SEGITTUR and Nebrija University have signed a collaboration agreement to work together in promoting the Smart Destinations model within the academic field for research and cooperation.
The agreement was signed today by the Chairman of SEGITTUR, Enrique Martínez Marín, and the rector of Nebrija University, José Muñiz. The Director of R&D&I at SEGITTUR, Carlos Romero, and the Director of International Relations and of the Antonio de Nebrija Foundation, Gregorio Martínez Garrido, were also present.
A destination designated a Smart Destination is a tourist destination which is innovative, technological, sustainable and accessible to all, which allows visitors to interact and integrate with the environment and which improves residents’ quality of life, among other characteristics. The Secretary of State for Tourism leads the Smart Destination project through SEGITTUR. The project is a world trailblazer, based on methodology that analyses 400 requirements within five categories (governance, innovation, technology, accessibility and sustainability).
Nebrija University, through research and doctoral training, are implementing research plans in collaboration with researchers abroad and other higher education centres of recognised national and international prestige. Among these is the Nebrija Research Group in Smart Tourism and Innovation (Smarttour-INN), led by researcher Miren Aurkene Alzúa.
This close collaboration in tourism promotion and scientific knowledge generation will involve activities, events, courses and initiatives to raise awareness of the Smart Destinations initiative in Spain and abroad, particularly in Latin America.
To the rector of Nebrija University, the agreement with SEGITTUR is particularly important because it reinforces the relationship between Nebrija and this important, innovative tourism institution in Spain, and also because it will enable the development of joint training and research initiatives in Smart Destinations, essential to the sustainability and resilience of the tourism sector.
To the Chairman of SEGITTUR, signing this agreement constitutes further progress of the Smart Destination model, which is becoming more and more widely recognised on both a national and international level. The University is a key collaborator for raising awareness of this tourism model, investing in sustainability and the professional future of tourism.
