Yesterday, Wednesday, the Tourism Department of El Poble Nou de Benitatxell’s Council brought together the members of the Interdepartmental Technical Committee to share the annual plan and the progress made, including the municipality’s Tourism Scorecard.
The Smart Office, a municipal unit created within the framework of the Tourism Sustainability Plan for Destinations (PSTD) to promote digitalisation and intelligence applied to local management, presented the status of projects currently underway and the milestones achieved in the last year, such as the renewal of the recognition as a Tourist Municipality in accordance with Decree 5/2020 of the Valencian Community and the award of the Q for Quality to the Tourist Office.
Next, the scorecard was shared, a key tool for gaining a more accurate understanding of the destination’s reality and facilitating evidence-based decision-making. The presentation had two objectives: on the one hand, to inform municipal technical teams about its functionalities and potential, and on the other, to initiate the process of institutional appropriation of the tool, so that each area can identify how to integrate data analysis into its daily work.
The Tourism Scorecard is the result of a design and technical development process led entirely by the Smart Office, which is responsible for its conception as well as the collection, structuring and integration of the various sources of information. The tool combines internal data from municipal services with external and open sources, and presents it through a visual and intuitive interface that is accessible to users who are not specialised in data analysis.
The system is structured around four thematic areas that offer a comprehensive and balanced view of tourism behaviour in the municipality, reflecting a strategic approach that is well aligned with the destination’s current needs. These areas include the analysis of tourist accommodation, demonstrating the municipality’s commitment to incorporating this type of accommodation into its monitoring and management systems in a proactive and planned manner. This approach is particularly valuable in an area with marked urban dispersion, as it allows this unique feature to be turned into an opportunity to move towards more accurate, informed tourism management that is adapted to the local reality.
One of the main distinguishing features of the Scorecard is its cross-cutting nature. Although it originated in the field of tourism, its design takes other departments into account. This way of working responds to the governance model promoted by the municipality, which understands tourism as an element interconnected with other public services and focused on improving the well-being of both the local population and those who visit El Poble Nou de Benitatxell.