Digital Tourist will return to Benidorm in 2022

Digital Tourist congress will return to Benidorm in 2022, to once again turn the city into the epicenter of debate and analysis on technological solutions applied to tourism. This has been confirmed today by the president of Ametic and of the Smartcities Commission of the entity, Pedro Mier and Adolfo Borrero, and the mayor of Benidorm, Toni Pérez, during the closing of the fourth edition of the congress, which has been held for two days in the city and that has had the presence of the Minister of Tourism, Reyes Maroto.

During the closing ceremony, the mayor spoke about the “powerful messages” with which this fourth edition has ended, focused on the definition and execution of Next Generation funds and the opportunity they represent for destinations and for the reactivation and competitiveness of the city. tourist industry. Among the messages, Toni Pérez highlighted the one launched by Minister Maroto on the creation of the Smart Destination Platform, which will connect destinations, companies and tourists and with which it is intended to promote the recovery of the sector and place Spain at the forefront technological.

The mayor has indicated that this Platform together with the Next Generation funds and the Sustainability Plans configure "the moment to be able to apply everything that the tourism and technology industries have been developing in this difficult time." "It is the moment - he has affirmed - to do things well to reap the fruits, and to do it magnificently from the maximum collaboration between Administrations and with the private initiative".

Previously during the discussion table that he shared with the mayors of Calvià, Gijón, Málaga and Logroño, Toni Pérez has warned of the “demand of the times” that will mark the execution of the projects that may be financed from the Next Generation; a circumstance to which the president of Ametic has referred during the closing, which has specified that "there are two logical concerns regarding these funds: be careful in defining the projects and their execution".
Faced with this requirement, which constitutes a challenge, the mayor has indicated that in the case of the proposal that Benidorm will launch “they will be aligned with our DTI + Safe Strategic Plan, with the 2030 Agenda and with the SDGs”.

Precisely SDG number 17 –'Alliances to achieve the objectives'- has been one of the most mentioned throughout Digital Tourist 2021, as mentioned by Adolfo Borrero. The president of the Smartcities Commission of Ametic has highlighted that "the public-private alliance will be fundamental to execute the funds" Next Generation.

Regarding the development of the congress, Borrero has stated that this edition has meant "the consolidation of the Digital Tourist brand", linked again to Benidorm in 2022. Facing the fifth edition of the congress, the desire to be able to talk about the Platform announced today by the minister, as "it will be a sign that we have been able to coordinate."

The minister herself has been in charge of closing the Digital Tourist congress, pointing out that "the Next Generation is an important instrument", but also stressing that the key is to see "how we land our sustainability plans, the Smart Destination Platform and the rest of the tools ”so that Spain“ is a country that is at the forefront not only in the number of tourists it receives, but above all because we have taken advantage of technology, incorporating sustainability, to make our tourism industry the best ”.

During the event, Maroto presented two new tools based on artificial intelligence and Spanish technology, launched this week by TurEspaña: a Covid monitor dashboard, with information compared to 30 countries on the incidence of the virus, vaccination, index security perception and flight search balances; and some dynamic panels that incorporate information to see the evolution of tourist activity.