Simpleview and City Destinations Alliance (CityDNA) proudly unveiled the winners of the VivaCITY Challenge at the CityDNA Autumn Conference in Valencia, Spain: Helsinki Tourism and Destination Management and Turismo Torino e Provincia.
CityDNA’s president, Petra Stušek, expresses the significance of the moment by saying, “Nearly seven months since the initial announcement, and after hearing about all the exciting destination applications, we stand here with our two winners. I would like to highlight their courage and give them credit for committing to this 3-year challenging process. Their role extends beyond their respective cities, encompassing a global impact on the tourism sector, fostering positive change.”
Helsinki Tourism and Destination Management participated in the VivaCITY Challenge because it was “sitting on a mountain of data,” and it wants to become the most sustainable city in the world.
Turismo Torino e Provincia was a passionate candidate for the VivaCITY Challenge because it believes that “those who work in tourism must first and foremost seek to make the local people happy.”
The VivaCITY Challenge is a three-year funded project created to give destination marketing organisations (DMOs) the opportunity to co-create a transformative strategy that is holistic, concise, and tangible, with the support of the following global experts in destination development and implementation:
- Professor Frank Cuypers, an international leader in destination development
- Elke Dens, a specialist in regenerative placemaking
- David Peacock, Senior Advisor to the Future Tourism Group at Simpleview
“The VivaCITY Challenge has been such an exciting process for all involved,” said Ryan George, CEO of Simpleview. “This challenge was created as a way to show our commitment to the tourism industry with something substantive and long-lasting. I’m really looking forward to hearing more about how the winning destinations transform over the next three years.”
Flavie de Bueil, Chief Operating Officer of CityDNA, acknowledged the challenging selection process: “Each destination had such interesting stories, and we’re thrilled to establish a learning lab for all CityDNA members to share the invaluable insights and findings from Helsinki and Turin.”
The following finalists were thanked for submitting outstanding presentations in consideration for the VivaCITY Challenge:
- British Columbia
- Copenhagen
- Gdansk
- Kyiv
- Lausanne
- Salzburg
- Valencia
These cities were all invited to become peer cities for the duration of the projects. They will test and improve the processes and tools that have been developed by the VivaCITY Challenge so they become scalable and useful across all cities.
Stay tuned for updates on the VivaCITY Project to be shared at upcoming CityDNA events — including the CityDNA International Conference. Helsinki Tourism and Destination Management and Turismo Torino e Provincia will share their project progress, inspiring further transformation in the world of destination development.