DEPLOYTOUR

‘DEPLOYTOUR - Deployment of a trusted and secure common European tourism data space ‘ aims to establish the European Tourism Data Space (ETDS). To deploy the ETDS, the project will unite key actors from the tourism and data ecosystems, including the public, businesses - especially SMEs - and research partners at local, national and European levels.

Recognising the importance of tourism data for the data economy within a European Single Digital Market, DEPLOYTOUR aspires to make a measurable impact on the digital transformation of the tourism sector, enhancing European competitiveness. The project's outcomes will lay the groundwork for governance and policy-making, fostering innovation powered by tourism data and positioning Europe as the most desirable sustainable destination for living and visiting.

Building on the preparatory actions of DATES and DSFT, along with insights from other data spaces and data sharing initiatives (such as DSSC and Gaia-X), and in close collaboration with initiatives like the European Competence Centre for tourism data, DEPLOYTOUR will design the ETDS architecture in alignment with SIMPL data infrastructure. DEPLOYTOUR will also continue to advance governance efforts by developing a minimum viable rulebook, generate policy recommendations and strengthen the tourism data-sharing community through synergies, alliances, and collaborations.

The project will demonstrate the ETDS' value by piloting five strategic use cases across diverse tourism destinations and typologies, addressing key challenges such as tourism flows, sustainability and emerging trends. The use cases will include:

• An application that uses advanced data and AI technologies to reduce environmentally harmful tourism behaviours in the Alpine regions, enhance resilience and promote sustainable tourism by monitoring and guiding tourist activities.

• A dashboard that aims to enhance the resilience and competitiveness of Spain's prime tourist destinations—the Canary Islands, Andalucia, and the Balearic Islands—by creating a unified tourist corridor through data-driven strategies.

• A holistic tool for the MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, Events) sector that aims to provide MICE professionals and travellers with real-time, contextualised data on transportation, leisure, and cultural activities, using AI to generate predictive insights and tailored recommendations.

• The creation of a more diversified tourism offer for the sun and sea destination of Ano Syros in Greece by combining digitised cultural heritage sites and artefacts with other tourism data (e.g., tourist flows, expenditures, climate data), thus contributing to the destination's sustainable development.

• The creation of a TravelTech data space and app marketplace which will provide SMEs with streamlined access to data and innovative applications related to the tourism industry.

The project is funded under the Digital Europe Programme (DIGITAL) of the European Union.