FiturNext Articles

In this edition, we will combine dialogues, presentations and personalised consulting; an open space with experts dedicated to providing specialised advice to actors in the sector who wish to generate value and contribute to local economic development.
We will start on Wednesday, January 22nd  with the presentation of the FITURNEXT 2020 Report: adopt what already works, keys to address challenges and value generation in the tourism sector with Javier Creus, General Coordinator of FITURNEXT and Founder of Ideas for Change and Mara Balestrini, Methodology of FITURNEXT and CEO of Ideas for Change. The report is the result of research we carried out from the FITURNEXT Observatory, the FITUR platform dedicated to promoting good tourism practices with the sponsorship of Bankia, in which we have mapped and analysed more than 250 initiatives that have positive effects at both a social and environmental level, and have a high potential for replicability.

We will continue with the awards ceremony of the first FITURNEXT Challenge: How can tourism contribute to local economic development?, in which, along with the advisory council, we have analysed and selected the three initiatives with the greatest potential for replicability. We will also launch the FITURNEXT 2021 Challenge, a key opportunity for initiatives related to the topic chosen.

The winning initiatives are Apadrina un Olivo, which values ​​natural resources of the Oliete area (Teruel, Spain) while generating opportunities for local and sustainable work; Starlight Foundation which certifies astrotourism initiatives in tourist destinations, most of which suffer depopulation; and Soap for Hope (Diversey), which reuses hotel soap remnants and creates employment opportunities for women at risk of vulnerability, while improving the sanitary conditions of thousands of children in depressed areas.

The finalists of the Challenge will also receive a special mention during the ceremony: Greenways, Local Alike, Pichaeats, Yetapá Foundation, Taste of Fethiye, NotOnMap, Totonal, Wallata Plan and Favela Tour.

DIALOGUE SESSIONS

After the lunch break, there will be a dialogue between Mara Balestrini and Fernando Gallardo, the latter being a journalist and analyst of trends and new concepts in tourism. This dialogue will explore the traveller as a key figure for positive impact and local economic development of destinations. Then, the “Global Tourism Plastic Initiative” of the World Tourism Organization - One Planet will be launched, as a prominent part of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

On Thursday 23rd, as part of the Bankia Forward project, Jesús Navarro, CEO of INNSAI, will present the 6 trends that will transform the tourism business model in the near future, analysing how new generations of consumers along with the 4.0  technological revolution constitute the two main drivers of change.

In the afternoon, Antonio López de Ávila, co-founder and CEO of Tourism Data Driven Solutions, and Francisco Rodríguez, member of the FITURNEXT team, will discuss replicability as a tool available to smart destinations.

In addition, on Friday 24th there will be a presentation by Tomás Azcárate Bang, president of the RTI, on how tourism should be linked to the SDGs.

SPECIALISED ADVICE

On the afternoons of the 22nd and the 23rd, we will have three personalised sessions for companies and destinations with experts of the sector. The first will address the issue of decentralisation, the second will be about how to integrate inclusive work in order to generate value and the last will address local entrepreneurship.

You can find more information about the program at: https://www.ifema.es/en/fitur-next/fiturnext-2020-programme.

About FITUR

Organised by IFEMA, FITUR 2020 will take place from the 22nd to the 26th of January at Feria de Madrid. With a leading role on the industry’s world stage, this major international forum for tourism industry professionals is getting ready for one of its most comprehensive events yet, with Korea as its Partner Country and where sustainability, technology and specialisation will again be in the spotlight. The event will take place within the framework of its 40th anniversary, a special occasion which will put the finishing touches on a series of initiatives already underway, geared toward continuing FITUR’s successful upward trajectory. The last FITUR trade fair brought together 10,400 participating companies and over 253,000 attendees.

For more information: https://www.ifema.es/en/fitur-next