- The event was attended by Pedro Barrionuevo, director of tourism and business development in tourism and planning of the Costa del Sol.
- The Finnova Foundation supports the initiatives that Tourism and Planning Costa del Sol is implementing to boost the tourism sector.
4/09/2023, Brussels. Last Thursday 31 August 2023, the headquarters of the Finnova Foundation in Brussels hosted the III Next Talent Generation Forum – Costa del Sol Tourism Sector, a space in which the situation of tourism in Malaga and Spain was analysed. Pedro Barrionuevo, director of tourism and business development in tourism and planning of the Costa del Sol, gave an hour-long conference, followed by a round of questions in which attendees were able to resolve and discuss in depth some topics of interest.
The conference focused on the challenges and opportunities that the Costa del Sol is facing in terms of tourism, giving a brief overview of the processes of planning, development and promotion of initiatives that promote the sector. Firstly, Barrionuevo highlighted a changing trend in the tourism industry, in which tools such as the metaverse and artificial intelligence are being introduced that could bring about a paradigm shift in the short to medium term.
In addition to the tools that are coming to the industry, Barrionuevo warned of a general change in the sector. “Before, the tourist was a sun and beach tourist; now, the tourist is more experiential, he wants to get to know the environment and the Costa del Sol,” concluded Barrionuevo. For this reason, he stressed the importance of adapting to new developments in the tourism market.
Along these lines, Barrionuevo explained that another of the challenges facing the Costa del Sol as a tourist centre of reference is the offer it can provide to visitors who come for work purposes. For this reason, he highlighted the work being done by Tourism and Planning Costa del Sol for these visitors who can stay or even settle in the area thanks to the growing implementation of teleworking or remote work. “It is a way of aligning ourselves with the technological Malaga that we want to achieve, it is a door that the pandemic opened, an opportunity to which we are adapting.
In the final part of his lecture, Barrionuevo stressed the importance of maintaining and developing the tourism industry as a source of economic development. “Tourist development is not an end in itself, but must be oriented towards the economic and social development of the province and the creation of jobs.
Finally, Barrionuevo underlined the role that Costa del Sol Tourism Hub is playing as a national reference entity as an accelerator and incubator of tourism projects. The Finnova Foundation, as a partner of this project, welcomes the success of these initiatives that underpin such an important industry for the Spanish economy as tourism. Furthermore, the project is in line with several of the Finnova Foundation’s objectives, such as entrepreneurship, the creation of business fabric and the promotion of innovative ideas.
The Tourism Innovation Day
Within the field of tourism, the Finnova Foundation is organising, in collaboration with the Valencia City Council, on Wednesday 27 September, World Tourism Day, “The Tourism Innovation Day”, to be held at the Palacio de la Exposición in Valencia. The day, which will bring together leading projects in the tourism industry that focus on culture, sustainability and female entrepreneurship, will feature three forums:
- The forum CulturalDeTour, cross-border cooperation for regional and innovative tourism with EU funds, framed in a side event of the European Week of Regions and Cities, approved by the European Commission. It will launch the CDT Boost Acceleration Programme, which is part of the “Cultural DeTour” project and aims to support cultural entrepreneurs in expanding their activities and improving their sustainability.
- The “Fu-Tourism 5.0” forum: Valencia, towards sustainable tourism as European Green Capital 2024. The European COSME project “FU-TOURISM 5.0 – Future-Ready Business Support Ecosystem for Tourism SME Transition to Green Resilience” will be presented. With a budget of over €4 million, it aims to support European tourism SMEs in their transition towards a green and inclusive economy, focusing on the application of the principles of the regenerative economy.
- Call for the 2023 Fundadoras Sociales Awards, which focuses on those social projects that support and create a better world and continues with the structure of awarding projects driven by women in the idea, startup or entrepreneur phase.
About the Finnova Foundation
Finnova is the Spanish-Belgian non-profit foundation based in Brussels and Spain, working for the promotion and development of innovation and entrepreneurship in the EU. Finnova’s experience in leading communication and dissemination activities of European projects is combined with a strong proven track record in business creation and entrepreneurship support programmes, such as accelerators, incubators and events, as well as its commitment to training and employability of young people.