BeCause and the Global Destination Sustainability Movement (GDS-Movement) Partner to Accelerate Sustainable Tourism

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Oct 21, 2024, 04:00 ET

The partnership offers destination management organizations unprecedented insights into the eco-certification levels of hotels, attractions, beaches, and restaurants through comprehensive, verifiable eco-certification data.

COPENHAGEN, Denmark, Oct. 21, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- BeCause, the Danish start-up revolutionizing how the global hospitality, travel, and tourism industries manage their sustainability data, is partnering with the Global Destination Sustainability – Movement (GDS-Movement) to help tourism and event organizations, including Convention and Visitor Bureaus (CVBs), Destination Management Organisations (DMOs) and National Tourism Organisations (NTOs), gain unprecedented insight into their region's sustainable accommodations and offerings.

Members of GDS-Movement, an international change agency that acts to catalyze socio-economic and environmental transformation in regions and cities through tourism, can now access a specially designed data overview on the BeCause platform that shows them a real-time, comprehensive view of the sustainability status of their destination's hospitality landscape. Specifically, they will be able to quickly see which hotels, restaurants, attractions, beaches and experiences have valid sustainability certifications, which will provide them with a trustworthy foundation for building a targeted sustainability strategy.

A Game-Changing Approach to Sustainability Data
Prior to BeCause, destinations could only obtain this information by manually matching each certification to the accommodations and hospitality services in their coverage zone – an error-prone, laborious process that kept DMOs and NTOs from promoting their full range of sustainable offerings.

As the only sustainability data management hub tailored for the visitor economy, BeCause works with over 70 eco-certification bodies and globally recognized industry organizations including Green Key, Travalyst, Global Sustainable Tourism Council, Green Sign and EarthCheck. Its platform enables the seamless exchange of sustainability information between these organizations, hotels and other key stakeholders such as booking platforms, travel retailers and tourism organizations, significantly streamlining the data flow.

"One of the greatest challenges destinations face today is accessing accurate data about the sustainability practices of their supply chains," said Guy Bigwood, CEO of GDS-Movement. "Our partnership with BeCause directly addresses this challenge, helping DMOs, CVBs, and NTOs create more regenerative, resilient destinations that benefit both visitors and residents," says Guy Bigwood, CEO of GDS-Movement.

"By utilizing the BeCause platform, destinations participating in the GDS-Index will be able to assess their environmental performance more efficiently, complete the index faster, and communicate their sustainability initiatives more effectively to stakeholders, including governments, clients, and visitors," Bigwood added.

Meeting demand for sustainable travel
According to a 2024 Booking.com survey, 75% of global travelers say they want to travel more sustainably in the short term, while 89% of business travelers say they are taking extra steps to reduce the environmental impact of their travel. Access to sustainable travel options is also a key consideration for meetings and event planners, with 13% of those surveyed for the American Express 2024 Global Meetings and Events Forecast ranking sustainability as among the top two factors influencing where they choose to hold their events and 39% admitting that they struggle to identify sustainability certified suppliers.

"In today's always on and information hungry world, VisitEngland recognizes the need to ensure our destinations have access to data that is both trustworthy and accurate. VisitEngland is working with BeCause to ensure access to their platform can help England's tourism industry meet the growing demands of visitors seeking environmentally responsible experiences, from which attraction to check out and which destination to discover to where best to stay to suit their needs," says Andrew Stokes, Director of VisitEngland, the first destination to pilot the BeCause-powered data hub.

By having the data overview from BeCause, organizations like VisitEngland can zoom in on specific regions and get a thorough overview of offerings in real-time, as well as information on those certifications. This will enable NTOs and DMOs to gain unforeseen insights into the status and trends within their own destination, greatly empowering their strategic work with sustainability and building a data-led decision setup. Furthermore, it will enable them to address greenwashing claims head-on backed up by validated data and enhance their credibility as trusted sources for sustainability information on the destinations.

Building Trust Through Data

"Trust is the foundation of sustainability," said Frederik Steensgaard, CEO of BeCause. "By automating the verification of sustainability claims with direct communication from certification bodies, we ensure that trust is prioritized across the entire value chain - from consumers to tourism organizations."

For more information about BeCause and its partnership with GDS-Movement or to speak with CEO Frederik Steensgaard, please get in touch with Vanessa Horwell at [email protected].

About BeCause
BeCause is an enterprise software company that streamlines the flow of sustainability data and creates synergies between different stakeholders in the travel, tourism, and hospitality industries, empowering them to make decisions that result in positive, responsible change for people, the planet, and their profits. BeCause works with over 25,000 hotels, including brands like Radisson, certification entities like GreenKey, industry partners like the Global Sustainable Tourism Council and the WSHA, and marketplaces like Booking.com. For more information, visit because.eco.

About Global Destination Sustainability Movement
The GDS-Movement is a pioneering, data-driven international change agency that acts to catalyse socio-economic and environmental transformation in cities and regions across the world. Our mission is to empower tourism and events professionals with the mindsets, skill sets, and toolsets to co-create more regenerative and resilient destinations to visit, meet, and live in. Discover more at www.gds.earth.

ABOUT THE GLOBAL DESTINATION SUSTAINABILITY INDEX (GDS-Index) 
The GDS-Index is a trusted performance improvement programme to assess and accelerate the progress of a destination's regenerative journey. It measures, benchmarks, and enhances the sustainability strategies, action plans, and initiatives of more than 100 destination management organisations, municipal authorities, and their tourism supply chains.

Co-founded in 2016 by the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA), City Destinations Alliance (CityDNA), IMEX Group, and MCI, the GDS-Index offers an unparalleled resource for visitors, DMOs, municipalities, and event planners looking for destinations that offer the best in sustainability performance.

SOURCE BeCause