The mayor highlights the sustained commitment for more than six decades for management and the new objectives focused on the SDGs and 2030 Agenda
Toni Pérez participates in FiturTechY Sustainability on responsible tourism
"The will to be sustainable is born from commitment and responsibility"
The mayor of Benidorm Toni Pérez has participated earlier this afternoon in the discussion table “Development of the regenerative model in destinations. ODS ”of the FiturTechY Sustainability session on regenerative tourism.
He has been accompanied in the debate, moderated by Pili Malagarriga, director of Segundo Mundo, by the deputy director general of Development and Sustainability of the Secretary of State for Tourism, Ana Muñoz; Garden Hotels Marketing Director, Helena Guitart; and the Director of EMEA Sustainability at Iberostar Hoteles & VResorts, Soraya Romero.
Toni Pérez has highlighted the existence "of a consensus on the path towards the responsible tourism model" and that in destinations like Benidorm "there is empathy between those who enjoy the destination and those who reside and make it up." He encouraged the fair value of tourism, "as a positive industry committed to the territory, as is the case of Benidorm, which for more than six decades has maintained its organization and norm".
Pérez raised the educational facet of tourism, "academy of good practices", encouraging "to take advantage of the many lessons it has offered us." And on the issues of responsible tourism, he pointed out that "the key is to understand social, environmental and economic responsibility."
He cited local alliances as an example of good practices in this field and highlighted both local and municipal water management as a milestone of maximum sustainability performance. The mayor highlighted the duality of services of many urban infrastructures such as bike lanes, where "the more than 110 kilometers have their component of sustainable mobility for residents and tourist attraction for visitors."
Pérez concluded by pointing out that on this issue "progress is made as awareness grows" and gave the example of Sustainable Benidorm and the variation in its perception between the World Travel Market Fair in 2019 and Fitur of 2020. He insisted on valuing the sustainability of the tourist destinations because "either we are capable of improving everything we offer or we will not be useful to the planet." Based on this, he encouraged “to take advantage of the transformation lever that this situation offers us”, insisting that “the will of the regenerative model is born of commitment and responsibility”, pointing out that there are tools for this, “such as the SDGs, normalization and the 2030 Agenda ”.
As a culmination, Pérez gave the example of the 8 members of the Alliance of Tourist Municipalities of Sun and Beach, "pioneers, consolidated, competitive and competitors, who have not hesitated to ally ourselves to strengthen ourselves in the claim and achievement of common objectives."
The technical secretary of the AMT is developed by Instituto Tecnológico Hotelero who collaborates in the organization of FiturTechY.