Spain and the IDB will boost tourism in Latin America

Spain, through the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation and Segittur, will collaborate with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) to promote the smart tourist destinations (DTI in Spanish) model in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC).

Spain is considered a pioneer in the development of the DTI model and the IDB is the main source of financing for the development of Latin America and theCaribbean, which prioritizes tourism as one of the main instruments to promote economic growth, social inclusion and the environmental preservation of the region.

The IDB is committed to Segittur for its trajectory and experience, not only in the creation of the DTI model and methodology, but also for the promotion of a Network of Smart Tourist Destinations (RED DTI), which currently has more than 250 members. The project is financed by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation, through the General Cooperation Fund of Spain.

Estimates from the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) suggest that, in 2019, tourism represented 8.1 % of total Latin American GDP and 13.8% of Caribbean GDP. Tourism was also responsible for 7.9 % of total employment in Latin America and 13.5 % in the Caribbean. However, the impact of Covid-19 on the tourism sector is being profound.

In this context, digital and emerging technologies play an important role in reactivating the sector and guaranteeing its future profitability, reinforcing the concepts of health security, adaptation to climate change and socio-environmental sustainability in destinations.

For this reason, this project will apply instruments for technological diagnosis and dissemination of knowledge, will prepare technological pre-investment plans and innovative project designs that will accelerate the adoption of digital and emerging technologies by LAC tourist destinations.

K. Tovar

Source: Hola