Benidorm proposes to the ICC in Brussels the creation of a European platform for sharing tourist data

The Mayor of Benidorm, Toni Pérez, has proposed in Brussels the creation of a European platform for sharing tourist data following the example of the Smart Destination Platform (PID), promoted by the Secretary of State for Tourism and SEGITTUR in Spain and which will have its headquarters in Benidorm. The Mayor conveyed this during the second day of the Conference and Forum of Mayors and Companies of the Smart Cities Challenge (ICC) promoted by the European Commission, which is being held in the Belgian capital and where the city has also been the protagonist of a panel today on the implementation of local green agreements in the tourism sector, in which the manager of Visit Benidorm, Leire Bilbao, and the executive director of Hosbec, Mayte García, participated.

Toni Pérez explained at this Forum that Benidorm is “a clear example of how a city can drive leading markets in sustainability through innovation and urban regeneration”, since, “as a pioneering tourist destination, it has integrated sustainability into its development model with key initiatives that contribute to decarbonisation and resilience”. Among these, he mentioned efficient water management; its commitment to sustainable mobility, urban regeneration and energy efficiency; as well as its commitment to local green agreements (LGDs), “demonstrating – he said – that innovation and public-private collaboration can turn sustainability into a competitive advantage, positioning us as a benchmark in responsible tourism within Europe”.

Regarding the role that the European Union can play in facilitating this green transition of destinations and the tourism industry, the mayor of Benidorm has stated that the EU “is key to strengthening the role of tourism as a driver of sustainability, innovation and competitiveness, promoting strategies that enhance cooperation between cities and tourist regions and guaranteeing a more balanced and resilient development of the sector”. Among these strategies, Toni Pérez has defended the creation of a European data sharing platform similar to the Spanish PID, which aims to “integrate, relate and combine public and private data to generate competitive intelligence in destinations, promoting continuous innovation and interconnecting all actors in the value chain: tourists, destinations and companies”. In his opinion, scaling this model to the rest of the EU “would allow destinations to share key information on sustainability, mobility, carrying capacity and visitor behaviour, optimising the planning and competitiveness of tourism at community level”.

The mayor has also proposed other initiatives that could be promoted within the Union's framework and would allow destinations to be more sustainable and more competitive. For example, the creation of a Green Tourism Pact to promote the ecological transformation of the sector through specific financing for energy efficiency in accommodation, digitalisation of tourism and sustainable mobility in highly visited destinations; developing joint purchasing mechanisms in areas such as tourism data management, artificial intelligence for demand prediction, smart sensors to measure sustainability and carbon footprint monitoring tools in tourism, which would reduce costs and facilitate access to these solutions for more destinations; or the review of the legislation on public procurement in tourism, so that destinations can prioritise investments in digitalisation, sustainability and energy efficiency. Finally, Toni Pérez also considered it a “priority” that the European Union promote training in digital and sustainable tourism, with “European training programs in smart tourism that would help strengthen the sector and guarantee its resilience to future challenges”, while promoting “public-private collaboration” as well as “the development of pilot projects for smart tourism and urban regeneration that can be replicated in other destinations”.

“In Benidorm we have been practicing many of these proposals for years and offering our urban environment for the testing of innovative pilots both at city level and to improve people's quality of life”, he recalled, citing as examples of these projects the monitoring of people flows on beaches, a non-invasive teleassistance pilot for vulnerable people based on AI, or with the flight tests of drones in urban environments, among others.

Institutional and technical meetings

In addition to his participation in this Forum, the mayor has also shared impressions and concerns during these days with a good representation of the more than 250 leaders of the main cities and companies that are part of the ICC; experts in urban development and transition; providers of green and digital technology solutions; academics and members of the European Commission itself. Among them, this Thursday he met with Bonifacio García Porras, Head of Unit for Proximity, Social Economy and Creative Industries, Directorate General for Growth (DG GROW) of the European Commission; and Natalia Martínez Páramo, Head of Unit of the SMP/SME Pillar, Internal Market and Support for Standardization, EISMEA, the agency responsible for the development and implementation of the European Innovation Council, which also manages other EU programs focused on supporting SMEs, innovation and the single market.

In parallel to this Mayors and Businesses Forum, in the technical field, the city has also participated together with Lisbon (Portugal) and Bamberg (Germany) in a panel focused on tourism, in which both Leire Bilbao, from Visit Benidorm, and Mayte García, from the tourist business association Hosbec, have highlighted the development of the environmental commitments of the city and the local accommodation sector.

Throughout these two days at the Conference and Forum of Mayors and Businesses of the Smart Cities Challenge (ICC) of the European Commission, Benidorm has participated with its knowledge about efficient water management and on the importance of tourism for local development. The city has been seen as one of the success stories studied to inspire other destinations that are undergoing their transition towards a smarter and more sustainable tourism model, in its capacity as a Green Pioneer destination of Smart Tourism 2025 awarded by the EC.

The ICC aims to highlight the role of EU cities and local businesses in implementing the European Green Deal and the new EU Clean Industrial Deal; to inspire with Local Green Deal (LGD) success stories and to pave the way for future joint actions between cities and industry. Through these meetings, the European Commission also aims to highlight critical challenges and lessons learned by cities and local industry in their career with Local Green Deal; to create a deep understanding of how to implement Local Green Deal on a larger scale; and finally, to contribute to shaping future EU policy by highlighting the importance of collaboration between cities and businesses in achieving sustainability and competitiveness goals.