mertens (Visit Antwerp) presented the unique collaboration among the 5 Flemish art cities (Antwerp, Bruges, Ghent, Leuven and Mechelen). The session wrapped up with an engaging panel featuring Erwin Van de Wiele from Ghent, Anthony, and Leslie, sparking dialogue on the future of collaborative approaches in destination management.
#LetPigsFly #TourismCollaboration #RadicalInnovation
Group NAO Visit Bruges
[LET PIGS FLY 🐷🪽] At the #CityDNA #LetPigsFly Conference in Bruges, Dr. Bozana Zekan from Modul University Vienna presented insights from the latest #CityTravelReportbyCityDNA. 🚀
How high is your city flying? Don't miss your chance to contribute and see where your destination ...stands! Data submissions are open until April 30.
Get ready to soar in the evolving tourism landscape! 🌍
#TourismInsights #Benchmarking #DestinationData
Group NAO Visit Bruges
[LET PIGS FLY 🐷🪽] During the #CityDNA #LetPigsFly Conference attendees were given the opportunity to dive into the future of AI at the Guinea Pigsters Labs!
From hands-on AI tools for event planning, image generation, and virtual mirrors to creative Prompt Battles, this was a chance ...to test, learn, and unleash creativity. Whether crafting flying pigs or exploring AI for business events, these labs offered participants unique opportunities to future-proof their strategies.
A big shoutout to Junanto Xu from GROUP NAO, Jonathan Maes, William Schokkelé, Cesar De Greve and Randy Lamiere from Howest University of Applied Sciences, and Jonathan Easton from GEVME for bringing the future to life! 💡✨
#LetPigsFly #AIFuture #AIforEvents
Group NAO Visit Bruges
[LET PIGS FLY 🐷🪽] Session Recaps from the #CityDNA #LetPigsFly Conference in Bruges!
Attendees had the option to choose between 3 parallel sessions, all showcasing innovative approaches to creativity and mindful travel in the events industry.
1️⃣ PROMPT BATTLE
In an ...exhilarating showdown led by Emil Spangenberg and Thomas Høyrup Christensen from Frame & Work, participants pushed their imaginations to the limit in a Prompt Battle using text-to-image tools like Midjourney. It was all about originality and bold thinking, with attendees cheering and voting for their favourite wild creations!
2️⃣ ON TRACK... FOR SLOW (BUSINESS) TRAVEL?
Barbara Jamison-Woods (London & Partners), Anna Peters (Evolve Events), and Inge Bauwens (Eurostar) discussed practical strategies for incentivising slow and mindful meeting design to reduce the carbon footprint of business events. This session explored how to make travel more appealing and beneficial for delegate wellbeing.
3️⃣ WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN PIGS FALL FROM THE SKY?
Chris Armstrong from TOPOSOPHY provided practical tools and advice for DMOs on preparing for and responding effectively to various crises, drawing on key lessons from European destinations. This session equipped attendees with strategies to navigate unexpected challenges in the tourism sector.
🌍 All sessions inspired attendees to think creatively and sustainably about the future of the events industry.
#Creativity #SustainableTravel #EventDesign
Group NAO Visit Bruges
[LET PIGS FLY 🐷🪽] Session Recaps from the #CityDNA #LetPigsFly Conference in Bruges!
Attendees had the option to choose between 2 parallel sessions, highlighting critical aspects of climate justice and building smarter destinations through business events.
1️⃣ CLIMATE ...JUSTICE IN ACTION
Janie Neumann from GDS-Movement and Marco Lucero from Cuidadores de Destinos shared powerful insights from The Travel Foundation’s climate justice report and GDS-Index. They explored how European destinations can lead collective action to support those most vulnerable to climate change.
2️⃣ BUILDING SMARTER DESTINATIONS THROUGH BUSINESS EVENTS
Tuya Beyers from Visit Flanders and Miriam Pijuan from Generalitat de Catalunya led a session, uncovering collaborative solutions to create Smart BE destinations. They dove into the future of business events, exploring how destinations can work together to make a lasting impact.
🌍 Both sessions fostered crucial discussions on sustainability and business events.
#SustainableTourism #ClimateJustice #BusinessEvents
Group NAO Visit Bruges
[LET PIGS FLY 🐷🪽] Session Recaps from the #CityDNA #LetPigsFly Conference in Bruges!
Attendees had the option to choose between 2 parallel sessions, each tackling important aspects of media management and visitor behaviour in tourism.
1️⃣ WHEN YOUR DESTINATION HITS THE ...HEADLINES: Moderated by Emil Spangenberg from Frame & Work, this session focused on navigating media attention, both welcome and unwelcome. Anne-Signe Fagereng from Visit Oslo shared how their viral campaign “Is It Even a City?” turned the narrative on its head, while Hanna-Sophie Totschnig from vienna.info Tourist Board revealed how Vienna bounced back after the cancellation of #TaylorSwift's concerts in the city.
2️⃣ VISITOR BEHAVIOUR: QUICK FIX OR TRICKY TERRAIN? Chris Adams from Miles Partnership provided insights into global best practices for caring travel education. Rikke Holm Petersen from VisitCopenhagen introduced the innovative #CopenPay platform, rewarding positive visitor behaviour. Dr. Milena Nikolova from Behavior SMART highlighted how behavioural science can inspire meaningful change in tourism.
🌐 Both sessions explored how destinations can turn challenges into opportunities and encourage responsible tourism behaviour.
#UrbanTourism #MediaManagement #VisitorBehaviour
Group NAO Visit Bruges
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[LET PIGS FLY 🐷🪽] In today’s “Mission Impossible: Balancing the Imbalances of Tourism?” session at the #LetPigsFly Conference, industry leaders explored strategies for managing tourism’s growing social costs. 🌍
Bernadett Papp from ETFI stressed the need for cities to ...evolve governance structures, while Maya Janssen highlighted I amsterdam’s resident-first approach to tourism. Ralf Pastleitner discussed TUI's focus on sustainable, collaborative planning with local stakeholders, and Paige McClanahan emphasised the media's role in bringing both challenges and innovative solutions to light.
Together, we’re redefining tourism’s future!
#CityDNA #TourismForGood #Sustainability
Group NAO Visit Bruges
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[LET PIGS FLY 🐷🪽] In today’s #VivaCITY session at the #LetPigsFly Conference, David Peacock from Simpleview shared insights from the winning cities of the VivaCITY project: Visit Helsinki and Turismo Torino e Provincia. 🌍
Helsinki focused on identity research, sustainability, ...and data coaching, while Torino adopted a process-oriented approach, aligning its tourism vision with stakeholders. The session also called for community input to help shape a sustainability white paper, inviting participants to contribute their insights for the future of urban tourism. ✍️💡
Take the survey now: https://www.simpleviewinc.com/vivacity/survey
#CityDNA #Sustainability #TourismInnovation
Group NAO Visit Bruges