As a knowledge-sharing alliance for cities, City Destinations Alliance prides itself on showcasing the unique DNA and offerings of cities across Europe whilst safeguarding their sustainability. We speak with Flavie de Bueil, COO, to learn more about the alliance’s recent rebrand and hopes for a city-focused future.
TURNING CITIES INTO SUSTAINABLE DESTINATIONS
Bringing together more than 125 members across Europe, including tourism boards, convention bureaux, and city marketing organisations, City Destinations Alliance (CityDNA) is a knowledge-sharing network for cities and urban destinations passionate about showcasing what makes each destination unique.
“Our mission is clear: to empower cities to thrive sustainably, socially, and economically by sharing knowledge, co-creating strategies, and positioning urban destinations as places where people want to live, work, study, and visit,” opens Flavie de Bueil, COO.
In 2022, CityDNA made the decision to rebrand into an alliance to better reflect the collaborative DNA of its organisation. This evolution underlines that it’s more than just an association of members; it’s a collective committed to shared goals. It capitalises upon its community, the level of knowledge sharing, and cooperation between destination marketing organisations (DMOs) in Europe.
“As an alliance, we value and harness the diversity of our members – large and small cities alike – into a unified platform where we share stories, best practices, and what is and isn’t working,” de Bueil expands.
This fosters a stronger, shared focus on urban challenges and opportunities, ensuring destinations act not as a competitors but as a collaborators, shaping the future of cities through ”coopetition”.
Ultimately, it’s about the DNA of cities, what makes them unique and, simultaneously, similar as destinations. It’s about illustrating the cooperative relationship that is created amongst CityDNA members for European DMOs and city tourism offices.
“We are first and foremost for cities – that is an identity we share and what distinguishes us from other networks. We, of course, welcome nations and regions to participate to understand city development changes, goal drivers, and the way people look at cities,” de Bueil details.
The CityDNA community proudly consists of city people. The members of the association all share a passion for working with cities with all their complex stakeholder dynamics and manifold experiential offerings, defining its business territory as the destination itself.
“As an alliance, we value and harness the diversity of our members – large and small cities alike – into a unified platform where we share stories, best practices, and what is and isn’t working”
Flavie de Bueil, COO, City Destinations Alliance
CREATING A COMMUNITY OF MEMBERS
CityDNA’s community has existed since 1964 when it was established as the European Federation of Conference Towns (EFCT) in Brussels, Belgium, and has been growing and strengthening ever since. It prioritises human and personal connections, where trust and support are the main drivers of conversation.
“CityDNA is more than a brand – it’s a principle of belonging. It reflects our conviction that knowledge grows when it’s shared and cities progress when they act collectively,” de Bueil shares.
By creating a true community of members, the association enables peer-to-peer exchange, co-creation of best practices, and a sense of solidarity that strengthens every individual city whilst driving systemic impact across Europe.
The association cherishes the relationships it nurtures, both on a professional and personal basis, within the network. For CityDNA, it’s about sharing, learning, and meeting – and through that, growing as a community and individual destinations.
“We have a true European identity that we want to preserve. We are Europeans in heart and mind and see the continent in its largest definition. Still, we welcome discussions with city destinations around the planet and value the inspiration, insights, and friendships they bring,” de Bueil prides.
Currently, CityDNA is unfolding the last stage of its strategy (2023-2026) – Welcoming Wegeneration – which encourages collective socioeconomic and sustainable action.
Welcoming Wegeneration is the association’s framework for collective action on social, economic, and environmental challenges. It recognises that destinations are shaped by residents, businesses, and visitors alike.
“This strategy encourages members to embrace inclusive governance models, design tourism that benefits local communities, and take measurable steps towards carbon neutrality. In essence, it moves us from competition to co-responsibility, ensuring the visitor economy contributes positively to urban life,” de Bueil states.
Building this strategy also reinforced CityDNA’s community whilst engaging in extensive conversation with members and partners about its purpose, shared values, and joint strategic challenges.
CONNECTING CITIES ACROSS EUROPE
CityDNA’s events are the heartbeat of the association. From thematic summits to its flagship conferences, the events provide platforms for knowledge exchange, policy discussions, and practical workshops to move forward from a strategic to hands-on level.
Crucially, they connect city leaders across Europe, allowing them to learn from each other’s successes and failures, and to accelerate innovation in urban tourism, mobility, sustainability, and placemaking.
“Our conferences are where Europe’s city tourism leaders gather to explore bold ideas, tackle real challenges, and shape the future of our sector,” de Bueil details.
“The conference’s educational programme is designed to directly strengthen members’ professional skills, expand their networks, and enhance leadership profiles.”
CityDNA’s next event will take place in Tórshavn, the capital city of the Faroe Islands, where the association will co-create The Tórshavn Declaration – a landmark manifesto for the future of the visitor city.
It will enable members to shape an industry-wide statement that will influence policy and practice, position them and their DMOs as thought leaders in regenerative and inclusive tourism, and enable them to return home with fresh ideas, case studies, and strategies to implement immediately.
“By attending, members are investing in their DMOs and making a tangible contribution to the evolution of our industry,” de Bueil explains.
Additionally, one of CityDNA’s most powerful tools is its knowledge groups, which bring together professionals across member cities in specialised areas such as marketing and communication, meetings industry, research and insights, and sustainability.
These groups act as incubators of innovation, where experts share experiences, test new ideas, and generate practical guidelines that help shape the future of urban tourism development.
“Our mission is clear: to empower cities to thrive sustainably, socially, and economically by sharing knowledge, co-creating strategies, and positioning urban destinations as places where people want to live, work, study, and visit”
Flavie de Bueil, COO, City Destinations Alliance
INCUBATORS OF INNOVATION
Among CityDNA Knowledge Groups also exists the Sustainability knowledge group, which is of particular importance in today’s tourism industry. It provides members with a platform to exchange best practices on reducing environmental impacts, improving accessibility, and building circular visitor economies.
“Through joint research, benchmarking, and toolkits, this group enables cities to measure progress, share transparent data, and move collectively towards more regenerative models of tourism,” de Bueil shares.
Ultimately, the group helps its members and cities across Europe take meaningful steps towards a regenerative future by shifting the focus from minimising harm to maximising positive impact. This means rethinking tourism’s role in biodiversity, climate resilience, and community wellbeing.
By showcasing pioneering examples, offering benchmarks, and encouraging collaborative pilots, the group empowers destinations to adopt systemic, long-term approaches to sustainability.
In parallel, CityDNA’s updated logo reflects its objective of sustainable knowledge sharing and action.
“We wanted the new brand identity to reflect the familiar, yet progressive spirit of our community. The orange colour of the logo was inspired by the UN Sustainable Development Goal (UN SDG) 11. The official mission of UN SDG 11 is to make cities inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable – which is also one of the main goals of all CityDNA member cities,” de Bueil concludes.
