What do Malaga and Gothenburg have in common?.
Magnificent museums and art galleries, chic shops, bars and restaurants, incredible architecture and top-notch port facilities: Málaga and Gothenburg have so much in common. Their joint selection this year as capitals for European Capital of Intelligent Tourism for 2020 therefore comes as no surprise.
Sharing with Gothenburg, Sweden, Málaga was awarded for innovative and sustainable tourism, a title granted by the European Commission to recognise destinations that have chosen innovative ways to make tourism more sustainable. This year the two cities took over from Helsinki and Lyon, receiving their awards at the European Tourism Forum in Helsinki on 9 October 2019. Málaga Councillor for Tourism, Rosa Sánchez, proudly attended for the event to back the campaign.
Part of the European Capital of Smart Tourism Awards, which promotes the development of innovative tourism development along with the exchange of best practices, sustainable tourism runs alongside three other equally important categories: accessibility; digitalisation and cultural heritage and creativity.
In terms of sustainable tourism, “Gothenburg and Málaga impressed the jury, not only for their exemplary achievements in the four categories, but also for the impressive programme of activities they intend to carry out during 2020,” according to the EU’s final verdict.
Mayor, Francisco de la Torre, has said that he was confident Málaga would get the title and stressed the importance of new intelligence tools in marketing, including Big Data, to anticipate trends and events. In reaction to the news, he stated: “This designation, in addition to being a motive for immense joy, can be a powerful stimulus for us to continue working towards being a technologically advanced city.”
The two European Intelligent Tourism capitals will benefit from on-going communication and brand support during 2020, in addition to a busy promotional programme and a specially-designed sculpture to celebrate their status within the urban centres.
