Benidorm moves towards the DTI challenge by expanding the free Wi-Fi network to all beaches

Benidorm continues to take steps forward to become the first Smart Tourist Destination (DTI) certified nationwide. For this, and in view of the results of the pilot experiences, the wifi network will be extended to all beaches for free access, as has been announced today by the mayor, Toni Pérez, on the first day of the International Tourism Fair of Madrid (FITUR), inaugurated at noon by their Majesties the King and Queen of Spain.

The mayor has presented the details of this project with Mauricio Socias, head of 'Wiongo', company that will be responsible for the placement and management of this free Wi-Fi network, which will initially operate through 30 devices installed in different elements of urban furniture as luminaries or traffic lights.

Pérez has clarified that this service "is at zero cost for VIsit Benidorm Foundation and for the City Council", which will be limited "to give up the partial use of urban furniture" so that the merchant has access to electricity to install the equipment.

Apart from improving the services provided to citizens on the beaches and increasing the competitiveness of Benidorm, this network will allow the City Council and the Foundation to have "information in real time and the profile and behavior of tourists ". With these statistics, or Big Data, in hand "we can plan more effectively our tourism strategies and improve the experience of citizens who visit Benidorm and its residents."

Pérez has insisted that pilot Wi-Fi experiences carried out last year with Cellnex on one side and with the Provincial Council of Alicante on the other "corroborate the importance of this information", since the results "have come to demystify some concepts linked to the population over 55 years old and the use of new technologies ".

Through the agreement reached with 'Wiongo', the City Hall and Visit Foundation will have data on visitor like their origin, how many are new, how many repeat and how many choose not to connect, their mobility and what their preferences and interests are. In addition, to obtain statistical data in real time, the City will have "at least 10% of the capacity of the network for municipal use". However, in case of emergency, 100% of the capacity of the network would be in the hands of the security and emergency services.

The mayor has anticipated that this Wi-Fi network is expected to be operational at Easter and at full capacity in the summer season.

Pérez stressed that "from the beginning, the public and private sectors have been clear that it was essential to implement in our city the philosophy 'smart city' throughout the value chain of tourism" to "increase our competitiveness and differentiate ourselves from other destinations".

Other technological projects already implemented

In addition to the pilots projects launched by Visit Benidorm in specific points of Levante Beach and the Castle area through Cellnex and the Provincial Council in the last two years, other innovative projects have been implemented, such as VisitBenidorm Tourist APP with technology 'beacon', and Geofence, a pilot system for coordinating security forces through Notico Safe APP.