Benidorm presents the "DigitalTourist'18" program, the first forum for intelligent tourist destinations

The institutional inauguration, in collaboration with the Provincial Council of Alicante, will be carried out by the mayor of Benidorm, Antonio Pérez; the General Director of Tourism of the Generalitat Valenciana, Raquel Huete; the General Deputy Director of Urban Development, Lola Ortiz; the General Deputy Director for the Promotion of the Information Society, Antonio Alcolea; the president of Segittur, Enrique Marínez and the general director of AMETIC, María Teresa Gómez. h6>

Benidorm will host the DigitalTourist'18 congress on October 16, organized by AMETIC, the Spanish technology and digital sector employers' association, which will take place at the Meliá Villaitana hotel. Under the slogan 'Driving the application of digital technologies in smart destinations', the meeting, which is configured as the first Forum of the Digital Industry for smart tourism destinations, will be composed of four major global themes: circular economy and efficient use of resources; digital transformation and enabling technologies; water and management of urban services, and smart buildings.

This congress is the essential event for the Ecosystem of intelligent tourist destinations, in which the most important sectorial leaders will meet, both at the business level and at the political and administrative level. The digital tourist will be the center of attention of the event, a profile that the major tour operators have already integrated into their strategies and that SMEs also begin to incorporate.

Through round tables in morning and afternoon sessions and stands area, the main topics related to Digital Enablers Technologies will be discussed, showing the most relevant initiatives of administrations and companies that are currently being developed in Spain. The Congress is composed of discussion tables on such innovative issues as Heritage and Cultural Tourism, Smart Beaches, Intelligent Water Management in DTI, Mobility and geo-positioning in Tourism, Accessible Tourism for all: an opportunity within our reach or Models of business in Intelligent Tourist Destinations.

In the welcome and institutional opening, in collaboration with the Diputación de Alicante, will be the mayor of Benidorm, Antonio Pérez; the General Director of Tourism of the Generalitat Valenciana, Raquel Huete; the General Deputy Director of Urban Development, Lola Ortiz; the General Deputy Director for the Promotion of the Information Society, Antonio Alcolea; the president of Segittur, Enrique Marínez and the general director of AMETIC, María Teresa Gómez. The Secretary of State for Tourism, Isabel María Oliver Sagreras, will speak on the closing day.

The Congress DigitalTourist'18 takes on special relevance considering that Spain is the second tourist destination worldwide, with 82 million tourists in 2017 who made an expenditure of 87,000 million euros. The number of tourists traveling to Spain has grown by 25 million people in the last five years and the upward trend could cause the tourism sector to reach a weight of 20% of the national GDP.

VIII Plenary of the Urban Initiatives Network h4>
Prior to the celebration of DigitalTourist'18, on Monday, October 15, the 'VIII Plenary of the Urban Initiatives Network (RIU)' will be organized, composed of more than 150 Spanish town halls, most of which have been beneficiaries of the Ministry's EDUSI Plan of the Treasury, which is endowed with 1,400 million euros. The RIU will address key issues for the development of cities, such as the application of ERDF funds, the conclusions to the survey of cities on the use of ICTs made by local entities and recommendations and examples for a more effective use of these technologies.

The DigitalTourist'18 will also have a previous table on the afternoon of October 15, and then the RIU, on the UNE178 standards on smart cities, with a special focus on tourism.