City Destinations Alliance
The alliance of Tourist Boards, Convention Bureaux and Destination Management Organisations in Europe
We are the 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.
Call for Tender
CityDNA is seeking conference curators!
City Destinations Alliance is seeking conference curators who can develop inspiring, innovative, and forward-thinking programmes with original formats and moderate the entire conference in an engaging manner. They will have to demonstrate a solid network and experience when recruiting speakers and conceptualising international events as well as a solid knowledge of the tourism and Meetings Industry sectors.
Accessibility Survey
Accessibility is the tool, Inclusion is the Objective
We want to help destinations create a more welcoming environment for people with disabilities! City Destinations Alliance and Destinations International are collaborating on a global accessibility report to investigate the evolving accessibility landscape in destinations across Europe and North America.
Reality Check!: register now!
CityDNA International Conference, April 24-27, 2024
In a world of more and more artificial content, will #humanmade become the new quality mark? Do dispersal strategies work to alleviate visitor pressures? How inclusive is your event design really? When did you last check your green storytelling in the post-EU Green Claims Directive reality? And what do you do, when reality truly hits, and you need to reimagine everything?
Join us for a series of big and collaborative reality checks, as we meet for the City Destinations Alliance “Reality Check!” International Conference in Bologna, April 24-27, 2024!
Featured Events
#CityDNA events provide members with information, contacts and business leads they cannot afford to miss out on.
Members know best…
CityDNA Live
[EU DIALOGUE 🌐] Yesterday in #Brussels was a milestone for our industry, we had a full day of conversations with the European Union on driving Positive Change in the Meetings Industry.
This was an official event as part of the Belgian Presidency of the Council of the European Union 2024 and ...co-organised with visit.brussels, City Destinations Alliance, JMIC Joint Meetings Industry Council and the European Exhibition Industry Alliance.
We explored the Strategic Value of Business Events, focusing on how they facilitate networking, collaboration, knowledge exchange, and significantly impact economic and cultural landscapes. We reflected current trends, market research, highlighting how these events drive sustained business growth and create lasting legacies.
CityDNA president, and CEO of Visit Ljubljana, Petra Stušek, was part of a compelling session together with Roland Bleinroth, James Rees, David Boon and Elisabeth Van Ingelgem, CMP expertly moderated by James Latham.
We discussed how to work together with the European Union, embracing the tools that are existing like the Tourism Transition Pathway.
On behalf of City Destinations Alliance, Flavie de Bueil had the priviledge to moderate a lively and productive discussion on this project with Marie-Helene Pradines, Tim Fairhurst, Marie Audren, Alessandra (Prof) Priante, EMBA, Cristina Nuñez and Patrick Bontinck.
The Meetings Industry ticks all strategic boxes in this document (sustainability, resilience, digitalization, seasonality challenges…). With the European elections appraoching, we will make recommendations to ensure that the Meetings Industry and business events sector are recognised and visible. The "visitor economy" might be one option to embrace all components and illustrate the diversity and relevance of the sector.
We have many common goals with the European Union, let's continue this dialogue to ensure Europe's competitiveness, resilience and sustainability.
#CityDNA #eventprofs #wearechangemakers #EUDialogue
[REALITY CHECK! ✔️] It’s ALL about the #CityDNA #PowerofCommunity, when we invite 4 destination executives to the stage during the upcoming #RealityCheck conference, programmed by Group NAO. 2 executives are checking out, 2 are checking in – and together, they will share their perspectives ...on #DestinationLeadership today: What keeps them up at night – and what is on the to-do list of a DMO CEO today that wasn’t there 5 years ago?
Be sure to join this session of big questions and big truths – and maybe even a few secret tips on how to get really cool s*** done, while you lead the way for others to do the same!
Don’t miss this chance to hear from I amsterdam Geerte Udo, City Destinations Alliance's president & Visit Ljubljana's CEO Petra Stušek, Visit Antwerp Claire Mertens and Luxembourg City Tourist Office - LCTO Antje Voss.
A session not to be missed during #CityDNA #RealityCheck conference in Bologna Welcome from April 24-27, 2024.
Today is your last day to register! https://buff.ly/3Uabv9o
[REALITY CHECK! ✔️] #StrategyCheck on #DispersalStrategies: Do Dispersal Strategies actually help alleviate visitor pressure? At the City Destinations Alliance conference #RealityCheck, programmed by GROUP NAO, we will dive into a data-based and experience-based #realitycheck on dispersal ...strategies. Most destinations have introduced strategies to spread our visitors across the city or across seasons, to ensure that tourism is dispersed beyond traditional touristic hotspots. But do dispersal strategies actually work in practice?
Get a data-based fact-check on the impact of dispersal strategies from ForwardKeys Olivier Ponti and Miguel Angel Perez Visit València -Spain.
Joining the discussion of dispersal strategy experiences in what works and what doesn’t, we will also hear the experiences from both Destination Florence CVB Carlotta Ferrari and Rikke Holm Petersen VisitCopenhagen.
Do you have a dispersal strategy too? And has it had the intended impact to spread out visitors across neighbourhoods and seasons? Be sure to join our joint #realitycheck on dispersal strategies.
A session not to be missed during #CityDNA #RealityCheck conference in Bologna Welcome from April 24-27, 2024.
Be sure to register for your spot before April 17:
https://buff.ly/47EvwKs
[REALITY CHECK! ✔️] #REALITY up for negotiation as we explore the future of #AUTHENTICITY in the era of #ARTIFICIAL… at the City Destinations Alliance conference #RealityCheck, programmed by GROUP NAO.
In a world exploding with AI-generated content, we will meet the world’s first ...virtual human travel influencer Esther Olofsson and her creator Maarten Reijgersberg of RAUWcc.
We will hear from Davide Maggi and Cesarine how GenAI is in fact part of bringing what might be the most authentic experience of Italian culture to thousands of visitors.
And Pernille Tranberg Dataethics.eu will add perspective on what this all means to our sense and understanding of reality, and why she thinks we will need to continue to negotiate the future of authenticity in the many years to come.
A discussion not to be missed during #CityDNA #RealityCheck conference in Bologna Welcome from April 24-27, 2024.
Be sure to register for your spot before April 17:
https://buff.ly/47EvwKs
[EU DIALOGUE 🌐] Don’t miss your last chance to be part of a groundbreaking event! Join us in Brussels on April 17, 2024, for a unique gathering where the Meetings Industry meets European policymakers. Dive into discussions at #EUDialogue and help shape the future together. 🤝
🚨 ...TODAY is the deadline to register! Secure your spot now to be part of the conversation that will impact our society and destinations worldwide. 🌍 Register here: https://buff.ly/49U4nDY
Explore key topics such as the pivotal role of professional events, sustainability initiatives, the EU’s Transition Pathway for Tourism, trade policies, operational challenges, and the crucial statistics driving the evolution of the Meetings Industry in Europe. 📊🌿
This flagship event is presented by visit.brussels in collaboration with JMIC (Joint Meetings Industry Council), European Exhibition Industry Alliance, and City Destinations Alliance. 🤝
🗓️ Act now; don’t let this exclusive opportunity slip away! #CityDNA #MeetingsIndustry #Eventprofs #PositiveImpact 💼🇪🇺✨
[PRESS RELEASE 📣] /// City Destinations Alliance “Reality Check!” International Conference: Exploring Authenticity and Innovation in Urban Tourism ///
From April 24-27, 2024, the City Destinations Alliance International Conference & General Assembly “Reality Check! On facts ...and fiction in urban tourism” will unite more than 200 leisure and business tourism professionals in the historic city of Bologna to explore the essence of authenticity and reality in urban tourism.
Read the press release: https://buff.ly/3PZiT6e
[REALITY CHECK! ✔️] #MergingRealities in interactive and engaging #VisitorExperiences… At the City Destinations Alliance conference #RealityCheck, programmed by GROUP NAO, we will explore the immense potential of new technologies in adding layers and qualities to visitor experience.
...From Gelderland and Veluwe, you should join this session to learn how Toerisme Veluwe Arnhem Nijmegen's Omar van Beek is adding character, historical layers and interactive surprise to visitor experiences of historical places. And extend your horizon with the potential of #ExtendedReality technologies, as we learn from #MuseumsintheMetaverse University of Glasgow Pauline Mackay who is pushing forward Scotland’s cultural regeneration and innovation with virtual offers that don’t replace traditional museums, but enhance what they could offer by merging the virtual and physical into unchartered grounds for experiencing culture and heritage.
This is a session not to be missed during #CityDNA #RealityCheck conference in Bologna Welcome from April 24-27, 2024.
Be sure to register for your spot before April 17: https://buff.ly/47EvwKs
[ACCESSIBILITY SURVEY 🧠👩🦯🦻🦽🗣️] Tourism and Meetings Industry professionals, we need your input!
We want to help destinations create a more welcoming environment for people with disabilities! City Destinations Alliance and Destinations International are collaborating ...on a global accessibility report to investigate the evolving accessibility landscape in destinations across Europe and North America.
👉 Take the survey: https://buff.ly/4c9jAmR
#CityDNA #accessibility #accessibilitymatters #eventprofs #accessibilityreport