Mastercard Tourism Innovation Hub marks first anniversary announcing two key collaborations in Spain

• A study on the sustainability of tourism in Spain in which TURESPAÑA was responsible for analysing and interpreting the survey’s findings, and an agreement with SEGITTUR to promote the digital transformation of smart tourist destinations.
  

• Tourism organisations from Spain, Portugal, Costa Rica, Panama, Gothenburg, and Prague, as well as the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), and the Jamaica-based Global Tourism Resilience & Crisis Management Centre (GTRCMC), are announcing new or expanded collaborations with the Hub during the five-day FITUR International Tourism Fair.

The Minister of Industry, Commerce and Tourism of Spain, Reyes Maroto, with Mark Barnett, President of Mastercard Europe. 

Mastercard has today marked the first anniversary of the Tourism Innovation Hub (the Hub), created with the support of the Spanish Government, with the announcement of two new strategic collaborations which have been formed in partnership with TURESPAÑA and SEGITTUR, two of Spain’s public entities dedicated to tourism.

The Minister of Industry, Commerce and Tourism of Spain, Reyes Maroto, supported the announcements during her visit to the Hub stand at FITUR International Tourism Fair, along with Mark Barnett, President of Mastercard Europe and Paloma Real, General Director of Mastercard Spain. 

The first project to be announced was a study on the sustainability of tourism in Spain, in which TURESPAÑA has been responsible for analysing and interpreting the survey results. Among the main conclusions, it was revealed that Spain is perceived as the most sustainable tourist destination (according to 38% of the tourists interviewed when compared to other similar and nearby countries), and that 69% of tourists would increase the budget of their trips by up to 5% for a more sustainable vacation.

In the case of SEGITTUR, a collaboration agreement was signed today between Enrique Martínez, President of SEGITTUR and Nicola Villa, Executive Vice President, Government Relations of Mastercard, in the presence of Mark Barnett, President of Mastercard Europe. This agreement aims to boost the digital transformation of smart tourism destinations.

Tourism organisations from Portugal, Costa Rica, Panama, Gothenburg, and Prague, as well as the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), and the Jamaica-based Global Tourism Resilience & Crisis Management Centre (GTRCMC), are also announcing new or expanded collaborations with the Hub during the five-day Fair.

Additionally, during this first year, the Hub has developed joint projects with Costa Rica, Osaka (Japan), Prague, Czech Republic, Paris (France) and Gothenburg (Sweden).

Based in Madrid and powered by Mastercard’s data insights and technology expertise, the Tourism Innovation Hub works with governments and public sector agencies to accelerate their digitalisation efforts, as well as innovate, research, and co-create solutions across the tourism ecosystem. By working closely with governments, public and private sector agencies, and tourism authorities across the world, the Tourism Innovation Hub is helping to create a more sustainable, inclusive, and resilient tourism industry.

From the Government of Spain, Reyes Maroto, Minister of Industry, Commerce and Tourism, commented that: "The expectations we had of recovering nine out of ten international tourists from the pre-pandemic are being met, but most importantly, spending is growing and so is the average stay and this means an improvement in the quality and profitability of our sector which is committed to digitalisation and sustainability. The Government will be supporting all these initiatives such as Mastercard's Tourism Innovation Hub. Spain has been one of the countries that has contributed most to tourism, having for the first time within the European agenda, a relevant commensurate with its economic and social weight. During the Spanish presidency of the Council of the European Union in the second half of 2023, the tourism agenda will be one of our priorities."

According to Mark Barnett, President of Mastercard Europe: "The Tourism Innovation Hub was born with a mission to support the travel recovery in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, and create a more sustainable, inclusive, and resilient tourism industry. With the return of cross-border travel, governments have been faced with new challenges, requiring new solutions, to develop responsible tourism worldwide. We are delighted to announce today, in Spain, different projects, through which, together with destinations, industry and tourists, build tourism with a positive impact."

Welcoming the announcement, the United Nations World Tourism Organization’s Secretary General Zurab Pololikashvili commented: “Innovation is key to realising tourism’s enormous potential as a driver of sustainable development and opportunity for all, and the UNWTO is the bridge between the public and private sectors, allowing us to strengthen the tourism start-up ecosystem. With the Mastercard Tourism Innovation Hub, the UNWTO will reach and support even more tourism innovators so together we can build a more efficient, sustainable, and resilient sector that works for everyone.”

Visitors to stand 8c16 of Mastercard's Tourism Innovation Hub, located in Hall 8 of FITUR, will be able to learn more about the projects, about Mastercard's wide range of tourism solutions, including Tourism Insights, the Carbon Footprint Calculator, as well as the experiences of its Priceless platform. Likewise, the possibility for future collaborations with the different players in the tourism ecosystem will be explored through a series of presentations and round tables.