IDB - Inter-American Development Bank

10/26/2021 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 10/26/2021 16:22

IDB calls on companies and entities to develop technological diagnoses of tourism

  • Call is open until November 5 for tourist destinations in Mexico and Central America, the Caribbean and South America

  • Tourism recovery is a goal of the IDB, which in 2020 launched the Future Tourism Program

  • The use of digital and emerging technologies is key to the sector's recovery

Within the Future Tourism Program, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) is looking for companies and other entities with technological experience in the tourism sector to develop diagnoses on the technological readiness of tourist destinations in Mexico and Central America, the Caribbean and South America.

The call for proposals is open until November 5. It will support the diagnosis of the use of digital technologies to face the main challenges of the sector. It will also support the implementation of technological pre-investment plans to coordinate public and private interventions in the destinations.

The Future Tourism Program aims to promote a network of Smart Tourist Destinations (DTI for its Spanish acronym) in Latin America and the Caribbean. The DTI is a concept coined by the Society of the Public Sector Technology and Innovation in Tourism Development, in Madrid, Spain (SEGITTUR, for its Spanish acronym). For SEGITTUR, "a DTI is an innovative tourist destination, consolidated on a cutting-edge technological infrastructure, which guarantees the sustainable development of the tourist territory, accessible to all, which facilitates the interaction and integration of the visitor with the environment, increases the quality of the tourist experience and improves the quality of life of the residents".

The COVID-19 pandemic has generated multiple impacts and tourism has been one of the hardest hit sectors. In Latin America and the Caribbean, tourism GDP has fallen to almost half its pre-pandemic level, with an estimated impact of US$ 228 billion, according to the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), the main international business group for the sector.

Digital transformation is one of the strategic pillars in Vision 2025, the Bank's roadmap to support countries in their sustainable recovery efforts. The new technologies, responsible for the digital transformation that the sector was already experiencing before 2020, have been identified not only as the engine of transformation and revitalization of tourism, but the safest way to move towards a more profitable, inclusive, and sustainable tourism.

The following links offer information about the process of participation in the open call until November 5:

Request for Expression of Interest Consulting Services - Caribbean

Request for Expressions of Interest in Consulting Services - South America

Request for Expressions of Interest in Consulting Services - Mexico and Central America