European Capital of Smart Tourism

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These Cities are Setting an Example for European Destinations Learn how the European Capitals of Smart Tourism are at the forefront of innovative, smart tourism.

European Capital of Smart Tourism
Top image: Gothenburg 2020 / Bottom image: Málaga 2020

With many cities and destinations looking to grow more resilient after the global pandemic, the European Capitals of Smart Tourism are at the forefront of innovative, smart tourism. They are disrupting the tourism industry by placing sustainability, accessibility, and digitalisation at the heart of their strategy.

Transformative Approaches to Smart Tourism

Digital transformations have radically changed the travel experiences in recent years, prompting cities and destinations to rethink their approaches to delivering unique visitor experiences. Founded in 2018, the European Capital of Smart Tourism initiative has been at the centre of transforming the European tourism industry since its inception. The initiative continues to have a growing role in the creation of synergies across European cities and act as a standard bearer for the establishment of smart tourism approaches in line with green and digital transition practices across Europe. Through the promotion and expansion of this initiative, many European cities have adopted inclusive strategies for the innovative use of digital technologies, begun placing a larger emphasis on accessible tourism and ensuring that sustainability and green practices are a cornerstone of their tourism industry.

Since 2020, Málaga and Gothenburg have been recognized by the European Commission as the European Capitals of Smart Tourism for their outstanding achievements across all four competition categories: accessibility, digitalisation, sustainability, and cultural heritage & creativity.

Gothenburg: Pioneers of Sustainability

The Swedish city of Gothenburg is at the forefront of the sustainability trend. With their commitment to tackling environmental and socio-economic challenges, the city of Gothenburg has implemented far-reaching measures that continue to see Gothenburg top the global charts as a sustainable city. In becoming a sustainable city, Gothenburg has utilised innovative technologies, effective long-term planning and promoted public-private partnerships. As of 2021, around 97% of the city's public transport runs on renewable energy and 95% of its hotels are eco-certified.

The cornerstone of Gothenburg's success is their commitment to circular economy, their long-term aspiration toward protection of natural resources and their attention towards keeping the carbon footprint generated by tourism as minimal as possible. The Alelyckan Recycling Park now recycles 500 tons of waste yearly and in addition to the recycling centre, the park has three different outlets run by different non-profit organizations. The Landvetter Airport held the highest level of environmental accreditation ever since 2011 (European Carbon Airport). By 2030, Gothenburg is planning to decrease its public transportation emissions to zero and the initiative Gothenburg Green City Zone is a zone where technologies for both vehicles and infrastructure are tested, with the aim of achieving emission-free transports. All this while planning the postponed celebrations of Gothenburg's 400-years anniversary, now taking place in 2023. Just a few examples of why and how the city of Gothenburg is winning the race for sustainability.

Málaga: A Hub for Innovation

Málaga is part of an innovative ecosystem called Málaga Valley comprised of high-tech companies, start-ups, universities, and R&D centres. Over the decades, these companies and entrepreneurs have proposed unique projects to improve the visitor experience. For example, companies located at the Spanish Digital Content Hub in Málaga have designed virtual tours using augmented reality and virtual reality for most of the 38 museums and dozens of cultural monuments in the city.

Last year, the University of Málaga developed a beach application that uses remote sensors to provide information about beach conditions and artificial intelligence to predict crowd size, which is very important for social distancing requirement during the pandemic. Recently, the city deployed 61 beacons that use Low Energy Bluetooth technology to provide tourist information in 5 different languages and collect anonymous data regarding monuments visited, tour times and other tourism data. Málaga will continue to operate like a start-up: quick, agile and willing to test new ideas. The goal is to recuperate tourism activity in a sustainable way that optimises environmental resources, respects our community and ensures long-term economic growth that equally benefits all stakeholders. This approach towards tourism, both looking at the effects and the unique experience for visitors is what makes Málaga stand out as a smart tourism capital.