Calvia is to host the international Smart Island World Congress and Exhibition in April next year. This announcement was made by the mayor, Alfonso Rodríguez, at the Smart City Expo World Congress in Barcelona, to which he and other town hall representatives had been invited.
The mayor told an audience in Barcelona that as a pioneering and leading island tourist destination, Calvia is "without doubt" the best place in Majorca to stage this congress. The choice, he added, underlines the reputation of Calvia as an innovative destination in terms of technology, the environment, sustainability and energy efficiency.
The congress will on 20 and 21 April. It will be under the umbrella of the Fira de Barcelona (the trade fair organisation), which is co-managed by the Catalonian government, Barcelona town hall and the Barcelona Chamber of Commerce. More than seventy destinations and 1,500 participants are expected. Calvia will be the main sponsor, investing 110,000 euros, and have financial support of up to 300,000 euros from the Council of Majorca. The rest of the funding will be from the private sector.
It is hoped that Calvia will be the regular host for a congress that promotes the concept of the smart island, which is essentially concerned with the use of digital and cutting-edge technologies for increasing efficiencies, reducing costs and improving the quality of life. A smart island also has integrated solutions to environmental and infrastructure (water, transport) management.