Canary Islands and Ayesa Digital integrate AI and Big Data into the Tourism Observatory to optimize planning and strengthen the destination

The new tourism indicators portal delivers sustainability metrics and actionable insights to support decision-making.

Artificial intelligence powers both the data search engine and a conversational assistant, providing users with a more intuitive, accessible and user-friendly experience.

The Canary Islands Tourism Board and Ayesa Digital have enabled the Canary Islands Tourism Observatory to take a significant step forward through the joint development of the organisation’s new website, built on digital solutions and data governance capabilities. The initiative aims to centralise sector-related information and transform it into valuable knowledge that supports strategic planning across the tourism industry and further strengthens the Canary Islands as a destination.

Through Promotur, its public tourism company, the Canary Islands Ministry of Tourism and Employment has advanced this initiative to consolidate the Observatory as an intelligent, cross-cutting tool capable of generating valuable insights for public administrations and industry stakeholders alike, with the goal of improving the management of the tourism model. Beyond traditional indicators such as visitor arrivals and tourism expenditure, the new web platform analyses in real time how tourists move around the islands, how much water they consume, the level of rental activity and where they stay, thereby providing sustainability metrics and more accurate information on the real impact of tourism across the archipelago.

Ayesa Digital has worked on the project for the past two years, addressing the challenge of collecting, organising and interpreting sector data from multiple sources and in different formats. To analyse this information and turn it into actionable knowledge, the company has integrated advanced analytical models into the web portal through a range of cloud-based tools and technologies, including big data and machine learning solutions capable of processing and visualising large volumes of information. This enables the identification of mobility, concentration and spatial behaviour patterns among both residents and visitors, delivering a more precise understanding of tourism’s real impact on the islands — a key factor for future planning.

A crucial element of the project has been the incorporation of generative artificial intelligence, which functions both as a data search engine and as a virtual assistant that users can interact with through natural language questions and answers. This tool facilitates data consultation and interpretation, offering users a more intuitive, accessible and engaging experience.

The new Canary Islands Tourism Observatory platform is now fully operational and will continue to be enhanced in the coming months with new features designed to deliver greater value through richer information and an increased capacity to generate actionable insights for decision-making.