Madeira + Project invests 35 million in the digital transformation of tourism in Portugal – Executive Digest
The Madeira + consortium, led by the public transport company Horários do Funchal, intends to invest 35 million euros in an agenda for the digital transformation of tourism in Portugal, was announced today.
This application project was conducted by the Regional Government of Madeira, is coordinated by ASTECH (company in the area of mobility) and integrated in the area of tourism, digitization and intelligent mobility, integrated in the mobilizing agendas of the Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR)
The information made available today highlights that “the largest share of this investment (75%) is associated with mandatory entities in the Autonomous Region of Madeira”.
Madeira + (Advanced, Smart and Sustainable Wood) was one of 140 projects based in this area of the PRR, at a time when the main economic sector in the region and the country, tourism (which in 2019 represented about 16% of the Domestic Product Gross national (GDP), evidence of “positive signs” of recovery.
Tourism was one of the activities most affected by the covid-19 pandemic, survey indicated for a loss of 600 thousand jobs.
The promoters of this project argue that the sector needs to “adjust the priorities for a faster and more sustainable recovery”, increasing the companies’ way of investing in digitization and sustainability.
It also maintains that they must recognize that “there is a new competitive level where new winners will emerge and where a digital and climate transition will make a difference”
In the document, they explain that the Madeira + project aims to develop a concept of ‘digital tourist’, with the creation of an intelligent management platform.
In this tool it is possible to access an integrated offer of tourism services, from mobility, hotels, restaurants and leisure programs.
It also integrates interfaces and means of mobility (bicycles and electric vehicles) specially developed for the tourist environment and its articulation with low carbon dioxide (CO2) public transport.
The 10 project partners are Horários do Funchal, two companies in the mobility area (ASTECH and LightMobie), the hotel group (Hotel Savoy), technology companies Axians Digital Consulting and EMACOM (operator of charging stations for electric vehicles at 100 % by the Electricity Company of Madeira), the Regional Energy and Environment Agency (AREAM) and four entities, namely the University of Minho, ISEP, ARDITI and UNINOVA).
It should be noted that the implementation of this project will be based in Madeira with the objective of “transforming tourism in the region based on the consolidation of existing skills and with a critical mass, mandatory for the development of this type of agenda”.
It will also allow Madeira to be projected as a “test laboratory and showcase for the promotion of technological projects for digital and sustainable tourism, extrapolable to the national reality, taking advantage of a virtually uniform tourist flow throughout the year”, he emphasizes .
“This will be, without any doubt, an agenda that contributes to a digital and energetic transformation of the Portuguese economy, clearly contributing to the challenges of tourism and decarbonisation that Portugal faces in the future”, concludes the information provided on Madeira +.