Dublin in bidding to be recognised as 2022 Smart Tourism Capital at European Awards

Dublin will this week compete for the title of 2022 Smart Tourism Capital at the annual European Capital of Smart Tourism Awards which takes place today in Brussels.

The European Capital of Smart Tourism recognises innovative and smart tourism practices in European cities.

Dublin’s Smart Tourism initiative is a Dublin City Council and Fáilte Ireland programme, in partnership with Smart Dublin, Dublin City Council Culture Company and Dublin’s four Local Authorities.

Dublin is one of the first European cities to prioritise a specific Smart Tourism programme supported by a full-time programme manager.

Since 2020, Fáilte Ireland, Dublin City Council, Smart Dublin and Dublin City Council Culture Company have been working in partnership on Dublin’s first Smart Tourism Programme, with the aim of making the city a smart tourism destination, using the city’s expertise in technology to deliver a superior tourism experience.

Dublin has been shortlisted along with Bordeaux, Venice, Florence, Ljubljana, Palma and Valencia for showcasing outstanding, innovative and sustainable tourism practices. Gothenburg and Malaga shared the prize in 2020 for introducing accessibility apps for events and festivals, as well as building an event impact calculator which calculates the effect of events from an economic, social, and environmental perspective.

All 7 shortlisted cities will present at the awards today in Brussels with the winner’s announcement that evening.

The winning city will benefit from international marketing support and networking opportunities as well as a European Capital of Smart Tourism statue for their city.

Dublin’s Smart Tourism programme is focused on four key areas: data and insights, orientation, digital transformation, and digital trails.

Currently, the programme is using real time data to understand economic behaviour and recovery across the city as well as helping build new immersive tourism experiences.

A priority project of the programme is the development of digital trails, or digitally guided tours, which are becoming increasingly popular in tourism destinations as they drive economic activity and footfall across cities.

Through its partnership with Fáilte Ireland, the programme has produced a Digital Trails toolkit for industry which is designed to help local tourism businesses, local authorities and public bodies leverage the new opportunities digital trails can offer. This toolkit will be available for industry soon.

Head of Dublin Region at Fáilte Ireland, Liz Halpin said:

“This shortlisting recognises the ambition of Fáilte Ireland, Dublin City Council, Smart Dublin and Dublin City Council Culture Company to capitalise on our city’s expertise and knowledge of cutting-edge technology to help to rebuild our tourism industry as more sustainable, accessible and innovative than ever before.

“This programme was designed to ensure Dublin can leverage new technology opportunities to help support its economic recovery as it recovers and rebuilds.”

Jamie Cudden, Smart City Lead, Dublin City Council said:
“Tech-savvy tourists are demanding more from the places they visit.

“Through our Smart Tourism programme, we want to give travellers the services and experiences they expect and ensure that Dublin city and county can leverage technological advances in tourism that further cement our reputation as a leading SMART destination.”