Barcelona is a benchmark in the tourism sector, but not only in attracting visitors. The city has aspired to go further and to try to govern tourism and lead it towards a sustainable and quality model, in a context in which the Catalan capital has also been positioning itself as a benchmark in the technological field. Combining both facets of Barcelona, the Tech Tourism Cluster (TTC) emerged in 2022 with the aim of propelling the link between tourism and technology, a "binomial with great potential in the short, medium and long term".
"The potential in Barcelona and throughout the Catalan territory is immense," remarked the cluster manager of the TTC, Xavier Garcia, in conversation with The New Barcelona Post. The growth rate of the TTC reflects the dynamism of this symbiosis between tourism and technology. Promoted as a non-profit business organization through the General Directorate of Tourism of the Generalitat and Acció, the cluster started its activity privately with 20 companies in the sector as partners; in less than two years, the figure has climbed to 82, which together have an accumulated turnover of 1.4 billion euros. Garcia's goal is to continue growing and reach a hundred members this year, although not only the number of partners is prioritized, but also their diversity: "We have the entire value chain of the sector represented."
Thus, the cluster includes companies of management software, cybersecurity, payment tools, data management, blockchain, digital marketing and initiatives from other areas that link their activity to restaurants, hotels and the multiple facets of tourism. "From the beginning, we tried to create a critical mass based on the diversification of partners," which include startups, small and medium-sized companies and also large companies, such as Vueling, Catalonia Hotels, Eurecat and Amadeus, as well as institutions such as the Gremi d'Hotels and universities.
The cluster manager of the TTC predicts that "the next technological revolution will be in the travel sector"The startups play a relevant role within the cluster, and include proposals such as Diskover's, which digitizes tourist points of interest; Bookline's, which develops chatbots for hotel and restaurant reservations with AI; that of Hosstinn, focused on talent in the sector and its professionalization, and that of Silt, focused on security services and biometrics and facial recognition.
The objective of the TTC is to continue growing and adding members "organically until progressively filling all the legs of the cluster". And that is because diversity is key when it comes to promoting projects that can transversally benefit the sector, such as the one they have underway related to the use of blockchain technology, conceived as a "digital notary" to boost traceability and facilitate interaction between suppliers.
Propelling talent is another of the TTC's objectives, which addresses this issue through a working group that seeks to optimize the relationship between university and business. "From the cluster we want to encourage companies to enter universities, and universities to go to companies." All with one goal: "To form a hybrid talent of the future, which perceives technology as a tool for the development of the tourism sector."
The cluster also has a working group that focuses on the creation of its own data space for the technology and tourism sector, and also focuses on Artificial Intelligence: "We are not aware of the potential that AI can reach in our sector," Garcia warned.
All these technologies and tools have numerous applications in the tourism sector, ranging from improving user experience in areas such as bookings and visits, to data management and intelligent platforms aimed at facilitating decision-making linked to tourism. In both directions: both for destinations that must manage a high flow of tourists, and for those who want to attract more visitors to position themselves in the sector and diversify their economy.
"We understand it as a way to move towards good tourism governance by municipalities, so that they become smart destinations where a balance is found between improving the visitor experience and the resident's quality of life," summarizes the cluster manager of the TTC, which recently renewed its board of directors. At its ordinary general assembly at the end of May, the until now president and CEO of Prestige Software, Félix Navarro, handed over the position to Beroni's commercial director, Ingrid Graells, maintaining a strategy focused on improving the competitiveness of the tourism technology sector and moving towards a future in which this binomial will gain strength.
"The future is traveltech, tourism will be linked to technology; they have to go hand in hand," emphasizes Garcia, who perceives a growth trend in entrepreneurial initiatives linked to tourism: "We have seen technological revolutions in sectors such as banking and healthcare, and the next revolution will be in the travel sector," predicted the cluster manager, who argues that "technology can contribute to increasing the sustainability and balance of tourism."