The minister also outlined the next stage of Andalucía Nexus, which will consist of turning accumulated experience into tools the sector can use. "The projects have to move forward by connecting data and knowledge of the territory in order to anticipate trends and support the decisions of companies and destinations," he explained. The aim, he added, is for that knowledge to reach "large hotels and small ones, international destinations and municipalities looking for new opportunities".
Speaking on behalf of Seville City Council, Blanca Gastalver, Councillor for Education, Youth, Municipal Buildings and the Sur District, noted that every autumn the congress places the city "at the centre of the conversation about the future of tourism". In her view, today's tourism "has little to do with what came before", because AI, data and new tools have broadened the playing field. Seville, she said, wants to be recognised "for what we are, for our tradition and culture, but also as leaders of the changes in tourism".
Argentina, this year's guest country, was represented by its consul in Andalusia, Sergio Servín, who described Spain as "a strategic partner". The figures bear this out: in the first half of 2026 the South American country welcomed more than 3.1 million travellers, and Spain ranked among the top three countries of origin. Servín also highlighted the effect of these numbers on local entrepreneurship, employment and cultural exchange in different regions of Argentina.
Beyond the speeches, the venue hosts more than 200 exhibiting firms showcasing AI-based platforms, intelligent data management models, automation systems, cybersecurity and sustainable innovation. They are joined by the more than 400 experts of the Tourism Innovation Global Summit, who are sharing real-world use cases from tourism businesses and destinations.
The major companies agreed on one message: technology adds, but it does not replace. Encarna Piñero, Global CEO of Grupo Piñero, argued that innovating also means "reinventing processes, the way we build travel packages, the way we attract customers", and stressed that "the soul of tourism is human contact". Mateo Ramón, CEO of Soltour, valued the role of AI in adapting to ever faster change and in ensuring that "people generate value in their work". Along the same lines, Miguel Reynés, CIO of Riu Hotels, summed up that AI serves as support, "but it is human talent that is at the controls".
The strategic perspective came from Tomeu Bennasar, CIO of Grupo Iberostar, for whom this technology "has a power we had never seen before" and must be tied to business plans. Juan Orti, Chairman of Exceltur, insisted that its implementation has to happen "from the top down", with an objective set by senior management. He also warned that managing risk well means finding "that sweet spot between implementing the technology and control". Control that is too restrictive holds back development, while its absence raises the risk.
The most practical angle was provided by Sergio Torrijos, Head of Travel at Google Spain, who recommended looking after feeds in order to gain relevance in both organic and paid results. He listed three basic principles, "effortless research, proactive tracking and making it real", and encouraged the sector to "embrace change, learn to use the tools and select specific cases to improve the user experience".
