Many will ask, and I recognize that I myself initially did too, what can a computer engineer contribute to the development of the Island's first industry and its advancement. I recognize that at first this question was not easy to answer but then, several months later and after learning about the work being done in the sector and the growth possibilities that are offered to us, I must say that we assume on this Island a challenge that can and should keep us at the head of mature tourist destinations that use the industry as a precursor to economy and employment for their people.
With the celebration of the "New Trends in Current Tourism" Conference, promoted by Turismo Lanzarote, we have had the opportunity, thanks to the Minube travel platform and Segittur, a leading public company in the field of Tourism Development and Innovation, to learn firsthand what is being worked on in the world of tourism, taking advantage of the tools that New Technologies give us. A conference with broad participation from the sector that demonstrates the interest in innovating and improving that the actors on whom it depends to continue improving as a destination have, and in which we have had the opportunity to learn and debate about the trends and results in this area.
One of the speakers commented anecdotally that the last action of the night yesterday was (as it surely was for many who are reading these lines now) to leave the mobile phone on the nightstand, and the first of today to pick it up and check if we had anything pending. Well, this simple anecdote reflects the importance that New Technologies have in our daily lives at the present time and, of course, the special importance they have for a sector that lives on generating good experiences and having the capacity to transmit them. Therefore, I modestly believe that we have to be at the forefront of the use of ICT in the daily work of an industry that directly or indirectly moves more than 90% of the economy of Lanzarote.
Minube, for example, aspires to be the first platform in the world with the aim of helping tourists decide on their destination. We have been collaborating for several years from the Lanzarote Foreign Promotion Society (SPEL) with a platform that includes more than 2 million travelers who share their experiences in the best corners of the world to help others discover their next destination, with 90 million visits per year and more than 750,000 shared trips, whose application has been recognized for several years and that now we wanted to take the step of knowing and taking advantage of to make their experience and knowledge our own.
Technology, new forms of relationship and communication and an increasingly connected potential visitor open up a wide field. Imagine being able to know, from those who visit us, their tastes, preferences, pretensions and expectations when they come. Let's add the possibility of managing in real time the state of our infrastructures, the offer in operation or simply how the weather is in a certain point of Lanzarote and let's add the ability to know the sensations that a certain experience on the Island has caused to visitors of a certain profile. Let's put everything in the cocktail shaker to be able to obtain as a result a personalized offer with the sole purpose of improving the tourist's stay and the way in which when he leaves us he will talk about our destination and the experience lived on the Island.
Having Minube and Segittur at the table makes us aware of the pace at which the industry is developing and the needs that this new scenario demands in terms of security, use of information, connectivity and mobility. We are increasingly dependent on technology in one or many of its multiple formats and this requires, more and more, new professions and professionals who respond to these needs. We not only have before us a challenge of improvement in the industry that enhances the commitment and loyalty of our issuing markets, but also as the ability to generate new job opportunities and employment for our young people and professionals who must be prepared for the immediate future.
If we look at what happens beyond our sea borders and compare, Lanzarote "Intelligent Biosphere Reserve", a development program towards the objective of configuring an intelligent industry, is a great opportunity to place ourselves at the head of the tourist destinations that most satisfy their visitors, and to open up job opportunities for the people of Lanzarote who prepare for it. Turismo Lanzarote must lead this process of change and we must be prepared for it. We want to take the step, but this is everyone's business...
By Echedey Eugenio, Tourism Councilor of the Cabildo de Lanzarote
