A tech challenge to move towards more sustainable tourism

A tech challenge to move towards more sustainable tourism

Tourism. Some 2D, 3D and infrared sensors will analyse flows of people in real time to help with decision-making about municipal services in the neighbourhoods.

A series of 2D, 3D and infrared sensors will measure real-time flows of people, bicycles and vehicles in indoor and outdoor spaces. The data obtained will help mitigate the effects of mass tourism for people living or working in the district of L’Eixample and improve the experience of tourists.

The information will also help with decision-making relating to municipal services provided in the neighbourhoods, for instance when it comes to providing details on the hours of the cleaning service, the widening of lanes and street-calming measures.

The project by the company Affluences won the challenge launched by Digital Future Society and the City Council for its use of technology to measure the concentration of people in public space in real time. The company will receive up to 40,000 euros from the funds generated by the tourist tax (IEET), enabling them to implement the pilot project.

The challenge attracted forty proposals from ten countries in all. The winning project was chosen by a committee of experts from the organisations promoting the call. Besides Digital Future Society, a programme from Mobile World Capital Barcelona, these include the municipal commissioner for the 2030 Agenda, the District of L’Eixample and the Councillor’s Office for Tourism and Creative Industries.

Various city challenges

This initiative forms part of the municipal programme InnovAcció 2030, proposing various challenges at a city and area level. The other challenges promoted by Digital Future Society were for the improvement of accessibility and inclusion at the Guitard Play Library, in the district of Les Corts, and the reduction of the environmental footprint in the tech sector.