The Geneva Tourism & Convention Foundation unveils its responsible tourism strategy for the 2026-2030 period, building on its 2021-2025 sustainability approach, recently recognised with TourCert Destination certification. Fabienne Lupo, Chair of the Foundation Board, and Adrien Genier, Managing Director, stress that this recognition is not an end point but part of a continuous improvement approach, aligned with demanding international standards.
Tourism currently accounts for around 2.1% of Geneva’s cantonal GDP and more than 15,000 full-time equivalent jobs. In 2025, the destination recorded 3,851,477 hotel overnights, up 1.7% on 2024 and 19% on 2018, confirming a dynamic recovery driven notably by the city’s unique international ecosystem, spanning 42 United Nations agencies and more than 700 non-governmental organisations. Average length of stay stands at 1.9 days, with guests split between 37% from long-haul markets, 36% from Europe and 27% from the domestic market.
The new strategy rests on a co-construction process structured in three phases: ideation, co-construction and consolidation, mobilising more than 80 surveyed stakeholders and more than 70 pre-identified action tracks, before consolidation around three priority impact levers, ten sub-objectives and 29 concrete measures accompanied by annually tracked indicators.
The first lever, titled “Skills, Economy and Heritage,” aims to position Geneva as a regional and international hub for sustainable hospitality, by supporting tourism players through their CSR transition. The Foundation notably commits to offering, from 2026, at least 12 hours of sustainability-focused training each year to tourism industry stakeholders, and aims for the destination to join the Swisstainable programme at Level III – Leading by 2028.
The second lever, “Living Environment, Nature and Culture,” aims to make Geneva’s biodiversity and living cultural heritage central elements of the tourism experience, through the development of dedicated educational tools and toolkits, with a goal of regular dialogue with the authorities by 2028 to monitor tourism’s impact on local ecosystems.
The third lever, “Connections, Accessibility and Communities,” aims to position Geneva as a low-carbon, inclusive destination. Flagship measures include the Geneva Transport Card, offering free access to Geneva’s public transport for guests of partner accommodation providers, along with a target of raising average length of stay to two days by 2029 and increasing off-season corporate events, between January and March, by 30% by 2028.
Governance of the strategy operates on two levels: an internal Responsible Tourism Strategy team, reporting to management, which coordinates the overall effort on a day-to-day basis, and a Sustainability Council bringing together diverse profiles from accommodation, dining, culture, the non-profit sector and public authorities, meeting twice a year to validate the direction taken. The roadmap includes a first progress review at the end of 2026, operational adjustments in 2027, a structured mid-term review in 2028, followed by a consolidation phase between 2029 and 2030, with a sustainability report published annually on geneve.com.
The Foundation also acknowledges its own operational impact as a 64-employee organisation, having carried out a first carbon footprint assessment in 2024 and relying on a Green Team to run monthly awareness initiatives with its staff, on topics ranging from volunteering to biodiversity preservation.
At a Glance
Genève Tourisme & Congrès — Stratégie Tourisme Responsable 2026-2030 – Framework: 3 impact levers, 10 sub-objectives, 29 concrete measures with annual KPIs – 2025 figures: 3,851,477 hotel overnights (+1.7% vs 2024, +19% vs 2018); 2.1% of cantonal GDP; 15,065 FTE jobs; average stay 1.9 days – Levers: “Les savoir-faire” (economy & heritage), “Le vivant” (nature & culture), “Les connexions” (accessibility & communities) – Key targets: Swisstainable Level III – Leading destination status by 2028; average stay of 2 days by 2029; +30% off-season corporate events by 2028 – Certification: TourCert Destination (2026); GDS-Index member since 2016 – Governance: dedicated STR team + Sustainability Council (meets twice yearly) – Process: co-construction with 80+ stakeholders surveyed, 70+ action tracks identified – Organization: 64 employees, first carbon footprint assessment in 2024
