Every year, the Global Sustainable Destination Movement lists the most sustainable tourism destinations in the world. Although the agency doesn’t actually look at every city and region in the world to draw that list, it does compare 100 destinations in 41 countries, and ranks the top 40 from the most to the least sustainable in their yearly report.
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These Are the World's 40 Most Sustainable Tourism Destinations. None of Them Are in the US.
To determine what tourism destinations are the most sustainable, the Global Sustainable Destination Movement gives each city that participates a score based on their efforts in four areas:
- Destination management Performance: Has the destination improved the visitor experience while balancing the needs of the environment and residents?
- Supplier Performance: Are the destination’s airports, hotels, venues, restaurants, etc. committed to sustainability and do they succeed in their efforts?
- Social Progress: Examination of 15 key indicators, including corruption, personal safety, health and wellness, inclusivity, and more.
- Environmental Performance: How does the destination perform in its commitment to fight climate change, whether through policies or infrastructures? For example, how does it try to lower its carbon emissions and does it succeed? Does it uses renewable energies? What are the levels or air pollution?
This year, four cities in the US participated in the evaluation, including Tucson, Arizona; Houston, Texas; Kissimmee, Florida; Washington DC. None of them made it to the top 40.
In 2024, the destinations that scored the highest on the Global Sustainable Destination Index are all located in the Nordic Region. The top three include:
- 1. Helsinki, Finland
- 2. Gothenburg, Sweden
- 3. Copenhagen, Denmark
The rest of the ranking is as follows:
- 4. Bergen, Norway
- 5. Aarhus, Denmark
- 6. Bordeaux, France
- 7. Singapore
- 8. Oslo, Norway
- 9. Belfast, Northern Ireland
- 10. Sydney, Australia
- 11. Aalborg, Denmark
- 12. Glasgow, Scotland
- 13. Zurich, Switzerland
- 14. Bilbao, Spain
- 15. Lyon, France
- 16. Goyang, South Korea
- 17. Reykjavik, Iceland
- 18. Middelfart, Denmark
- 19. Kerry, Ireland
- 20. Paris, France
- 21. Cork, Ireland
- 22. Victoria, Canada
- 23. Tampere, Finland
- 24. Melbourne, Australia
- 25. Galway, Ireland
- 26. Berlin, Germany
- 27. Tyrol, Austria
- 28. Clare, Ireland
- 29. Dublin, Ireland
- 30. Stockholm, Sweden
- 31. Barcelona, Spain
- 32. Svendborg, Denmark
- 33. Brisbane, Australia
- 34. Songkhla, Thailand
- 35. Faroe Islands
- 36. Montreal, Canada
- 37. Quebec City, Canada
- 38. Limerick, Ireland
- 39. Horsens, Denmark
- 40. Odense, Denmark
The city of Aarhus, Denmark, ranked fifth in the top 40 this year. Aarhus also ranked as the happiest city in the world in 2024, according to the Institute of Quality of life’s Happy City Index. Only one US city ranked in the top tier of the Happy City Index this year: Minneapolis, Minnesota.
The city that most improved its GDS Index this year is Kumamoto in Japan with a 42.39 increase in its score compared to last year. 