The VIII Plenary of the Network of Urban Initiatives brings together in Benidorm the Spanish cities that have received funds for their EDUSI

Benidorm today hosts the VIII Plenary of the Network of Urban Initiatives (RIU) in which Spanish cities that have received European funds for the implementation and implementation of Strategies for Sustainable Urban Development and Integration (EDUSI), and in which they are also participating present the rest of the administrations involved and representatives of the European Commission.

The mayor, Toni Pérez, welcomed the participants in this plenary together with the General Secretary of Housing of the Ministry of Development, Helena Beunza, and the deputy head of the Portugal and Spain unit of DG REGIO of the European Commission, Jordi Torrebadella.

Toni Pérez has indicated that "Benidorm has a proven tourist experience" and at the moment works "for being the first Certified Tourist Destination". "An effort - he affirmed - that has a perfect complement in the EDUSI, that we are already implementing and that we hope to fulfill at face value in the required time horizon".

The mayor stressed that the Benidorm is an EDUSI "born of the maximum participation of civil society," and that "is already allowing us to improve the quality of life of citizens." In this regard, he recalled that EDUSI "also revolves around the improvement of quality and access to information technologies (ICT), the reduction of CO2 emissions, the protection of the environment and the efficiency in the use of resources, as well as the fight against inequality and poverty ".

It has also meant that among the participants and speakers of the Plenary is evaluating "the work that Benidorm is doing tirelessly to travel a path that until now was unprecedented for us, as it is to go to public calls where there are many funds, basically come of Europe "and do it, in addition, with" a very high level of projects ".

The Secretary General of Housing has indicated that there are already 173 Spanish cities benefiting from ERDF funds for their EDUSI, including Benidorm, selected in the third round of this program and has obtained 10 million for the development and implementation of projects. Beunza has valued "the great effort" made by local administrations to "plan a strategy based on joint work"; as well as the one carried out by the European Commission, the Central Government and the RIU itself.

Torrebadella, meanwhile, has reported that the European Commission has allocated more than 1,400 million euros for EDUSI projects, "exceeding the minimum threshold of 5%," and added that it will support and advise municipalities on how to implement your strategies

Within the framework of this national meeting, the evolution and the degree of implementation of ERDF assistance will also be highlighted to promote and help local entities to implement their strategies. In addition, the City Councils of Santa Coloma de Gramanet, Barcelona, ​​Murcia and Cieza will present their experience; and two working groups will address the progress and challenges faced by local entities when executing their EDUSI. In parallel, an informative day will be held on the development of the Spanish Urban Agenda.

Benidorm, state epicenter of Tourist Intelligence

Throughout the week Benidorm will be "the epicenter" of the debate and analysis on tourism intelligence and transformation of cities thanks to the DigitalTourist'18 meeting and the XIX International Tourism Forum.

Tomorrow, October 16, the first Forum of the Digital Industry focused on Smart Tourist Destinations (DTI) will be held, organized by AMETIC (1), and in which the tourism sector, administrations and industry will meet. technological During two days, more than 300 professionals and leaders of the digital tourism ecosystem and more than 30 innovators and creatives in this field will discuss smart tourism destinations through round tables and presentations.

The opening of the DigitalTourist'18 is scheduled tomorrow at 09.00 at the Hotel Villaitana and will involve the mayor, Toni Pérez; the regional Secretary of Tourism, Francesc Colomer; the general deputy director of Urban Development of the Ministry of Finance, Lola Ortiz; the president of Segittur, Enrique Martínez; and the general director of AMETIC, Mª Teresa Gómez. However, the activities linked to this forum begin this afternoon with a table in which Celia Romero participates, coordinator of the Ente Gestor DTI of the Benidorm City Council and responsible for the internationalization of the Smart Tourism Standard.

AMETIC - Multisectorial Association of Companies of Electronics, Information and Communication Technologies, Telecommunications and Digital Content - is the employer of the Spanish digital and technological sector.