Kerry has maintained its ranking in the Global Destination Sustainability Index (GDS-Index) Top 30 to be officially recognised as the leading Sustainable Tourism destination in Ireland, number 13 in the world overall, and number six in Europe out of 65 destinations, across the globe.

The GDS-Index is the world’s leading sustainability performance benchmarking and improvement programme, designed to make business and leisure tourism industry more sustainable. Its mission is to engage, inspire and enable destinations to become more sustainable places to visit, meet and thrive in.

Originally established to help destinations, event planners and business events suppliers to drive and recognise sustainable practices in the business events industry, the remit and criteria now also encompass leisure tourism. As such, Kerry Convention Bureau (KCB) collaborated closely with both the Kerry Tourism Industry Federation (KTIF) and Kerry County Council (KCC) on its 2022 submission, which included an update to the Kerry County Sustainable Tourism Strategy 2022-2025, designed to provide an ambitious framework from which the county can accelerate performance and place sustainability at the heart of its tourism recovery and growth plans.

Scoring 82.4% out of a possible 100%, up 8.5% on last year, Kerry’s sustainability performance was evaluated based on the county’s environmental strategy and infrastructure, social sustainability performance, industry supplier support and KCB’s strategies and initiatives.

For more information on how you can make ‘green’ choices when holding a meeting in Kerry, talk to us today.