News
San Sebastian, finalist in the European Capital of Smart Tourism competition with a sustainable innovative offer
- Donostia / San Sebastián has been shortlisted as one of six finalists in the European Commission's European Capital of Smart Tourism competition singling out cities with an exceptional commitment to smart tourism: sustainable, respectful, innovative, cultural.
- San Sebastián was one of the cities which notched up the highest scores on the EU award's four criteria: sustainability, accessibility, digitalisation and cultural heritage and creativity. The winning city will be announced on 28 November in Brussels.
The European Commission has announced the cities shortlisted as finalists for the European Capital of Smart Tourism 2024 award, sizing up their exceptional commitment to sustainable innovative tourism.
Culture, Basque and Tourism Councillor Jon Insausti said “we are very happy to have reached the final, as this acknowledges our solid commitment to smart tourism, with sustainability, innovation and the local population's living standards as the main drivers of our strategy. Recognition of work over many years, and most especially of public/private collaboration by all those involved in the sector and participation by the public at large. It is a pleasure to share experiences within a network of European cities, and we hope we can pitch our entry to become European Capital of Smart Tourism 2024, which will definitely act as a loudspeaker to bring in talent and international targets, while encouraging innovative projects to improve standards of living and visits to our city".
Of the 30 cities contending from 17 countries, the finalists are Donostia / San Sebastián, Dublin (Ireland), Genoa (Italy), Helsingborg (Sweden), Bremerhaven (Germany) and Cork (Ireland). These six notched up the highest scores on the EU competition's four criteria: sustainability, accessibility, digitalisation and cultural heritage and creativity.
The innovative approach to data management by the Donostia / San Sebastián Tourism Observatory, making use of Big Data and Open Data to create a repository with interconnected information from several city hall departments, was one of the highlighted projects. Insausti added that “if tourism is to be managed properly, it is vital to collect and process data. This will give us more information on the sector, and will enable us to draw up better policies. It will also help us maintain rigorous debate and discourse beyond any individual feelings and impressions. A smart tourist destination must be one that properly and reasonably combines a welcome for visitors with the satisfaction of local people. We are aiming to become a top-notch tourist destination, with first-class living standards for the people of Donostia".
The final six must submit their entries to an expert independent EU jury panel in Brussels on 27 November, and the winner will be announced the following day. The city that becomes European Capital of Smart Tourism will have assistance with communication and branding in 2024, in order to position itself as a "smart" destination”, publicise its smart/innovative projects, involve stakeholders, attract strategic audiences from abroad and share good practices with a network of European cities that are working towards smart, sustainable tourism.
The European Capital of Smart Tourism competition is an EU initiative set up in 2018 to reward cities for innovative practices in areas such as accessibility, digitalisation, sustainability, cultural heritage and creativity. It has also served as a platform to showcase good sustainable tourism practices and boost networking among cities. Previous winners have been Sevilla and Paphos (2023), Valencia and Bordeaux (2022), Málaga and Gothenburg (2020), and Helsinki and Lyons (2019).
- 2023 Sep 29
San Sebastián promoted at Berlin's ITB fair
- 2023 Mar 07
San Sebastian, the ideal setting for incentives
- 2023 Jan 23
Donostia / San Sebastián beat records at FITUR and IBTM
San Sebastián presented its commitment to attracting tourism with high added value at FITUR and increased the number of enquiries by 250%
Donostia San Sebastián Turismoa was at the FITUR fair from the 18th to the 22nd of January, to publicise the positioning of Donostia/ San Sebastián as a tourist destination: sustainable tourism, based on the balance, quality and authenticity of the destination, that revolves around 5 core strategies: cultural, gastronomic, sports, premium and congress tourism.
Enquiries at the San Sebastián stand beat records, with a 250% increase compared to the last year that Fitur was held before the pandemic in 2020.
On the 18th the latest Donostia San Sebastián Turismoa project: Donostia San Sebastian Premium, was presented by the councillor for Sustainable Tourism Cristina Lagé, together with the associated companies Chillida Leku, and Navegavela. A commitment to quality tourism with high added value, moving away from mass tourism to target the kind of people who are interested in authenticity, local colour, being pampered, and above all, in really experiencing the city. This new line of work also aims to position the city and to develop an offer of tourist products and services with local companies in the sector that target this kind of client.
San Sebastián increased the number of meetings held with national and international agents at the Feria IBTM World by 30%
A delegation from Donostia San Sebastián Turismoa, together with representatives from 11 associated companies - Hagoos, Basque Destination, Inbasque, Tenedor Tours, Aquarium, Kursaal Congress Centre, Ficoba, the Hotel de Londres and de Inglaterra, the hotel Silken Amara Plaza, the hotel Arima and Sade Hoteles (Zinema 7 and Lasala Plaza) -, visited the Feria IBTM World in Barcelona from the 29th of November to the 1st of December, led by Basquetour.
The represntatives from the San Sebastian Convention Bureau and its associated companies had an intensive appointments schedule at this event for professionals, considered to be one of the most important in the world in the business and congress travel sector. Meetings with national and international players in the MICE sector increased by 30% compared to the last on-site fair held in 2019.
- 2023 Jan 20
Success in promoting San Sebastián as a Christmas destination
The "Feel the Magic" campaign, launched by Donostia San Sebastián Turismoa to promote the city as a Christmas destination has achieved some significant results in the two markets that have basically been targeted: Spain and France.
The "Feel the Magic" campaign, launched by Donostia San Sebastián Turismoa to promote the city as a Christmas destination has achieved some significant results in the two markets that have basically been targeted: Spain and France.
The campaign has been 100% on-line, and has obtained 8 million ad impressions that have generated more than 105,000 views and clicks on the Donostia San Sebastián Turismoa web page. In addition, 18,000 people have taken part in the draw for 3 short breaks, and the 3 winners already have their " vouchers" to enjoy San Sebastián in the next few months.
Donostia / San Sebastián has also been promoted as a Christmas destination on social media in collaboration with Genoa, the other European Christmas capital, and the British influencer Nicola Easterby for the generation of interactive content. The reach of the organic Christmas publications on DSST’s social media in December has achieved 527,477 views on Facebook, 1,098,705 on Instagram, and 642,284 on the UK influencer’s profiles.
- 2023 Jan 01
Donostia / San Sebastian promoted again at the JATA Tourism Expo Japan 2022 trade show
JATA Tourism Expo Japan 2022 was held as an in-person event in Tokyo from 22 to 25 September, with the latest developments being presented to companies from Japan and the rest of the world. Donostia San Sebastian Turismoa attended this trade fair again this year, to promote the destination in a key market for DSS Turismoa, a market that prioritises a segment of tourism that respects the destination and delivers high added value.
| Years | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020* | 2021* | 2022 |
| Visitors from Japan | 18.270 | 18.362 | 23.819 | 25.197 | 41.981 | 6.024 | 1833 | 3935 |
| Annual growth | 12,04% | 0,50% | 29,72% | 5,79% | 66,61% | -85,65% | -69,57% | 114,68% |
- 2022 Sep 21
DSS Turismoa and the Gipuzkoa Hotel Association sign an agreement to promote and position San Sebastián as a tourist destination
The hotels that belong to the Gipuzkoa Hotel Association will provide more than a hundred rooms free of charge for prestigious members of the media and strategic industry players, helping to strengthen San Sebastián’s international standing and attract visitors from priority markets to boost the local tourism industry.
In 2020, more than half a thousand articles about Donostia/San Sebastián were published in the most prestigious national and international media, with an AVE (Advertising Value Equivalent) of more than €5 million.
- 2021 Jul 16