Since the distinction received by the Mexican city of Tequila in 2021, important metropolises in the region such as Medellín and Montevideo have opted for the SEGITTUR model that uses technological resources and sustainability to attract tourists in the long term.
With two years of post-pandemic reactivation, tourism has once again gained ground in Latin America as an economic and recreational activity. However, inflation persists in the region and with it, an increase in the cost of living that forces tourists to think twice about where they plan to travel on their next vacation. This is when “smart tourist destinations” (SDT) gain prominence as a management alternative.
This is a concept devised by SEGITTUR, a state company administered by the Spanish Secretary of State for Tourism, which is committed to promoting the digital transformation and sustainable development of tourist areas with potential. In this sense, SEGITTUR defines its objectives as ensuring the satisfaction of tourists and improving the living conditions of local populations. To achieve these goals, the institution designed a development model based on five axes: governance, innovation, technology, sustainability and accessibility.
To date, the DTI model has international recognition from organizations such as the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), the OECD, the WTTC and the IDB. The latter maintains an encouraging perspective on the concept by maintaining that a smart destination can be any space where the development of the territory is planned and executed based on technological infrastructure. It can be a neighborhood, a picturesque town or a network of cities: what matters is the administrative vision of the authorities in charge.
Thus, after the model was successfully recognized in 80 Spanish destinations, SEGITTUR distinguished the Mexican city of Tequila in 2021 as the first smart tourist destination in Latin America. In the years prior to the distinction, this town managed to transfer 20% of its tourist operations to the technological field, which translated into important measures.
To begin with, free WiFi service was offered in the historic center of the city and an app was disseminated , accompanied by the “Tequila Route”, with detailed information about the shops, tourist products and services of the town. Through the reach of networks and the appeal of the name “Tequila”, closely linked to the famous distillate of the same name, the application benefited local SMEs with a substantial increase in the number of tourists. For example, if in 2013, Tequila had 20 thousand inhabitants and only received 18 thousand tourists annually; By 2019, 500 thousand tourists visited the city, now with 50 thousand residents.
Among other solutions implemented, the comprehensive work with state authorities and universities (governance), personalized attention to disabled tourists (accessibility) and the installation of solar panels as an energy alternative (sustainability) stand out.
MEDELLÍN AND ITS EVENTS OFFER
The Tequila experience set a precedent in Latin America that would not be ignored by metropolises with tourist experience, such as Medellín. Although the second largest city in Colombia had already been recognized as a “Leading Urban Getaway Destination in the World” by the World Travel Awards in 2020, the impact of the pandemic led the mayor's office to rethink its short and medium-term objectives. . Thus, in December 2020, Medellín joined the Smart Tourist Destinations project after preparing a Diagnostic Report and Action Plan.
One of the main promotion strategies consisted of the so-called “City Brand” that seeks to position Medellín as a tourist, cultural, innovative and entrepreneurial destination.
“It was a public and participatory process where more than forty advertising companies registered. Finally, the proposal 'Medellín, everything flourishes here' won. The objective was to consolidate an iconographic element of the city that would allow us to work around its attributes with the brand,” says Ledys López, Undersecretary of Tourism of the Mayor's Office of Medellín.
The slogan is inspired by transformation, by a fertile land, where many seeds arrive, where everything germinates, grows and flourishes. Thus, Medellín is transformed and shown as a modern, innovative city, with a pleasant climate and a unique gastronomy.
Another initiative that López highlights is the Medellín ecosystem. Travel, a website that serves as a tourist guide for the city. Although it also helps promote advertising agreements with other tourist cities that have a direct air connection with Medellín. For example, the mayor's office of the Colombian city signed an agreement with Mexico City, which allowed it to agree on a joint tourism campaign. So it didn't take long for promotional posters of “Medellín, everything flourishes here” to appear on billboards and bus stops in Mexico City.
By December 2022, Medellín was officially recognized as a smart tourist destination by SEGITTUR. It became the first South American city to receive the distinction and achieved an overall score of 80% in compliance with requirements. On a more specific level, the Governance axis obtained 96.8%; that of sustainability, 91.3%; accessibility, 90.4% and Technology, 81.8%. While the lowest score was obtained by the innovation area, with 65.4%.
In this regard, López explains the reason for this trend. “We had a lower score, because they asked us how often our city and entrepreneurs develop new tourism products together and how much technology permeates the innovation and management processes.”
One of the biggest challenges for tourist cities is maintaining a stable number of visitors throughout the year. Usually, some destinations are preferred during summer or winter and ignored by the public in the opposite season. In contrast, Medellín has managed to overcome this limitation and the number of tourists has become more homogeneous. In addition to promoting traditional events such as the Flower Fair in August and Colombia Fashion Week, the mayor's office has resorted to sealing agreements with trending artists.
“We always try to organize events and activities throughout the year. For example, a policy of Mayor (Daniel) Quintero is to bring exclusive concerts and events to the city. For example, in 2021, Karol G was there with several concert dates and that generated a very significant hotel occupancy. And this year in November we have four RBD dates that have generated the same thing,” López describes.
When the Undersecretary of Tourism is asked if this development model could be expanded in the future, she remains optimistic. Currently, the Mayor's Office of Medellín and the District Tourism Institute of Bogotá lead the creation of the Ibero-American Network of Smart Tourist Destinations. It consists of an organization that brings together 22 mayors of cities in the region that aspire to obtain the DTI distinction. The debates between representatives aspire to find solutions that make a tourist city sustainable over time, above all, at an environmental level. “It is not a simple tourism strategy, this is born as public policy, it is a long-term planning exercise that can be adapted to other destinations,” says López. Under this expansion perspective, the Ibero-American Network is currently discussing a definition of minimum requirements for a locality to be considered a DTI in development.
MONTEVIDEO AND ITS COMMITMENT TO GOVERNANCE
The management of the Ibero-American Network has been strengthened by new distinctions from SEGITTUR to cities in the region. The most recent case is that of Montevideo (Uruguay) in July of this year. The report that the Spanish entity delivered to the Municipality highlights that Montevideo has worked with various projects such as the creation of a tourism product and a training program in the local entity and companies. The importance that the organization gives to tourism is also recognized.
On the other hand, according to SEGITTUR, governance is the axis where the Montevideo roadmap has achieved the best results. Karina Fortete, advisor in Public Management and Tourism Development of the Municipality of Montevideo , considers that these positive results were largely due to a tradition of the Uruguayan capital. “The good figures in governance have to do with the fact that there is a culture of associativity and cooperation in Montevideo, which has had different forms and names. Currently there is a tourism association in Montevideo that brings together the tourism offer and we, as the Tourism Division, are very close to them,” he says.
It is a relationship that has borne fruit such as the success of the city brand, “Descubrí Montevideo”, which is committed to promoting new opportunities for places and services. Well, according to Fortete, “there are many loyal tourists who return to Montevideo and we are always very concerned about generating proposals so that tourists repeat the experience.”
On the other hand, cooperation with the private sector has been another important axis in the city's strategy. The Municipality has a work team that carries out training around the concept of “smart tourism model.” Thus, basic questions are answered such as what do the axes consist of? Or what does the DTI model imply for the destination? In a similar vein, Montevideo also enabled a tourist observatory, as well as awaiting the creation of a Smart Office, following the recommendations of SEGITTUR. “We have an advanced part that is some data analysis instruments that we use at the observatory. We monitor everything that has to do with promotion, as well as various survey possibilities. Not only those related to tourist satisfaction, but also to the actors in the value chain,” says Fortete.
Finally, regarding the water crisis that affected Uruguay in recent months, Fortete assures that Montevideo tourism did not suffer a serious impact. Well, although the city is considered a “seasonally adjusted tourist destination”, the truth is that it receives a greater number of visitors in the last quarter of the year. “So I don't think the crisis has become a big problem at the moment. If he returns with force, surely, but it seems to me that it was something more circumstantial than cyclical," says Fortete. So far, with the arrival of the high season and the promotion of its new distinction as DTI, the horizon is optimistic for the Uruguayan capital.
