Public-private partnerships, the inclusion of local communities and the creation of smart destinations are crucial for urban destinations to gain the knowledge and define the policies they need in order to respond to the new demands of hyper-connected and hyper-informed tourists.
These are among the conclusions from UNWTO Conference on City Breaks: Creating Innovative Tourism Experiences that concluded yesterday (16 October) in Valladolid, Spain, with a call for cities to become smart tourism destinations, where tourism governance and the digital economy mesh together to offer travellers diverse and authentic experiences.
The conference brought together tourism leaders from the public and private sectors to analyse how to respond to the growing trend of city breaks as leisure experiences.
“We must understand the evolution of tourists towards greater sustainability and inclusiveness, using new technological tools,” says Jaime Cabal, deputy secretary-general of the World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO). “Creativity and innovation are needed when designing the experiences they are increasingly demanding.”
The councillor for culture and tourism of Valladolid, Ana Maria Redondo, echoes this call, adding: “We need a better understanding of the fundamentals behind the current demand for city break experiences. Smart destination tools are our means to obtain this knowledge.”
The deputy director-general for tourism development and sustainability of the Ministry of Tourism of Spain, Ruben Lopez Pulido, suggests that cities and all destinations change their models of tourism development to respond not only the most demanding tourists, but also to the rise of the digital and knowledge economy.
“Being a smart destination is not just a label, but a process towards the comprehensive transformation of destinations, while always aiming at the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.”
The main conclusions of the conference referred to urban tourism governance models. Participants highlighted that, with the growth of high-speed, low-cost transportation links that provide more and more visitors with access to city breaks, city destinations must respond by prioritizing investments that benefit residents and tourists alike.
They also concluded that, with the technological advances that allow the creation of smart destinations, destination management organisations must shift their focus from only promoting the experiences available for tourists in cities, to managing urban tourism in all its complexity.
For their part, tourism policy makers should use smart destination tools to study the impact of tourism on the profitability and sustainability of a city, and place the destination at the centre of policy changes. These conclusions will be taken into account in the UNWTO work plan on urban tourism.