Celia Romero, coordinator of DTI managing body of Benidorm, Smart Tourism award from AMETIC

The congress Digital Tourist 2019 presented its awards last night after the end of the first day in which they took place, after the opening ceremony where the Minister of Tourism, Reyes Maroto, and the Mayor of Benidorm, Toni Pérez, took part in six discussion tables and an innovation workshop.

The Digital Tourist 2019 organization awarded five awards for good practices in innovative and sustainable tourism in five modalities immersed in the processes that are recommended by AMETIC

In Smart Tourism, the winner has been Celia Romero, coordinator of the DTI Management Body of Benidorm and director of Smart Tourism consultancy, for her continued work in the development and implementation of the UNE 178501 standard and its application in the City of Benidorm, with the which has managed to be the first certified Smart Tourist Destination in the world and the first to achieve the Smart Destination badge, of the SEGITTUR methodology, for exceeding 80% of the indicators.

Celia Romero received the award, a terracotta from the emeritus artist Juanma Pérez Vinagre, from the director of Standardization Programs and Interest Groups at UNE, Paloma García. Romero thanked the award with family references and the Visit Benidorm team, led by Leire Bilbao, especially pointing out to the mayor "for being the first mayor who believed in the possibility of obtaining certification as a Smart Tourist Destination for Benidorm" and encouraged all city ​​councils to get involved in obtaining certifications to "achieve excellence in services to citizens and tourists".

The Mayor Toni Pérez presented the award, in the Smart Tourist Territory modality, to María Nava Castro Domínguez, director of Tourism of Galicia, for the application of virtual tours, augmented reality and advanced Apps on  Camino de Santiago.

The president of SEGITTUR Enrique Martínez Marín presented the trophy, in the Economy of Tourism Data category, to Orange, a telephone operator, for the excellence in the use of data from mobile networks to generate intelligence in tourist applications

Belén Crespo, of the High Commissioner for the 2030 Agenda, delivered the distinction, as a Sustainable Tourist Destination, to the City Council of Seville for its commitment and involvement towards sustainability in Tourism that has positioned the Seville brand internationally.

And, finally, Alex Villeyra, of Mabrian, received from the director of Business Development of Mastercard, Alejandro Banegas, the award in the modality Innovation in Intelligent Tourism. Mabrian, the Big Data platform for Smart Destinations, has been considered, by AMETIC, as a revelation company in Technological Innovation, for the treatment of the data with the most relevant results. Villeyra, like all the winners, thanked the award and said that in a short time Mabrian has managed to "be in the world of smart tourism, always stopping in Benidorm."