As part of the activities of the TWINNEDbySTARS project, co-funded by the European Union (EU), the first co-creation workshop was held on 23 and 24 September in the Fundación Puerto Las Palmas building in Gran Canaria. The event was aimed at discussing the training and technical needs of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) dedicated to nautical tourism, sailing, and recreation at sea in the outermost regions (OR) of the EU in terms of digitisation and green and circular growth. The meeting also served to discuss opportunities for tourism diversification and to devise new multi-destination experiences between the Canary Islands, the Azores, and Madeira, which contribute to business internationalisation.
The co-creation workshop brought together representatives of SMEs, sustainability and technology experts, and key entities of the nautical sector. The main objective was to identify the challenges and opportunities faced by companies in the ORs in order to subsequently develop concrete solutions to improve their competitiveness and sustainability.
The first day began with a warm welcome and the presentation of the project by the coordinator, Matías González Hernández from the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (ULPGC-TIDES), and Xavier Martínez Sirvent, project partner and CEO of Nautic Ocean. They were in charge of explaining the objectives and expected results of the project and of the conference. Afterwards, Frank A. Rodríguez, from ASTROEDUCA, gave a lecture on the potential of dark skies to improve the nautical offer.
This was followed by a round of presentations highlighting the strengths and challenges of SMEs. Izzat Sabbagh Rodríguez, from XReality Factory, presented the technological possibilities in the nautical sector, while Adelina de la Jara, from the Canary Islands Maritime Cluster, spoke about the homogenisation and promotion of certification in the industry.
Gerard Martínez, Digital Marketing Manager at Nautic Ocean, led a session on generating ideas for new business models, which opened the way for discussions in the form of thematic tables. Each thematic table brought together companies and other actors from different regions with a common vision and interest in product development, combining whale watching and astrotourism, digitalisation and virtual reality in ports, and electrification of maritime passenger transport, among others. The day concluded with a teambuilding activity, strengthening the bonds between the companies and the experts present.
The second day started with a presentation by Mayte Tames Espinosa, from ELITTORAL, who presented applicable tools and strategies to make business at sea more circular and sustainable, with a focus on areas such as the greening of marine tourism, digital transition, and social innovation, and showed specific solutions and technologies for the sector.
Subsequently, Matías M. González Hernández, from ULPGC-TIDES, presented the self-assessment survey designed by the project as an adaptation of the InCircle tool for companies in the nautical sector. This is also a service created by the project and made available to all companies in open access on the website, so that companies can use it even after the end of the project. It allows self-assessment of circular and digital practices in four dimensions: human, social, built, and natural capital.
During the day, attendees participated in a moment of reflection while completing the survey, the results of which led to a debate on unmet training needs in the island’s nautical sector.
Upcoming Workshops in Madeira, the Azores, and Martinique
The TWINNEDbySTARS project will continue its co-creation workshops in Madeira, the Azores, and Martinique during autumn 2024, where it will continue to gather needs and inputs from local SMEs, sustainability and technology experts, academics, and key entities in tourism, yachting, and sea sports. The aim is to build a common consensus on the main challenges and opportunities facing the business cluster and then propose joint actions to advance their competitiveness and sustainability.
The four workshops of the TWINNEDbySTARS project are designed in an interconnected way, each one giving prominence to the business community in each region. These workshops are developed under a common methodology that will achieve two key objectives. Firstly, a shared design of complementary training programs for companies and their teams in each region will be created and implemented during the third year of the project. Secondly, an inventory of multi-destination products and experiences to be developed, as well as opportunities for inter-regional collaboration at the enterprise level, will be drawn up. During the third year, the project will support and facilitate the implementation and exploitation of business ideas and business collaboration with the greatest innovative and sustainable potential.