TurisTIC Forum, the congress on innovation and technology in tourism organised by the Eurecat technology centre in Barcelona, is to explore technology initiatives and benchmark case studies in the tourism industry to drive the sustainability of the business and meet challenges such as water and waste management, decarbonisation, digital transformation and new responsible tourism products.
The event, which will be held on 3 October at Barcelona Provincial Council’s Paranimf venue on the Escola Industrial site, will feature three blocks on technological innovation for the sustainable and digital transformation of tourism.
The first block of the congress will look at the circular economy and its first session will address and present innovations and technologies for the management, efficiency in usage, recovery and reuse of water with the participation of Eurecat, the Catalan Water Partnership, the Barcelona Hotel Association and Swifton Innoveering.
It will also showcase innovations to meet the challenge of waste management, reduction and reuse with projects by businesses engaged in collecting waste from the sea and putting it to new uses, artificial intelligence solutions to prevent food waste and the reuse and repurposing of items with a short service life such as headsets for tourist activities.
TurisTIC Forum will additionally feature Jeremy Smith, the independent expert on Tourism and Climate Action and co-author of the Glasgow Declaration on Climate Action in Tourism, who will set out the cornerstones of this initiative led by the United Nations with over 850 signatory organisations worldwide which are committed to ramping up climate action to cut global emissions from tourism to less than half in the next decade and reach zero by 2050.
Signatory organisations of the Declaration from the tourism and mobility sectors will discuss the rollout of measures to reduce emissions and decarbonise tourism to address the climate emergency.
Furthermore, geographer and meteorologist Francesc Mauri will outline current climate figures and their ramifications for tourism and society at the opening of the congress.
Digital transformation of tourism and new data spaces
The block about the digital transformation of tourism will unpack the technological solutions which are helping to drive more efficient and sustainable tourism operations in areas including accommodation, travel agencies and high mountain experiences.
Likewise, data spaces and the new models of the tourism industry will take centre stage in a session on the European data strategy which is committed to sharing tourism figures and indicators to build a single market of secure, quality and open data to help create value, digitalise the industry and minimise its impact on the environment.
The third block of the congress will also feature unique initiatives which are investing in innovation and sustainability in tourism run by The NeverRest Project, the Catalan Tourist Board, Bookline and the Blaumar Group.
TurisTIC Forum is organised by Eurecat and sponsored by the Government of Catalonia, Barcelona City Council and Barcelona Provincial Council.
