Smart tourism, smart management, and digitalization are key factors in achieving sustainable and responsible tourism
The digitization of tourism companies and destinations and technology-based management, innovation, and knowledge are crucial to achieving sustainable, responsible, and quality tourism. This is one of the main conclusions reached at the CETT Smart Tourism Congress Barcelona, where specialists worldwide analyzed smart tourism and its prospects this past Wednesday and Thursday at the Hotel Alimara BCN.
Smart tourism, metaverse, and smart mobility
Over two days, the congress delved into the challenges the sector faces in the wake of the pandemic, exploring innovative formulas. The experts agreed that smart tourism management and the digitization of companies and destinations are becoming a lever for change in the sector, with smart mobility applied to tourism, the rise of the metaverse, and the arrival and consolidation of 5G as clear examples of that.
In this sense, the participants stressed that the development of smart tourism could be the vehicle for improving the current global tourism model. Smart tourism must be the mechanism that helps to promote a sector of the future based on the promotion of sustainable development, efficiency, and competitiveness of the destinations and the stakeholders that work together in these territories.
Some of the speakers who analyzed these issues were> Carolin Engel (head of karlsruhe. digital and deputy head of the Department of Science of Karlsruhe), Ignacio de las Cuevas Rojo (head of Global Partnerships of the Department of Technological Consultancy and manager of the Centre of Excellence in Tourism Innovation of Eurecat), Jelka Tepsic (deputy mayor of Dubrovnik), Lídia Montero (Ph.D. in Computer Science at UPC), Helena Guardans (president of Webhelp Spain), Cristina Moyano de Navascués (corporate strategy - investment manager at Amadeus Ventures), Pablo Soto (Innovation Manager at Vodafone Business) and Marianna Sigala (University of Piraeus).
At the congress's opening, the President of CETT, Dr. Maria Abellanet Meya, said: "Tourism has to develop in a diversified economic context and from an ethical, sustainable, and socially cohesive perspective. To face these challenges and generate positive changes, tourism has to rethink and transform itself, wisely, establishing new criteria and limits, new ways of doing things". According to Abellanet, "the future, in which all of us must be an active and responsible part, lies in implementing a new perspective on tourism, one that is more regenerative, inclusive, sustainable and digital; respectful of others and nature. Knowledge and applied research are the foundations of this transformation".
Presentation of the Entrepreneurs Awards
During the congress, awards were presented to Beder, Noah, and Ikurius, business projects winners of the 18th edition of the CETT Foundation's CETT Entrepreneurs Awards. The awards recognize the winners with a 6-month mentoring period by members of the CETT mentoring team and a financial award.
Smart tourism congress
The CETT Smart Tourism Congress Barcelona was one of the first international congresses to deal with smart tourism from an academic point of view hosting high-level scientific contributions from the beginning. The UB Chair in Tourism, Hospitality, and Gastronomy CETT organizes the congress with the co-organization of Barcelona City Council and Barcelona Province Council and the support of the World Tourism Organisation (WTO).
