Bordeaux: A Doubly Rewarded Tourist Destination
The city of Bordeaux is regularly ranked among the most beautiful destinations in the world. It is also one of the most committed to making its tourism activity more sustainable and ecological. It has just received a double reward for its innovative and sustainable tourism practices: the title of European Capital of Intelligent Tourism and a 9th place in the world ranking of the GDS-Index 2021 which evaluates the sustainable strategies of tourist destinations.
Bordeaux, European capital of intelligent tourism 2022
It is nicknamed the Sleeping Beauty and yet the city of Bordeaux is more dynamic and forward-looking than ever!
It has indeed been chosen as European Capital of Smart Tourism 2022 (2022 European Capital of Smart Tourism) jointly with the city of Valencia in Spain.
These two cities won the 3rd edition of this competition created at the initiative of the European Union. They succeed Gothenburg and Malaga as winners in 2020 and Helsinki and Lyon chosen in 2019.
In 2021, they were in competition with 5 other finalists, namely: Florence, Ljubljana, Venice, Dublin and Palma.
As a reminder, this competition was created by the European Union to promote 'smart tourism'. It aims to support the development of innovative, sustainable and inclusive tourism.
The competition evaluates Destinations according to four criteria: accessibility, sustainability, digitalisation and cultural heritage/creativity.
The city of Bordeaux was notably chosen for its efforts in sustainable and ecological tourism. It will therefore benefit from communication and event support throughout 2022, both in France and internationally.
A top 10 ranking in the GDS-Index 2021
If you're not familiar with the GDS-Index (an acronym that stands for Global Destination Sustainability Index), you should know that it's the leading program for benchmarking Destinations on their sustainable strategy.
This index uses over 70 specific criteria and concrete evidence to assess destinations' sustainable strategy and implementation.
In the 2021 ranking just unveiled, the city of Bordeaux achieved ninth place thanks to an overall score of 78%. For its third participation in the competition, it registers a strong progression, after having obtained a score of 54% in 2019 and 72% in 2020.
Its efforts in terms of social performance and sustainable strategy of the Bordeaux Metropole Convention and Visitors Bureau have enabled it to achieve the 9th place among 72 competing destinations and to integrate the prestigious Top 10 World of the GDS-Index 2021!
International recognition
These two awards recognize the commitment of the Bordeaux Metropole Tourist Office and all of its tourism partners to make this city an exemplary destination for sustainable tourism and events.
Far from resting on its laurels, the city nicknamed Sleeping Beauty has embarked on a participatory approach to reflect and build together the future of tourism and the local event business.
In particular, the Gironde capital has launched the Agora Tourisme Bordeaux website on which residents and visitors are invited to express themselves (see link below). Enough to inspire the city with new ideas for an ever more responsible tourism.
