The UNWTO wants to advance in the digitization of the tourism sector, now that the economic recovery is a reality. For this reason, it has developed in collaboration with Mastercard, the Digital Futures Programfocused on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which constitute up to 80% of all businesses tourist.
UNWTO aims to reach at least one million SMEs throughout the duration of the program and equip them with the fundamental skills and knowledge needed to harness the potential of new and emerging technologies.
The Digital Futures program will help them recover from the repercussions of the pandemic and will boost the sector with the possibilities of innovation and new technologies.
Pandemic recovery
UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili states: “Small businesses are the backbone of tourism. The Digital Futures program will help them recover from the repercussions of the pandemic and will boost the sector with the possibilities of innovation and new technologies.”
In order to provide guidance and tools tailored to the needs of SMEs, the program is based on a digital readiness diagnostic tool which sets benchmarks for SMEs in five key digital dimensions, namely: connectivity, business growth, e-commerce, big data, analytics, and payments and security.
The opening ceremony, which was held at the IE Tower in Madrid, was attended by approximately 200 participants, including the ambassadors in Spain of the UNWTO member states, as well as investment and development agencies, and SMEs themselves.
