GDS Forum & CityDNA Autumn Conference 2024, Bruges

Name: GDS Forum & CityDNA Autumn Conference 2024, Bruges
Start: 2024-10-15T00:00:00+02:00
End: 2024-10-18T23:59:59+02:00

October 15 - October 18

On October 15-18, 2024, destination professionals can enjoy an extraordinary event week, as City Destinations Alliance (CityDNA), the Global Destination Sustainability Movement (GDS-Movement), and Visit Bruges partner to bring you two incredible, back-to-back events, and the prestigious, annual GDS-Awards.

The CityDNA Autumn Conference, on October 16-18, 2024, will provide destination professionals working for Tourist Boards, CVBs & DMOs with a unique occasion to meet and network with colleagues from Europe and beyond, while learning and sharing knowledge and insights on the latest trends and challenges or urban tourism in Europe. The CityDNA conference will showcase a diverse range of collaborative sessions, inspiring discussions, and innovative approaches.
The GDS-Forum, on October 15-16, 2024, will convene destination leaders and sustainability champions from around the world. This is a dynamic and unconventional gathering to discuss sustainability and impact strategies and best practices, learn from GDS-Index journeys, and co-create new approaches and initiatives for greater regenerative destination management. It will follow a non-conference format with a focus on peer-to-peer learning, collaboration, and creativity.
The GDS-Awards Ceremony, on October 16, 2024, will bring both communities together in an entertaining and inspiring, evening-time celebration to recognise the winners of the 9th GDS-Index Awards. The larger platform enables greater reach and recognition for and aspiration around destinations whose sustainability contributions have now exceeded pre-pandemic levels in a global industry with a growing responsibility to “be the change we need to see in the world”.

With a rich history and a commitment to sustainability, Bruges sets the perfect stage for discussions on the future of tourism. The city’s ambition to be climate neutral by 2050 aligns seamlessly with our focus on ‘better’ rather than ‘more’ tourism. We anticipate a conference that will not only explore industry trends but also fosters connections in the warm and hospitable setting of Bruges.

LET PIGS FLY

Defying the Gravity of Impossible in Urban Tourism

“When pigs fly” has long been a synonym with the wildly improbable. We now need those pigs flying – as our most wicked challenges demands seemingly impossible solutions, and this is what we will be diving into at the City Destinations Alliance Conference in Bruges, October 16-18, 2024.

Join us as we delve into…

… how radical collaboration within urban tourism can spark much-needed transformation. Discover strategies for handling crises, when your pig hits the fan and attracts public frenzy. Explore how YES-and thinking can lead to the extraordinary, and how we can piggyback on innovations from other challenged industries striving for impossible change. Add your voice to the discussion: Is there a real pig flying moment ahead for air travel, or is it simply a pigment of our imagination.

Help us let pigs fly, as we meet for the City Destinations Alliance conference in Bruges, October 16-18, 2024. Over two immersive days, we will explore audacious ideas and solutions in urban tourism. The industry is calling for positive disruption, and we’ll learn and exchange with the brave, the curious, and hopefully also the delightfully bonkers.

From prompt battles to workshops and live demos, we will see pigs flying in three distinct formats: from mainstage inspirators who HOG THE SPOTLIGHT, to GUINEA PIGS of curious experimentation and joint exploration, to PIGGYBACKING on the successes and learnings of other DMOs and urban tourism solutions.

Let’s make the impossible possible together at the “Let Pigs Fly” conference in Bruges from October 16-18, 2024!

Check the programme: