The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) has launched the Future Tourism Program that addresses the technological transformation of tourist destinations in Latin America and the Caribbean as a key tool for the recovery and competitiveness of tourism in the region.

With financing from the General Cooperation Fund of Spain at the IDB, the Future Tourism Program opens a regional call, inviting tourist destinations to benefit from a diagnosis of their level of technological maturity, to develop a detailed action plan and pre-investment agreement with public and private sector stakeholders.

Latin America and the Caribbean is one of the regions where the tourism sector has had the greatest expansion, generating 10% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and 9% of employment in 2019 according to data from the World Travel and Tourism Council. However, the crisis generated by COVID-19 has affected the sector notably, producing a 50% contraction of regional tourism GDP in 2020.

In this context, the revitalization of regional tourism is articulated as an essential step towards the recovery, and adoption of new technologies as the necessary engine of this process. The Sustainable Development Goals consider new technologies as a basic element towards inclusion, sustainability, competitiveness, and economic development.

From the proposals received until March 30, 2022, the IDB will select 10 destinations that meet the following requirements:

• Countries that can participate (26 IDB member countries): Argentina, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Dominican Republic, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay, Venezuela.
• Type of eligible destinations: consolidated destinations, not belonging to more than two municipalities, excluding national or regional circuits. Applicant destinations may be urban, coastal or nature destinations.

This initiative is aligned with the IDB's Vision 2025 - Reinvesting in the Americas: A Decade of Opportunities to achieve sustainable recovery and inclusive growth in Latin America and the Caribbean.

The following link offers information about the process of participation in the Call for destinations of the FUTURE TOURISM PROGRAM.