The arrival of the Internet boosts accommodation, gastronomy and active tourism businesses
The deadline to participate in the 'Internet Patrimonio de Todos' competition is 3 May
Eurona, the Spanish telecommunications multinational that has proposed to bridge the digital divide in rural areas with satellite Internet, has started the countdown to reactivate with a high-speed connection the economy of two of the municipalities of the Association The Most Beautiful Villages of Spain participating in the 'Internet Heritage for All' contest.
According to Eurona's experience in satellite connection of hundreds of businesses in small municipalities in Empty Spain, the arrival of high-speed Internet helps to accelerate three of the engines of rural tourism: accommodation, gastronomy and businesses related to active tourism, taking into account that tourists not only use the connection to find accommodation, but also to enjoy all kinds of activities that are also a boost for local economies.
Thus, considering that 72% of rural tourists already prefer to book online, according to data from the Rural Tourism Observatory, the Internet will contribute to the digitalisation of rural accommodation in the two selected villages, promoting their online visibility and facilitating the management of bookings, as well as attracting new investment and tourists.
Likewise, 67% of rural tourists' spending is dedicated to the enjoyment of other services provided by local businesses, with an important weight of gastronomy, where the location of restaurants and their choice is increasingly driven by online recommendations.
In this sense, the online visibility of companies linked to active leisure activities (guided tours, horse riding, bungee jumping, climbing, rafting, trekking...) - which represent 17.5% of tourists' activities in rural areas - is fundamental, as in many cases the booking of accommodation is made in parallel to the booking of the activity.
About the competition
The municipalities that make up the Association The Most Beautiful Villages of Spain must submit before May 3rd a video of no more than one minute where neighbours of all generations tell in first person how high-speed Internet can change their lives, opening new economic opportunities or contributing to give more visibility to their emblematic environment. In short, how the Internet can make their beautiful village a beautiful place.
Eurona's proposal to connect rural Spain to boost its economic and social progress is in line with the Digital Agenda 2025 and the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan, which prioritises the digital transformation of the country with an allocation of 20 billion in public investment. In this sense, the government considers that digitalisation, social and territorial cohesion are some of the axes on which economic policy should revolve, with the plan for the connectivity and digital infrastructures of society and the economy being an objective in itself, to which it has allocated a budget of 2,000 million euros.
