Tourism Ministers discuss new tech in tourism

Ministerial panel discussion – Secretary of State for Spain Tourism, Minister of Tourism John Amaratunga, Minister of Tourism of Paraguay, Marcela Baccigalup, Director, Smart Communities, INDRA, Alberto Bernal, Director, Visit Norway, Bente Holm, Vice President, Mastercard, Hany Fam, Head of Amadeus, Brigitte Loehl, CTO, IBM, Elisa Garijo, and Director General Tourism Italy, Francesco Palumbo

Minister of Tourism Development and Christian Religious Affairs John Amaratunga attended the Second UNWTO World Conference on Smart Destinations held in Oviedo, Spain from 25 to 27 June.

This world conference which is organised by the UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) and the Ministry of Tourism of Spain is the annual gathering of international tourism experts to discuss the opportunities and challenges for tourism destinations arising from the development, implementation and management of innovative products and services that are based on new technological solutions.

Bringing together Government representatives, private sector entities, researchers and academics as well as technology centres, the event is an important platform for participants to share knowledge, build partnerships and advance their understanding about the development and key elements of ‘smart’ destinations. The Sri Lanka delegation comprised of Minister Amaratunga, Senior Advisor to the Minister Felix Rodrigo and Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority Director General Upali Ratnayake.