The Deputación de Pontevedra is committed to develop a "smart, digital and sustainable tourism model" and is about to announce a series of initiatives to modernise and support the sector
The Deputación de Pontevedra is providing support to the tourism sector in a time of crisis. The Tourist Inside project, which aims to transform tourism in the province of Pontevedra using ICT and digitalisation, is being put out to tender. This institution is also strongly committed to promote the castles of Sobroso and Soutomaior, and, at the end of January, it will organise, workshops, which will include the participation of experts, to promote the Strategic Tourism Plan 2021-2023.
"We have very important news in the tourism field", Carmela Silva highlighted. She informed about the recent tender for the Tourist Inside program, which has a budget of 1.5 million € (€900,000 financed by red.es, through the European Social Fund, and €400,000 provided by the Deputación Provincial). It will promote "a smart, digital, innovative and sustainable tourism model, adapted to the new tourist's demands". Companies can submit their proposals until March 10th. Along with this initiative, the provincial government is also developing the Strategic Tourism Plan, including workshops that will take place next week. Moreover, it will also consolidate its commitment to quality by organising awareness-raising sessions on the SICTED (Integral System of Spanish Tourism Quality in Destinations) that will be held in early February. New experiences will also be added to the Soutomaior Castle offer in order to continue consolidating the area "as a major tourist attraction".
Tourist Inside "will transform tourism in the province using ICT and digitalisation tools, enhancing digital management and boosting quality by meeting the needs of travellers and tourist agents". The information desks of the Info Rías Baixas network will be improved with interactive desks, welcome centres, multimedia services and virtual points. Services will be provided through mobile apps. Moreover, the Deputación de Pontevedra also be strongly committed to online marketing and to the optimisation of web sites, as well as digital signals and environmental sustainability controls. Tourist Inside will also provide the sector with technological tools, such as an active listening service, open data platforms, integrated dashboards and a platform for interoperability to keep up-to-date information and enhance the promotion of tourism products. Finally, the project includes the development of a "smart beach" pilot project, to manage water, traffic, waste and capacity using digital tools.
The Deputación de Pontevedra is also making progress on the new Strategic Tourism Plan organising virtual workshops, scheduled from January 27th to 29th. There will be twelve workshops dealing with different topics involving the participation of experts in every field. They will be focused on strategies for the creation of tourism content, innovation applied to tourism promotion, marketing strategies and interaction with tourists at destinations, tourism data management, digitalisation of tourism SMEs, universal accessibility, sustainability and circular economy, tourism mobility in destinations, public and private tourism governance, the 2030 Agenda, and for health protocols and the improvement of the perception of health safety.
The president also spoke about the awareness-raising sessions aimed at incorporating new companies into the Rías Baixas Tourism Quality Plan, in order to obtain the SICTED certification. These sessions, to be held on February 3rd and 10th will delve into the quality system, the benefits of joining the initiative, the methodology to be followed, the commitments to be fulfilled, as well as the training courses that will be given in order to obtain this quality distinction. "More than 300 companies are about to renew and achieve the SICTED certification. This turns us into a destination of excellence and a benchmark for tourism quality. We are the province of Galicia with the largest number of certificates and, despite the difficulties experienced in 2020, we closed the year with 303 certified companies, which are advised, trained and evaluated by Turismo Rías Baixas", she said.
News about the Soutomaior Castle
Carmela Silva also highlighted the "strong boost/stimulus" which, in the first quarter of the year, will be given to the Soutomaior Castle, "which will contribute to further consolidate this space as a major tourist attraction". The president explained that new initiatives related to the camellia, known as "the queen of winter in As Rías Baixas", will be promoted to improve the visits to the International Camellia Garden of Excellence, which also has the Observer® Science Tourism distinction. Besides the camellia, "sensory experiences" will be offered; a new plantation with up to 20 specimens of camellia tea plants will allow the organization of guided tours, visits for schoolchildren and activities to promote this product and its next harvest. In addition, following the initiative started in March 2020, to designate camellias with the name of relevant women –which now include the specimens `María Vinyals´, `Bella Otero´, `Rosalia de Castro´ and `Jane Andersen´–, two new camellia species will be planted: the cultivar ‘Sofia Novoa', medium pink, and the camellia 'Juana de Vega', white and pink. Silva also said that in this year, which marks the centenary of the death of Emilia Pardo Bazán, we expect to have "a camellia flower with the name of this popular woman", which will also be part of the garden.
Along with these initiatives, conservation works are also being carried out in the castle, costing more than €100,000. They will be focused on the roof and façade (to be completed in mid-February), plumbing and the reconstruction of a section of the access wall.
