Wrocław and Szczecin have joined the 2025 Global Destination Sustainability Index (GDS-Index). This brings the total number of participating Polish cities to four, alongside Krakow and Gdańsk.
The announcement was made on 20 March 2025, and aligns with broader efforts across Poland to benchmark destination performance and integrate more sustainable practices in tourism and events.
In 2024, Szczecin recorded 822,400 overnight stays between January and September – up 9.1% from the same period in 2023. Wrocław, often referred to as the “Venice of the North”, saw nearly a 7% increase in overnight tourists in 2023 compared to 2022.
The GDS-Movement also hosted a workshop on 20 March bringing together six Polish cities – Szczecin, Krakow, Wrocław, Gdańsk, Sopot, and Gdynia – along with representatives from the Poland Convention Bureau and the Pomeranian Regional Tourist Organisation. The initiative precedes the New Trends in Tourism Conference, where GDS-Movement CEO Guy Bigwood will deliver a keynote on regenerative destination management.
The GDS-Index currently benchmarks around 100 cities globally and was co-founded by ICCA, City Destinations Alliance (CityDNA), IMEX Group and MCI.
