CoE in Tourism Innovation businesses and organisations are jointly spearheading innovative projects for more resilient and sustainable tourism. They include a pilot study scrutinising data from booking engines to learn about the profile of visitors to Catalan tourist attractions and a project which will identify and put forward the best tools for optimal talent management in tourism businesses and organisations.
“The public-private partnership between the enterprises and organisations behind the Centre of Excellence in Tourism Innovation means that together we can generate the tools needed to tackle tourism challenges and trends so as to restart tourism business and make it more resilient,” says Ignacio de las Cuevas, CoE in Tourism Innovation manager and operations director at Eurecat’s Tourism Innovation Department.
A pilot study is currently underway on the profile of visitors to tourist attractions in Catalonia by harnessing data and variables from the bookings made by tourists using attraction management engines. The results will reveal the profiles and features of the visitors to tourist attractions in Catalonia’s destinations.
Ángel Díaz, chair of Advanced Leisure Services, points out that by tapping digital technologies to understand the profile and behaviour of current and potential visitors “companies can get hold of reliable information for decision-making and thus be more efficient in how we use our marketing resources and in our promotional and sales operations.”
The data have been selected by the CoE promoters’ Data Working Group and will make it possible to draw up analysis and segmentation reports on tourists by devising indicators about, for instance, where customers come from, sales channels, how far in advance they book and the types of rates.
“Tourism calls for constant analysis,” notes Rosa Pujol, deputy chair of Lleida Provincial Council’s Tourist Board. “In the current situation due to Covid-19, the data and all the tools we have available to us will help us to make the industry more competitive and put in place new strategies for a more sustainable management model anchored in excellence, responsibility, ecology and innovation.”
“Tourism intelligence is the bedrock of sustainable management of any destination,” argues Abigail Garrido, Barcelona Provincial Council’s Member for Tourism. “You need reliable data coupled with careful analysis and to make sure the knowledge generated is properly transferred. This underpins what the Barcelona Provincial Council’s Tourism Laboratory (LABTurisme) is working on and the partnership with the CoE in Tourism Innovation.”
Meanwhile, the Talent Management Working Group is running a qualitative research project to identify, analyse and recommend the best tools to hand for optimal talent management at Centre of Excellence in Tourism Innovation businesses and organisations.
An initial assessment was drawn up on the basis of the dozen interviews conducted and reports from the tourism and associated sectors were studied to evaluate and identify structural tools and resources. The project is to share information about these tools in an indicative action plan which businesses and organisations will be able to shape and pursue based on their own particular circumstances.
Norbert Bes, director of Girona Provincial Council’s Costa Brava Girona Tourist Board, welcomes the CoE in Tourism Innovation’s projects as he believes that “building up intelligence will become a key factor in delivering a tourism product tailored to new visitor profiles.”
“We are committed to talent management in tourism as a key standout factor which will enable Costa Daurada and Terres de l’Ebre businesses to be more competitive,” says Meritxell Roigé, chair of Tarragona Provincial Council’s Tourist Board. “Better services and products and greater customer satisfaction and loyalty are closely tied to improvement processes where the driving force for change is talented people.”
Finally, work is underway to set up the Centre of Excellence in Tourism Innovation’s Academic Council with a view to stepping up engagement with tourism value chain stakeholders and partnerships between them to roll out fresh powerhouse projects. The Council is to be made up of a wide cross-section of Catalan academic institutions hosting research programmes or units specialising in tourism.
