And that's three for Helsinki. Since 2024, Helsinki has established itself at the top of the GDS-Index, the podium of which has remained unchanged for three years, with the Finnish capital being followed by Gothenburg and Copenhagen. However, behind this stable podium, the rankings are shifting. Aarhus moves up from 7th to 4th place, whilst Sydney (7th) and Montreal (9th) enter the Top 10. This comes at the expense of Tampere (11th) and Lyon (12th), which was 8th last year but nevertheless remains at the top for the Central and Southern Europe zone. As the only other French city in the Top 40, Strasbourg is ranked 35th.
Unveiled on 23 September, this ranking of eco-friendly MICE destinations analyses the sustainable progress of cities based on 74 criteria divided into four categories: environmental and social performance of the city, suppliers, and destination management. More than just benchmarking, its main aim is to improve overall performance. This appears to be successful, as 89 % of destinations evaluated two years in a row improved their score, while in the Top 10, all evaluated conference venues as well as 82 % of hotel rooms are now certified.
The gaps are narrowing
This overall progression is even part of a broader trend, as the gap between the Top 10 and the index average dropped from 20.3 to 14.5 points, its lowest level since 2016. Within this context, Bremen showed the strongest improvement in its score, jumping from 48.3 % to 70.6 %, ahead of Madrid (+19.8 pts) and Valencia (+17.1 pts). Right at the top of the rankings, the gap also narrowed from 4.76 to 2.59 points, between the score of 92.94 % recorded for Helsinki and the 90.35 % posted by Copenhagen.
Yes, according to Guy Bigwood, CEO of the GDS-Movement, the dominance of Nordic cities is expected to last « probably a few more years yet, while others are beginning to catch up with them like Belfast, Glasgow and Lyon »One awkward question remains: the comprehensiveness of the study, given that numerous major business destinations are absent from the GDS-Index. Compared with the latest ICCA 2025 ranking, dominated by Lisbon ahead of Paris, Barcelona, Vienna and Singapore, the Catalan capital is indeed the only one from the ICCA top 5 to feature in this year's GDS-Index, in 20th position. Other key destinations are indeed present, such as Berlin (14th), Dublin (17th), Madrid (21st), Milan (26th) and Amsterdam (30th). However, Paris, Singapore, Bordeaux and Oslo, despite being present until quite recently, no longer appear in this ranking, nor do Vienna or Brussels.
Is it a fear of not ranking as highly as its competitors, a modesty lacking in certain destinations that were assessed but failed to make the Top 40 – such as Geneva (72%) and Luxembourg (49%) in Europe, Bangkok (64%), Dubai (60%) and Abu Dhabi (56%) in Asia, or Washington (60%) in the United States? Is it because participating in the GDS-Index takes up both time and money? The reasons vary, according to Guy Bigwood: « Sometimes it is a question of funding. At other times, of political change or personnel. Certain destinations also think they are doing better than they actually are and refuse the publication of their results. "
Be that as it may, the CEO of GDS-Movement intends to expand this list of achievements in the future. « Singapore took a gap year and will be returning soon, Bordeaux will no doubt do the same », says Guy Bigwood, who points out that he recently travelled to Lisbon to encourage the city to join him. « Several major destinations are due to join the GDS-Index next year, although they cannot be announced yet "he assures us.
