Puerto de la Cruz in its commitment to continue the development and modernization of the town and adapt it to new times and new tourist demands has recently joined the project “Intelligent Tourist Destinations”, promoted by the Ministry of Industry, Energy and Tourism.
What does participation in this project mean?
First of all, an audit of Puerto de la Cruz will be carried out, which will make possible to analyze the current situation with regard to innovation, technology, sustainability and accessibility of the tourist destination to subsequently establish an action plan.
The action plan that will promote the town in these four fundamental areas must have the comprehensive and coordinated support of the public sector, the private sector and the local population.
The purpose is to further increase the value of tourist destinations such as Puerto de la Cruz by taking advantage of both its natural and cultural attractions to create a sustainable and innovative development.
The four fundamental pillars of the “Smart Destinations”
Innovation and new technologies
The application of “Big Data” technology in tourist destinations, using this immense amount of information with intelligence, is an opportunity to achieve innovative competitive advantages and being able to provide tourists with integrated and quality services for them to have an excellent experience.
But innovation may go hand in hand with many other new emerging technologies that can provide the tourist destination with a differentiating element, both in terms of promotion (management) and in the implementation of new services.
In the specific case of Puerto de la Cruz, in recent months its Department of Tourism has been working on a joint project with the University of La Laguna related to a tourist intelligence system.
The system uses large volumes of structured and unstructured data from social networks and other additional sources that are analyzed to better understand the tourist image of Puerto de la Cruz.
Accessibility
Eliminate both architectural barriers and communication are the key points when making a tourist destination accessible and ensuring people’s rights, a work in which Puerto de la Cruz has been working for years.
Sustainability
Working in the development of sustainability in a tourist destination is essential in an increasingly globalised world. For this reason, special emphasis must be placed on creating an environmentally friendly tourism ecosystem, economy and heritage, making also use of new technologies.
A world in constant change
With its participation in the “Intelligent Tourist Destinations” project, Puerto de la Cruz shows once again that it continues to evolve to take advantage of the opportunities that new technologies can offer. The aim is to offer better experiences to tourists who visit this beautiful town and adapt to the unstoppable changing context of the information society in which we are immersed.
