Calpe has become part of the Smart Tourist Destinations Network, a body coordinated by the Secretary of State for Tourism and the Segittur Company, with the aim of promoting innovation and technology in the field of tourism in Spain and thus contributing to increasing the competitiveness of Spanish tourist destinations.
The municipality has been integrated at level three, which is maximum planned to join this network in order to meet the three necessary requirements: a self-diagnosis based on the model of the Smart Tourist Destination (ITD) of the Valencia Tourist Office, to have a strategic plan of the ITD and also to initiate actions in this area.
To this end, Calpe plans to install a technology for collecting and managing tourism data, i.e. sensors that monitor various aspects of the municipality, such as traffic and parking areas, water consumption, amount of waste, number of beach visitors, etc., as well as a control panel on which all this data will be collected. The compilation of this information, which can be accessed in real time, aims to improve services for tourists and be a more efficient destination for managing their resources.
The technological implementation to make Calpe an intelligent destination is part of the EDUSI strategy for sustainable and integrated urban development "Revitaliza Calpe", which is co-financed under the ERDF 2014-202020 with the European Regional Development Fund.
Being part of the Smart Tourist Destinations Network means that Calpe's entire tourism management is carried out under certain parameters in terms of accessibility, environmental sustainability and the application of technologies to the municipality's tourism management. In addition, the city can draw on grants offered by both the Valencia Tourist Office for investments in technology.
The aim is to improve the management of tourism in the municipality and, on the other hand, to improve the tourist experience.
The Smart Tourist Destinations Network currently consists of 66 destinations and 10 institutional members, including public, private and academic institutions.