Girona's campsites are willing to invest €30 million to digitalize the sector.
The Girona Camping Association also calls for more investment in hospitals, as they are an incentive for older tourists.
Saint Peter the FishermanSince the start of the tourist season, three Girona campsites have participated in the Smart Camp project, a pilot project involving the installation of sensors and the application of an artificial intelligence system to better digitize and connect the establishments. The experience has allowed them to increase security, improve the customer experience, and become more efficient in certain processes.
The president of the Girona Campsite Association, Miquel Gotanegra, explains, for example, that capacity cameras have been installed in the pool. This allows guests to know in real time whether it is full or not. It also allows water treatment to be carried out based on the number of bathers. But beyond this sensor, weather stations have also been installed to provide weather information to guests. They warn them when a storm is coming, so they have time to prepare and take cover, avoiding trips that could put them in danger.
Gotanegra assures that they are now working to extend this pilot to the rest of the campsites, which will entail an investment of 30 million euros. This Friday, the results of the trial were presented at the La Ballena Alegre campsite in Sant Pere Pescador at an event with the Minister of Industry and Tourism, Jordi Hereu. The minister emphasized the importance of leveraging technology and applying it to tourist establishments to become leaders in the sector. He noted that the camping world already has numerous international awards for the quality and sustainability of its establishments.
For his part, Gotanegra announced that they have sent "a dossier" to extend the Smart Camp project to the rest of Catalonia and the Spanish state. Currently, there is no funding available to move forward, but the president of the Association insists that the project must be taken into account. Beyond public aid, Gotanegra assures that "if there is no subsidy, they will do it anyway," because he emphasizes that companies are committed to being a benchmark in camper accommodation.
The president of the Girona Camping Association has also called on the public authorities to invest more in healthcare. Gotanegra points out that the public hospital network has become "a tourist asset," especially for the senior public. "It's a visitor profile that works very well for us to de-seasonalize the season," he adds. According to Gotanegra, there is now a good hospital network, but he regrets that "the Girona region is one of those with the least investment in public health." Therefore, he demands that the public authorities increase their budget to reverse this situation.