Tourism Observatories as an intelligent center in tourism planning and management The case of A Coruña (Galicia, España)

Resumo

Tourism observatories could be defined as tourism intelligence organizations whose mission is to be a stable structure for collecting and analyzing data in order to be able to tell a historical series of information that is truly useful for managers. Therefore, it is important that there is a commitment and interrelation between universities, administration, and companies in this type of organization that allows their continuity. In this context, this article aims to describe and analyze the case of the A Coruña Tourism Observatory, the first municipal one in its region. The methodology applied has been mainly descriptive and qualitative. Thus, the project is described in detail through a case analysis and the information is completed with the collection through in-depth interviews carried out with the main actors involved (public and private). The results show that a project of these characteristics will be useful if the information obtained is concise, precise, and reliable. Likewise, the participation of public and private actors is essential for the success of the Project. Finally, it should be noted that one of the main challenges in extracting value from data is its quality, that is, processing is one of the most relevant phases, as well as its correct interpretation, use, and dissemination.