Benidorm consolidates its Comprehensive Management System as the world's first certified DTI

On April 28 and 29, Benidorm has completed the follow-up audit of DTI Comprehensive Management System, in accordance with the UNE 178501 standard, consolidating itself, for the third consecutive year, as the leader of certified smart tourist destinations in both the DTI Network. national, which coordinates the Spanish State Society dedicated to the management of Tourism Innovation and Technologies (SEGITTUR), as well as the Valencian Community network that organizes Invat.tur

The SGS company, world leader in inspection, verification, analysis and certification, has been in charge of auditing this year the Comprehensive Management System developed by the Benidorm City Council through a process of meetings and visits over two days of work, accompanied by those responsible for Smart Tourism company, which is in charge of coordinating the entire normalization process for Benidorm City Council.

The audit has highlighted both the effort made during the pandemic by the DTI Managing Body to improve the system, as well as the proven progress in the five DTI axes, highlighting that in the Governance axis the digital transformation, the teleworking and the incorporation of a hybrid, physical and virtual Smart Office, to help manage the Benidorm destination through a specific software tool, Ciclops DTI, which allows to verify the progress of the strategic plans of each of the areas and its impact on the axes of sustainability, innovation, universal accessibility and technology.

During 2020 Benidorm has redefined its DTI Master Plan through a Roadmap that has integrated it into a new DTI + Safe Master Plan, incorporating, among other developments, actions and achievements to the DTI Network Diagnosis Action Plan carried out by SEGITTUR. Through this analysis, SGS auditors, considered the main world benchmark in quality and integrity of their audits, have also highlighted two key aspects: the importance and positive impact of the socio-economic sustainability actions applied by Benidorm City Council. since the beginning of the health crisis caused by Covid-19, which soon became economic and social, and that the Benidorm projects were selected for Destination Tourism Sustainability Plan program, through Benidorm DTI proposals + Safe that includes, by 2021, nine key actions that will generate new infrastructures and advances in security issues for companies in the sector in the alignment of the SICTED to the DTI, among others.

The development of a Municipal Plan for Adaptation to Climate Change that Benidorm had already announced at the last Climate Summit, in which it participated by exposing its sustainability actions, has also been positively valued. Benidorm has insisted on its city commitments to advance in the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) and the 2030 Agenda.

A prominent chapter in the audit process has focused on the advancement of the Smart Destination Living Lab, a projection of Benidorm Smart Office that in the field of technology and innovation has reached agreements with universities and public and private organizations to attract technologies , digital nomads and spaces to constitute a true CoLab for the DTI system and that will shortly launch the Red.es project. And in Innovation, the beginnings of the Innovative Public Procurement processes have also been highly valued.

Likewise, the work of  Visit Benidorm Foundation has been highlighted, which also, in this exceptional situation caused by the pandemic and restrictions on mobility, has redefined its strategy and managed to execute with remarkable success new marketing and promotion actions with the help of the Smart Tourism System standardized and certified, since 2016, through the UNE 166006 standard that has made it possible to make decisions considered as very successful.

The audit ended with the Universal Accessibility axis analyzing the recent Tourist Accessibility Plan with which Benidorm has been endowed and positively evaluating the actions to be carried out in 2021 in this area.

In the coming weeks, from the Institute for Spanish Tourist Quality (ICTE), which is the certification body for Quality Systems specially created for the sector, the positive assessment of this audit is expected, which will confirm the progress in the indicators and achievements of the DTI certified which is Benidorm.