The mayor praises "Benidorm model" as an example of planning and sustainability

The Mayor of Benidorm, Toni Pérez, opened this morning the International Tourism Forum, which this year celebrates its nineteenth edition "with the same enthusiasm as it did the first time in 1995" and has done so by defining it as "a space for analysis , debate and meeting in which Benidorm, the world of tourism, has been reflecting together with professionals and entrepreneurs in the sector on the present and future of tourism.

Although the format has been changing throughout its nineteen editions, Toni Pérez has stressed that "the fund" has never changed "because the ultimate goal has always been the same," he said, "to serve as a reference in planning, the development and management of destinations and tourist companies ".

The first mayor stressed in his speech that "Benidorm is no longer just a proven destination for tourism success and a model to follow in terms of planning and sustainability. The "Benidorm model" is also a reference for accredited professionals in the world of urbanism, mobility, accessibility, innovation and tourism intelligence ", an idea that has been completed emphasizing that" it is also a consolidated framework for reflection and study. Benidorm must also increasingly be a laboratory of ideas that attracts talent to reflect on the future of the city in particular and tourism in general. "

In this sense, he referred to the celebration in the city, just over 24 hours ago, of the "Digital Tourist", a national congress that brought together the top sectorial leaders, from the business, political and administrative spheres, to study the Ecosystem of the Intelligent Tourist Destinations. He also recalled the celebration on Monday of this week of the eighth edition of the Network of Urban Initiatives (RIU) where almost all of the Spanish cities that have received European funds for the implementation and execution of Development Strategies have met. Urban Sustainable and Integrative (EDUSI).

He indicated that the Day that the Network of Urban Initiatives held in Benidorm, which was attended by representatives of the European Commission and the rest of the national, regional, provincial and local administrations, as well as the Digital Tourist forum, "have also served to note that Benidorm is called to be the first certified tourist destination in the world, improving the many benefits that a territory can offer when the binomial city / destination coexists ".

For the mayor of Benidorm "all this is just the sum of collective efforts. Today, -he said-, Benidorm is placed in the head of the municipalities that bet on the application of new technologies in the management of their services and their resources, with a clear objective: make the most of the benefits improve in the management and, from that reality, improve governance. "

As an example of all this, it placed the International Tourism Forum "for the talent and prestige of the specialists, political and sectoral leaders who will participate in it"

The mayor said that "Benidorm has worked tenaciously looking for the answer we should give to the new challenges of digital transformation" and points out that "tourism has not been alien to the effects of the digital revolution. Tourists, operators and destinations, he said, we have faced the challenge of digitization in its different areas: hyper-connected tourists, companies with global spirit and more inclusive host communities, ready to take advantage of the opportunities of universal connectivity.

Toni Pérez has indicated, finally, that "we are moving from Big Data to Smart Data and all this places us before a reality that poses new challenges and a new scenario in permanent change," and ended up assuring "that none of those changes that we can bring the future, can separate us from that permanent goal that we have in Benidorm to continue being a city designed and created for the happiness of people; to continue deepening in the values ​​for which we bet when we talk about tourism and that are not other than those of an inclusive and sustainable economic and social development, innovative, accessible and full of opportunities for all ".