Mallorca will be the centre of a strategic and pioneering project to share tourism data between public administrations and private organisations in EU countries in order to strengthen tourism competitiveness and improve customer experiences. At the heart of this project, called DATES, will be AnySolution, a Mallorcan company based in ParcBit (Palma) which specialises in tourism technologies and will lay the foundations for the European Tourism Data Space, part of the Digital Europe programme.
Spain's ministry for economic affairs and digital transformation explains that data spaces will promote the sharing of data in a secure and equitable manner that allows companies to increase their competitiveness. Dolores Ordóñez, director of AnySolution and coordinator of the project, says that "it is not a question of a database, but of federated architectures". In other words, there will be a system for each company to share the specific data they choose with other companies in the tourism sector.
It will therefore be possible for information to be shared between hotels, restaurants, car-hire firms, travel agencies and others. The aim is to increase tourism sector efficiency by pooling all available information and thus improving service for the whole tourism chain, adjusting it to the wishes and needs of users. "Everything will be based on true data and not on perceptions and fragmented visions, as is the case now," adds Ordóñez.
The mechanics of how this system will function have yet to be decided in terms of which technological supports will be used and, above all, what type of data will be shared. Not all the information available will be used. This is because there is the issue of data protection laws and also because of the strategic nature of certain data for the competitiveness of individual companies. "Not everyone will be able to share certain information," says Ordóñez.
In October, working groups will be set up in order to define the technologies that will be used and the data that will be shared. The project has an initial budget of one million euros, to which five million more will be available. At present, it has the support of more than fifty businesses and public administrations. Leading companies in the sector, such as Amadeus and Destinia, are part of the project.
For Spain, the Balearics and especially Mallorca, a leading role will reinforce a reputation for management of the tourism industry.