As the COVID-19 pandemic continued to sweep around the globe, causing problems in virtually every nation in the world, some places in the world looked to continue on as best they could. And while places like the Costa del Sol have naturally impacted negatively thanks to the virus, the Spanish coastal town of Malaga looks to have found some solutions to the problem getting any worse. Indeed, as the sixth-largest city in Spain, Malaga is a major hub of travel, culture, and entertainment.
For that reason, many people would have been keen to return. With the advent of their ‘Smart Tourism’ approach, though, getting back to Malaga might be easier than some assumed. With millions of visitors each year to the city, this is a key hub of Andalusian life and living quality. It’s a key destination for many people to check out, and has become a popular location for Spaniards to vacation domestically or those from abroad. The city, though, has developed something known as Malaga Valley to offset any COVID-19 losses. How does it work? And why does it work so well?
Can the world learn lessons from Malaga Valley?
The system that has been developed is an innovative platform called Malaga Valley. The reason why this exists is that Malaga is home to many domestic and European tech firms, and they work out of the Tech Park outside of the city. It has become a major place for start-ups and big businesses to settle. This has led to the city using smart technology to keep up with its own rapid rise, ensuring that technology is used to its advantage.
This allows for a more sustainable environmental development, but it also allows for people to see the city during the era of COVID-19. It has allowed for the city to start slowly but surely re-opening up travel and tourism options, using solutions that make it so much easier for people to stay safe and secure. While not every city in Europe is going to be blessed with a smart tech set-up like Malaga, it is very much becoming the model to follow across the country and continent.
From the use of electric mobility to intelligent conservation of major resources like water, there is much that is automated and managed via Malaga Valley. This creates a location that is powered with renewable energy and allows easy access to useful apps and aides for visitors to try and use to their advantage. It even allows for the usage of tools like Augmented Reality (AR) to allow people to enjoy the experience even more.
With tourism naturally limited thanks to the curbed nature of travel and opportunity, tools like those on offer via Malaga Valley are certain to play a crucial role in the growth, development, and improvement of the entire industry. While tourism flounders in some locations, Malaga has found a unique way to ensure that it can thrive instead. Can the world learn lessons from here? Absolutely.