The Minister of Universities, Science, Innovation and Culture (CUCIC), Migdalia Machín, held a meeting this Thursday morning in Lanzarote with the four tourism associations of the Canary Islands - Ashotel, FEHT, Asofuer and FTL - in order to "advance" in the common goal of "stimulating innovation in the tourism sector", strategic for the Archipelago, through the "integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI)" in its value chain, through the RETECH program.
This is the 'Spain Living Lab' project (Mission AI), promoted by the Canary Islands associations, in collaboration with specialized technology companies and public tourism research and innovation organizations, which has been presented to the national call for the aforementioned program.
The Minister has valued "the importance of this project for digital transformation in the innovative ecosystem, within a sector of extraordinary importance in the Canary Islands' productive fabric and where the role of the associations is fundamental."
During the meeting with the associations, Migdalia Machín was accompanied by the director of the Canary Islands Agency for Research, Innovation and the Information Society (ACIISI), Javier Franco, who "shared the steps and progress" that his Ministry is taking to launch a cutting-edge project in digital transformation.
On behalf of the associations, the meeting was attended in person by the president of the FTL (the host association of the meeting), Susana Pérez, and the president of Asofuer, Antonio Hormiga, as well as, online, the president of Ashotel, Jorge Marichal; the managers of Ashotel and Asofuer, Juan Pablo González and Mario de la Cruz, respectively, in addition to the general secretary of the FEHT, Fernando Mathías, and Mari Luz Fraile, a member of the board, among others.
"The objective is to design a strategic and driving ecosystem, in a national network, for open innovation in artificial intelligence applied to the sector and human behavior, with an exhaustive collection of data throughout the sector's value chain and its subsequent treatment, use and shared exploitation of the data to improve the tourist experience," explained the Minister.
"It is a priority for the Canary Islands if we want to be at the forefront and continue leading the top-ten of the best tourist destinations in the world."
For their part, the representatives of the associations have highlighted that the "promotion" of this type of project "is a priority for the Canary Islands if we want to be at the forefront and continue leading the top-ten of the best tourist destinations in the world." Hence, the sector's associations have designed a driving project that is capable of generating competitive, solid and sustainable advantages."
The 'RETECH Program' constitutes one of the transversal axes of the Spain Digital Agenda 2026 promoted by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation. In this context, the 'Spain Living Lab of Intelligent Tourism', led by the Canary Islands, reinforces "public and private collaboration" and has an "investment from the Autonomous Community of the Canary Islands of almost 8 million euros."
