The importance of open data in the national tourism sector

Tourism is a key sector for the Spanish economy and, for this reason, it is necessary to know the factors that affect this industry. Having access to the tourist information -preferences, destinations, spending per visitor... - help improve the business and public policies to make grow the profitability of the sector. For this reason, the openness and re-use of such data not only pave the way for Open Government and digitization of national tourism, but they would enhance new services, optimize tourism management, and increase economic activity and job creation.

Among the great opportunities presented by the use of this information is the development of smart tourist destinations; territories where the data of tourists are collected and whose storing, treatment, study and exploitation help the sector make more agile and effective decisions.

However, to make this feasible it is necessary that both public and private entities open and transform the information into open data. Thus, it is possible to design a more complete tourist offer whereas the resources that support tourism as urban transport, waste management or public safety, among others, are managed in a more efficiently and coordinated manner.

Nationally, the State Society for the Management of Innovation and Tourism Technologies (SEGITTUR), responsible for promoting innovation in the tourism sector in the country, has joined other government agencies to establish a strategic plan to promote and standardize the re-use of touristic open data through open data initiatives and open databases.

To this end, SEGITTUR has collaborated in the creation of the PNE 178301 Smart Cities Standard which states how to assess the publication of open data in an urban environment, with indicators that measure the degree of maturity of the openness of data in the field of Smart Cities. In parallel, the company has carried out an action plan, with different national tourist organizations, to open up databases in the industry, which have enabled the development of applications for the end user. It is precisely in this area where the re-use of touristic open data has achieved the greatest progress. In fact, the company has recently published, together with the Chamber of Commerce of Spain, a guide with  the 224 main applications of the Spanish tourism sector.

Also, nowadays, according to the Characterization Map of Open Data Initiatives in Spain, there are more than twenty open data portals that offer tourist information at local level. Despite the achievements to date, additional efforts are still needed to make the openness of public sector information a reality in any sphere, both public and private.

In this context, during the next Encuentro Aporta 2016, one of the sessions belonging to the first panel entitled "Coordination and harmonization as key success aspects for the data publication" will be dedicated to data and tourism. The director of i+D+I at SEGITTUR, Mr Carlos Romero, will be the guest speaker who will discuss the most interesting experiences in Spain around tourist open data and the opportunities for the whole society. In addition, the expert will also share with attendees two recent projects in the field: Intelligent Tourist Destinations and Tourism Intelligence Systems.

Would you like to attend and learn more about open data and national tourism? There's still time to register for the event through an online form and follow all news about Encuentro Aporta 2016 on its Twitter account.