Tourism is one of the key sectors of the Spanish economy. After some difficult times with the pandemic, he is beginning to recover but there is still a long way to go. For this, from the Tourism sector Several strategies have been designed that will allow recovery, but also the modernization. It is the case of the digitization of the sector, a phenomenon that has also been carried out in other sectors such as advertising or retail.
In order to launch this digitization, the Government has provided companies in the tourism sector with a first call for aid, in which up to a total of 25 million euros will be allocated. The aid may be from 300,000 euros to five million euros. According to the Ostelea tourism school, “This will allow the adoption of new technologies to increase and facilitate tourism in Spain, which has always been key in our country”. In addition, 10.8% of Spanish companies are in a phase of advanced digitization, a figure that rises to 30% when it comes to tourism companies, according to the Deep Digital Journey technical report prepared by Llyc,
Although some experts speak of the recovery of tourism by 2022, others are not so hopeful and date this phenomenon for 2023 or even 2024. In fact, the Government has planned aid with two clear objectives: digitization and sustainability. This aid is hopeful for many, since it would allow “encourage collaborations between tourism businesses around the world” O well “reverse the current lack of skill and dexterity among many tourism professionals” as stated by Ostelea sources.
Advantages of digitization and new trends
The fact of being able to provide tourism with new technologies opens the way to a range of possibilities and new trends with a view to tourism of the future. One of the main goals is to make the online booking experience easy and hassle-free, especially considering that most plan their trip online. According to data provided by EFE, more than half of the citizens who planned a trip did so online in 2019.
Another trend that will begin to be seen more and more will be virtual reality. This will allow the client to make sure that they are going to stay in a place that they like. Big Data Strategies they will also be important for making improvements. All the opinions and information left by tourists who have already visited a place can be used through a solid data strategy that allows future tourists to clearly know how other people have passed through that place.
“The lack of skills that tourism professionals have in terms of digitization is one of the problems that prevents the sector from modernizing”, affirm from Ostelea. This is a pending issue that can be costly for many professionals and businesses, but in the long run it will bring significant benefits, such as improving the customer experience, saving time and paperwork, or identifying new business opportunities.
