Page 167 - Reference framework for integrated management of an SSC - A U4SSC deliverable on city platforms

Spain is a world leader when it comes to tourism. This economic activity amounted, in 2019, to
nearly 12 per cent of the GDP and 14 per cent of employment. That same year, the country almost
topped the world expenditure by tourists ranking with nearly EUR 90 million, and the world tourist
arrivals ranking with more than 80 million international tourists.

Nevertheless, the Spanish tourism sector was not spared the consequences arising from the
health crisis, currently finding itself at a delicate moment in which the implementation of a modern
and competitive strategy that faces these impacts and paves the way for the pending major
transformations is vital.

Rising to such a challenge, the PRTR contains a specific component aimed towards the modernization
of the tourism sector by encompassing different strategic axes such as destination and tourist
products sustainability, energy efficiency and circular economy bolstering, digital transformation
and competitiveness renewal. This component had an estimated investment of nearly EUR 4 000
million, corresponding to 10 per cent of the digitalization axis, which is key when attracting tourists
who are progressively more hyperconnected. Moreover, only through the deployment of actions
of this nature will the tourism sector be able to take advantage of its potential as a receptor of the
added value that technologies such as Artificial Intelligence could represent for this activity.

Consequently, the PRTR anticipated the development of new digital tools within a continuous
innovation process to ensure the sustainable development of destinations, addressing aspects
such as accessibility, tourist interaction and integration with the environment, and improvement
of the experience and the quality of life of residents.

Smart Destination Platform: Definition, objectives and scope

A concrete example of the harnessing of new technologies is the implementation of a Smart
Destination Platform that improves the interoperability of the public and private service offer.
Simultaneously, this gives all agents the opportunity to relate digitally with the tourists. This is a
Platform that provides added value services to the members of the Smart Destinations Network
and a common national technological infrastructure to boost the digital transformation of Spanish
tourism destinations.

Involved in its creation are the Spanish Secretary of State for Tourism through the State Company
for the Management of Tourism Innovation and Technologies (SEGITTUR), who currently defines
the Smart Destination Platform as a shared services platform that incorporates a collection of digital
solutions that solve key public issues and market failures, at digital and physical levels, throughout
the tourist travel cycle. This tool will be capable of a country scale management with hundreds
of destinations and thousands of SMEs connected and monitored, it will also contribute to the
acceleration of the digitalization of key processes, the improvement of the tourist experience, the
carbon footprint reduction, the companies’ business figure improvement and the generation of
prosperity for citizens, all aimed at achieving a competitive model based on data and algorithms.

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