Lucho explained their journey to become a smart destination with five pillars: Innovation, Technology, Sustainability, Governance and Accessibility.
Lucho began by introducing Benidorm t our audience. Benidorm has more than seventy-thousand inhabitants. In 2019, it received more than sixty thousand overnight stays. Around sixty thousand of Benidorm are employed in the tourism sector. The destination is connected by bike lanes with 134 km of cycle routes.
Lucho began by introducing Benidorm t our audience. Benidorm has more than seventy-thousand inhabitants. In 2019, it received more than sixty thousand overnight stays. Around sixty thousand of Benidorm are employed in the tourism sector. The destination is connected by bike lanes with 134 km of cycle routes.
Lucho Pérez, Social Media Manager at Visit Benidorm, delivered the last DMO talk of X Design Week, explaining their journey to become a smart destination with five pillars: Innovation, Technology, Sustainability, Governance and Accessibility.
Lucho began by introducing Benidorm t our audience. Benidorm has more than seventy-thousand inhabitants. In 2019, it received more than sixty thousand overnight stays. Around sixty thousand of Benidorm are employed in the tourism sector. The destination is connected by bike lanes with 134 km of cycle routes.
To become a smart destination, Benidorm introduced projects and initiatives for:
Lucho explained that, for example, for the Governance axis, Benidorm introduced E-Administration which is a platform to apply for every document using just one ID. He added that other cities needed to launch e-admin projects when the pandemic started. However, Benidorm already had the infrastructure in place. As for security, for example, they applied a drone policy to oversee the situation at different locations in the destination, which saved money and time for stakeholders involved in managing incidents. In the case of accessibility, Benidorm employed a strategy to ensure the destination is accessible to all abilities. The strategy includes initiatives such as the PERDIF accessibility guide, accessible tourism guides, and Navilens, an evolution of QR codes that can be read from a long distance and on the move without requiring focus.
Later Lucho explained their digital marketing strategies. Benidorm has a robust digital presence from websites and social media to entertainment platforms, trip bloggers and online campaigns. He added that data is very important in terms of destination management, explaining that you cannot manage what you don't measure.
He commented that it is vital to humanise the content on social media. He mentioned that the TikTok algorithm, for example, is very clever. Destinations have to make use of this. He added that the audience has to connect with you, so make yourself visible and be the face of the destination.
1. Benidorm is a great example of becoming a smart destination with many initiatives on governance, innovation, technology, sustainability and accessibility.
2. Benidorm has been a pioneer in projects on security, e-administration and accessibility for all tackling barriers in the tourism and travel sector.
3. Benidorm has a strong online presence, particularly in social media campaigns. Lucio’s top tip in creating digital content for social media platforms is to humanise the content and be the face of the destination.
Being in love with marketing for the Travel Industry Lucho Pérez joined Visit Benidorm in 2013. He created all the social media network and the online marketing strategic plan for one of the main mediterranean resort, Benidorm.
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