SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE, 1st Oct (EUROPA PRESS) –
From 1st to 3rd October, Tenerife hosts the IV Turespaña Convention, organised by Turespaña in collaboration with Turismo de Tenerife, which will be held at the Pirámide de Arona Conference Centre. The opening ceremony on Wednesday will be conducted by the Minister of Industry and Tourism, Jordi Hereu, with the closing led by the Secretary of State for Tourism and president of Turespaña, Rosario Sánchez, who will also engage in a round table discussion with experts about the strategic transformation of the Spanish tourism model.
The presentation of the event will also include the Vice President and Tourism Councillor of the Cabildo de Tenerife, Lope Afonso; the Minister of Tourism and Employment of the Canary Islands Government, Jéssica de León; the Mayor of Arona, Fátima Lemes; and the General Director of Turespaña, Miguel Sanz.
This year’s edition is themed ‘Everything changes again: emerging technologies for a new tourism model’ and will centre around the digitalisation of the sector along with employing technology to create new products and enhance management models, thereby ensuring effective sustainability.
The Vice President and Tourism Councillor of the Cabildo, who will also speak on Thursday at 9:15 a.m. during the Convention, remarked that this is “an event that will illustrate to the world the significance of the tourist destination of Tenerife, demonstrating our robust capacity and offerings, while addressing the major global challenges facing the tourism sector, such as digitalisation, sustainability and transforming tourism into a competitive industry that generates well-being and embeds itself within the territory. Tenerife is a benchmark for both national and international tourism.”
Afonso reiterated that the island “is a premier tourist destination that prioritises sustainability and creates wealth and employment within the territory. This is a crucial event for the national tourism sector, fully aligned with the only successful governance model, which is public-private collaboration.”
The CEO of Tourism of Tenerife, Dimple Melwani, emphasised that it is “a privilege and an excellent opportunity for Tenerife to host the IV Turespaña Convention, a platform for meeting and collaboration between Spanish tourist destinations and firms in the sector, allowing us to connect, share knowledge and best practices, and most importantly, tackle new common challenges faced by destinations.”
For Melwani, “the chosen theme, digitalisation, is essential, as are new technologies and optimal resource management through the proper use of data, enabling destinations to plan and optimise resources while customising offerings and enhancing operational efficiency, always with the aim of becoming a more sustainable destination.”
MEETING PLACE.
The Convention is a gathering point for both the public and private tourism sectors to exchange information and best practices. Through round tables and presentations, the current state and outlook of the sector will be examined, with an in-depth exploration of the digitalisation of tourism and its application to create new products and experiences for visitors, as well as improving management models for destinations and companies, facilitating a transition to a more sustainable and competitive framework.
Moreover, Turespaña will unveil the latest data and trends in the key markets it operates within, with a particular emphasis on Asia, alongside the lines of work and projects for the upcoming year.
Among these initiatives is a pioneering conversational virtual assistant pilot programme on its Spain.info portal, developed using advanced Artificial Intelligence models. This program will not only assist with trip planning to Spain but will also allow Turespaña to tailor the tone and content of interactions and present valuable propositions to users.
With this convention, Turespaña aims, as always, to spotlight critical elements for the technological, sustainable, and competitive evolution of tourism, while reinforcing coordination with the sector and promoting greater public-private collaboration. The convention’s agenda encompasses various aspects, where the use of technology is paramount, from marketing tourism offerings to data processing, planning new tourism strategies, and transforming the Spanish tourism framework.
Tenerife Tourism will present its Tenerife Smart Destination initiative, showcasing how the island is evolving. Additionally, a complementary programme will be organised to highlight the tourism offerings of this area. This programme includes two dinners at iconic venues on the island, where attendees can savour local produce and Tenerife wines, while enjoying traditional culture and customs.
The island offers various experiences such as whale watching, stargazing, excursions to Teide National Park, visits to Loro Parque and Siam Park, culinary experiences in local restaurants, and hiking routes through our natural parks, among others. All activities are arranged by tourism sector companies associated with Turismo de Tenerife.
More than 50 speakers, including professionals and renowned companies within the tourism sector, are expected to participate in these sessions, with over 500 attendees anticipated.
