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Sustainability in Geneva
Geneva Tourism & Conventions Foundation
The Geneva Tourism & Conventions Foundation has been committed to sustainability for several years. In line with the sustainable development objectives adopted by the UN, in 2021 it approved a new strategy for the development of sustainable urban tourism in order to respond to current social, environmental and economic issues.
As part of its strategy, the Geneva Tourism & Conventions Foundation has been offering awareness training on sustainable development issues to its tourism partners for the past four years.
These training sessions include, among other topics:
- Training front-line staff to promote sustainable mobility and accessibility for people with reduced mobility.
- Showcasing cultural and intangible heritage.
- Sessions on waste management and energy consumption reduction.
In collaboration with the City of Geneva and the Canton, the foundation also supports cooking workshops to promote seasonal and sustainable food choices.
This strategy is based on 5 pillars
- Accelerating the transition to a circular economy.
- Accelerating the transition to a post-carbon economy.
- Promoting local initiatives.
- Fostering a social and collective impact on the destination.
- Strengthening collaboration between tourism stakeholders.
"The Geneva Tourism & Conventions Foundation continues to implement the objectives of its sustainable tourism strategy defined in June 2021. The actions undertaken and the results achieved in 2024 are presented through the five strategic pillars.
Geneva is taking action for sustainable tourism
As a member of the Global Destination Sustainability Index, the Geneva Tourism & Conventions Foundation has been committed to sustainability for several years. In line with the Sustainable Development Goals adopted by the United Nations, in 2020 it approved a new strategy for the development of sustainable urban tourism in order to respond to current social, environmental and economic challenges.
GDS-Index
Geneva Tourism has been a member of the Global Destination Sustainability Movement (GDS-M) since 2016. The GDS Movement is a collaborative project between the CEM, ICCA, IMEX and MCI that aims to help destinations, event organisers and suppliers promote the adoption of sustainable practices in their city and in the global tourism industry.
The GDS-Index was developed in 2016 and assesses destinations through their environmental, social, supplier and destination management performance. This assessment ranks destinations according to their sustainability performance. The index enables best practices to be collected and provides a platform for exchanges between destinations.
In 2023, Geneva achieved a benchmark GDS-Index score of 73.3%.
In 2024, the city recorded a score of 66.9%, while the average score for all destinations in the ranking was 62.8%.
Overall, Geneva’s results declined this year, showing a general decrease of 8.5% compared to 2023.
Performance results :
- Environmental: 72.4% -> 83.3% (10.9% Decrease)
- Social: 75% -> 76.3% (1,6% Decrease )
- Supplier 66.2% -> 73% (6,8% Decrease)
- DMO 58.1% -> 62.2% (4,1% Decrease)
Swisstainable
Geneva is committed to sustainable tourism
The Geneva Tourism & Conventions Foundation is proud to have joined the Swisstainable Level II programme, which validates its commitment to sustainability within the destination. All teams are united on the road to sustainable tourism!
Geneva partner of MyClimate “Cause We Care”
MyClimate “Cause We Care” is an initiative for climate protection and sustainable tourism in Switzerland. It enables visitors to our destination to contribute to climate protection by offsetting the CO2 emissions generated during their visit. Thus, by purchasing a Geneva City Pass, a Choco Pass or one of our public tours, 1 CHF is automatically donated to “Cause We Care”.
In order to maximise its effect, the Geneva Tourism & Conventions Foundation doubles the contributions and donates an additional CHF 1.
Thanks to this fund, the FGT&C supports a project for the ecological management of waste in Kenya, a local environmental protection association and is involved in its own climate protection actions.
The fund created between 15 March and 15 November 2022 by these offsets corresponds to CHF 8038. This was reinvested in support of the Cause We Care project "Ecological waste management, creating jobs in Kenya," through a donation to the Association pour la Sauvegarde du Léman and in the implementation of the GT&C Foundation’s sustainability actions.
Accessibility with OK:GO
OK:GO promotes the provision of information on the accessibility of tourist facilities throughout Switzerland. The information should be up-to-date, uniform and easy to find for everyone.
- To see the profile of our Tourist Information Centre in Geneva Gare Cornavin Click here
- To see the profile of our Temporary Summer Tourist Information Centre in Geneva Jardin anglais Click here
The State Council declared a climate emergency in 2019 and adopted the new revision of the Cantonal Climate Plan in June 2021.
Canton and city
The Canton, the City and the Geneva Tourism & Conventions Foundation are working together to respond to current social, environmental and economic challenges. As a keen traveller, you too can take...
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