Smart Tourism Destinations in 2023
Smart Tourism Destinations go beyond tech. They're inclusive, sustainable and benefit both tourists and residents. Spain's programme uses a rating system to measure success in these areas.
Smart Tourism Destinations go beyond tech. They're inclusive, sustainable and benefit both tourists and residents. Spain's programme uses a rating system to measure success in these areas.
A smart destination is not simply about its relationship with digital data; it is inclusive, responsible, unifying and creative. As for technology, it remains at the service of smart tourism.
The network of Smart Tourism Destinations (STDs) was created in 2019 and is based on a rigorous methodology including 97 criteria and 261 indicators. The STD distinction is awarded to cities, municipalities or departments that achieve a compliance level equal to or greater than 80% of the criteria in the following areas:
Currently, five Spanish destinations hold STD status and around sixty are in the process of obtaining it. A phased process including a diagnosis, recommendations, implementation of the action plan and renewal of the status every two years, is offered to member destinations. This programme is supported by the Secretary of State for Tourism and operated by the State Company for the Management of Innovation and Tourism Technologies (SEGITTUR).
This municipality of 70,450 residents employs some 60,000 people in tourism. It aims to create a better city for residents. In this way, it helps to make the destination more attractive for tourists and society. Several initiatives have enabled the city to achieve its STD status. Here are a few of them:
Universal accessibility plans: the customer journey is carefully considered and infrastructures are adapted for people with disabilities (movement to and within restaurants, hotels, etc.). Beaches are certified as accessible. Communication tools are also redesigned (e.g. QR codes that can be captured from a dista and tourist maps for blind and visually impaired people).
In terms of mobility, the city offers 134 km of connected cycle paths.
Crowd management: the beach is equipped with an intelligent Wi-Fi system to monitor in real-time the location and number of people on the beach. Therefore, the authorities can take action to control visitor flow and initiate awareness-raising initiatives accordingly.
Real-time data collection and analysis system, particularly on water management, in collaboration with Dinapsis (in Spanish) - the control and technology operations centre. Over the past 25 years, the city's water consumption has decreased by 18% despite a 40% increase in its population and a 26% increase in tourist stays.
Other monitoring projects are being deployed within Dinapsis to ensure a balance between the local population and tourists. The volume and seasonality of tourist flows will be analysed using various data (water consumption by smart sensors, wastewater sampling, hotel occupancy rates, movement in public spaces by satellites and sensors, etc.). In addition, 200 environmental criteria that influence tourist activity will be monitored (climate data, air quality, etc.).
Since 2019, the European Capitals of Smart Tourism initiative has annually rewarded European cities with the best practices in digital technology, accessibility, sustainable development, cultural heritage and creativity.
The winners of the latest editions all share one common point: the transformation or adaptation of their governance model to favour sharing and knowledge exchange. According to Julie Benisty, Sustainable Tourism Manager at Bordeaux Tourisme et Congrès, there is a great need to develop a collective approach to involve everyone in the process of building the tourism of tomorrow. The creation of the Agora for tourism in Bordeaux Métropole is an open sharing space that meets this need.
On the Spanish side, the Seville Smart Tourism Office integrates a laboratory in sustainable urban tourism. Public entities, tourism SMEs and large corporations debate in this innovation space in order to meet the post-pandemic challenges. Previously, a pilot project in artificial intelligence had been set up to track movements and consumption habits in the city. The aim is to improve the tourist offer and guarantee the balance between tourists and the well-being of the local population through predictive analyses based on a multitude of indicators.
Cutting-edge technological infrastructures are at the heart of the smart destination. The capture and processing of real-time data is becoming increasingly sophisticated. Working collaboratively, knowing how to organise this information and apply it for the common good are some of the new challenges to be met by destinations that embark on this path.
A smart destination is not simply about its relationship with digital data; it is inclusive, responsible, unifying and creative. As for technology, it remains at the service of smart tourism.
The network of Smart Tourism Destinations (STDs) was created in 2019 and is based on a rigorous methodology including 97 criteria and 261 indicators. The STD distinction is awarded to cities, municipalities or departments that achieve a compliance level equal to or greater than 80% of the criteria in the following areas:
Currently, five Spanish destinations hold STD status and around sixty are in the process of obtaining it. A phased process including a diagnosis, recommendations, implementation of the action plan and renewal of the status every two years, is offered to member destinations. This programme is supported by the Secretary of State for Tourism and operated by the State Company for the Management of Innovation and Tourism Technologies (SEGITTUR).
This municipality of 70,450 residents employs some 60,000 people in tourism. It aims to create a better city for residents. In this way, it helps to make the destination more attractive for tourists and society. Several initiatives have enabled the city to achieve its STD status. Here are a few of them:
Universal accessibility plans: the customer journey is carefully considered and infrastructures are adapted for people with disabilities (movement to and within restaurants, hotels, etc.). Beaches are certified as accessible. Communication tools are also redesigned (e.g. QR codes that can be captured from a dista and tourist maps for blind and visually impaired people).
In terms of mobility, the city offers 134 km of connected cycle paths.
Crowd management: the beach is equipped with an intelligent Wi-Fi system to monitor in real-time the location and number of people on the beach. Therefore, the authorities can take action to control visitor flow and initiate awareness-raising initiatives accordingly.
Real-time data collection and analysis system, particularly on water management, in collaboration with Dinapsis (in Spanish) - the control and technology operations centre. Over the past 25 years, the city's water consumption has decreased by 18% despite a 40% increase in its population and a 26% increase in tourist stays.
Other monitoring projects are being deployed within Dinapsis to ensure a balance between the local population and tourists. The volume and seasonality of tourist flows will be analysed using various data (water consumption by smart sensors, wastewater sampling, hotel occupancy rates, movement in public spaces by satellites and sensors, etc.). In addition, 200 environmental criteria that influence tourist activity will be monitored (climate data, air quality, etc.).
Since 2019, the European Capitals of Smart Tourism initiative has annually rewarded European cities with the best practices in digital technology, accessibility, sustainable development, cultural heritage and creativity.
The winners of the latest editions all share one common point: the transformation or adaptation of their governance model to favour sharing and knowledge exchange. According to Julie Benisty, Sustainable Tourism Manager at Bordeaux Tourisme et Congrès, there is a great need to develop a collective approach to involve everyone in the process of building the tourism of tomorrow. The creation of the Agora for tourism in Bordeaux Métropole is an open sharing space that meets this need.
On the Spanish side, the Seville Smart Tourism Office integrates a laboratory in sustainable urban tourism. Public entities, tourism SMEs and large corporations debate in this innovation space in order to meet the post-pandemic challenges. Previously, a pilot project in artificial intelligence had been set up to track movements and consumption habits in the city. The aim is to improve the tourist offer and guarantee the balance between tourists and the well-being of the local population through predictive analyses based on a multitude of indicators.
Cutting-edge technological infrastructures are at the heart of the smart destination. The capture and processing of real-time data is becoming increasingly sophisticated. Working collaboratively, knowing how to organise this information and apply it for the common good are some of the new challenges to be met by destinations that embark on this path.
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