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Without a doubt, tourist destinations are fundamental for a responsible and sustainable development of their territories, managing to improve their competitiveness. Those responsible for these destinations have a very complicated mission, but their preparation and experience guarantee at all times their commitment to achieve success in their work.

In this sense, on some occasions, it is common for these tourist destinations to provide support to external companies and professionals to improve the implementation of strategies, to define a marketing plan, to analyze the actions carried out or to create a product, among other collaboration possibilities.

To get to know this area of ​​tourism consultancy better, we were able to interview Jordi Casassayas, an independent consultant with more than twenty-five years of proven experience in the tourism sector, both at a strategic and operational level, in areas such as planning, marketing , training and applied technology. At the same time, I am an associate professor at the Faculty of Tourism of the University of Girona.


Casassayas Consultoria Turística is one of the more than 80 members of the Tech Tourism Cluster, can you please tell us briefly about the main elements of your organization?

Cassassayas Consultoria Turística is a consultancy aimed at accompanying the managers of tourist destinations in the processes of improving the planning and management of their tourist destination. At the same time, it is the result of a personal concern to combine the more theoretical part of consulting (planning) with the more practical part, helping and accompanying managers in the execution of the elaborated plans. For this reason, an approach is brought, we could say, very artisanal, with a very high involvement in each project, and where, based on an objective analysis, adapted and realistic strategies and actions are proposed for the tourist destination.

During these years I have been lucky enough to get to know different areas of work in the tourism industry, including companies in the accommodation sector, public administration and tourism consultancy. In this last area, independently for more than ten years, participating in dozens of tourism strategy projects, product creation, execution of action plans, etc.

How is your participation in this tourism technology cluster contributing to the improvement of innovation and development of your organization?

If there is a sector where technology has had a clear and wide impact in recent years, it is undoubtedly the tourism sector, and for any professional linked to the sector it should be an obligation to be up to date with how technology advances and the associated products and services. And it is precisely what the Cluster allows, to generate an environment of collaboration and relationship between technological and non-technological companies linked to tourism that facilitates and promotes both the exchange of experiences and information, increasing the joint and individual innovation of the members of the Cluster. 

On a personal level, being part of the Cluster makes it easier for me to get to know companies and tools that are highly specialized and focused on the sector that enrich our consulting projects. At the same time, our global vision of the destination provides the other members of the Cluster with new data to adjust their services and products.

In the context of this Cluster, what collaboration and networking opportunities have already presented themselves for your organization in terms of new projects or strategic alliances?


Beyond the obvious networking opportunities that are generated at each activity organized by the Cluster, in our case two main ways of collaboration are being established. The first is the incorporation of solutions and tools from members of the Cluster in the consulting work proposals with our clients, while the second has to do with the formalization of alliances with some members to contribute their expertise to our organization concrete or, on the other hand, to contribute our knowledge of the tourist destination to the organizations to improve their products and services. 

At the same time, collaborations are taking place when submitting candidacies for projects and public tenders, where the union of different specialized profiles generates a clear competitive advantage.

How has the exchange of knowledge and experiences between member companies of the Cluster influenced the creation and adoption of more advanced technological solutions in the tourism industry or initial proposals in this area?

In our case, since it is not a technology company, the exchange of knowledge and experiences is not generating the creation of new solutions, but the participation in groups and work sessions allows us to have a less theoretical view of many technologies and tools and therefore have a greater ability to correctly apply the multitude of existing solutions, being more efficient and competitive in our consulting services. 

At the global level of the Cluster, I see that new collaboration dynamics are generated both inside and outside it, with other actors linked to tourism, such as the administration itself or the university. The greater knowledge about what each member of the Cluster does, added to the relationships that are established between the people who represent the member entities (since, let's not forget, in the end companies are relationships between people), I see that they are giving how resulting in conversations and some very interesting initial work proposals.

From the Cluster's perspective, what is your organization's main contribution to the tourism technology ecosystem and promoting the growth of other member companies and the Cluster itself?


I believe that our main contribution to the Cluster and its members is the deep knowledge we have of the tourist destination. We know well how it is organized, what are the needs and concerns of its tourism managers, the existing access barriers for the application of technology in the management of the destination, etc. All this information can be of great value because the members of the Cluster can create, improve and adjust technological solutions that adapt to the existing demand. 

In addition to this knowledge, we bring a strategic and holistic view on how to plan a tourist destination and what the role of technology should be in your strategy so that it brings real value to the destination as a whole. In this sense, we consider technology as a means to generate data, services and products that positively influence the tourism sustainability of the destination, understanding sustainability as the balance between the tourist experience, environmental conservation, well-being of the resident and the profitability of the tourism sector.