The Tech Tourism Cluster is driving marIA, an innovation project that leverages artificial intelligence as a key tool to transform the management of tourism and cultural information in Catalan municipalities. The initiative was created to address a common challenge during local festivals: fragmented information, lack of real-time updates, and difficulties in providing content tailored to diverse visitor and resident profiles.

marIA proposes the development of an intelligent, multichannel conversational agent designed as a 24/7 virtual information office. Through a QR code shared across each municipality’s usual communication channels, users can access a digital assistant that delivers personalised, multilingual responses via WhatsApp, centralising access to event agendas, mobility, accommodation, dining, local commerce and public services in a single space.

The project will initially be rolled out through a pilot during the major festivals of Badalona, Calella and Lloret de Mar, three destinations with distinct profiles that will allow the solution to be validated in real-life contexts. This pilot will help measure usage, impact and the value delivered to visitors, local authorities and the local economic fabric.

Beyond enhancing the visitor experience, marIA incorporates a strategic dimension for destinations. The system collects anonymised usage and interaction data, generating an information dashboard that supports decision-making, event planning, resource optimisation and the evaluation of future editions. In addition, its ability to guide visitor flows in real time contributes to better crowd management, helping to relieve pressure on saturated areas and strengthen community coexistence.

With an expected duration of 17 months, marIA has an eligible budget of close to 100.000€, mainly funded through a grant covering nearly 75% of the total cost.

One of marIA’s key differentiating strengths is its scalability and replicability. While initially focused on local festivals, the technological infrastructure is designed to adapt to other local events such as festivals, themed markets or municipal concerts, consolidating a model that can be exported to other destinations in Catalonia and beyond.

🤝 We would like to thank ACCIÓ for its support and give special recognition to the involvement of inlea, Tridenia, Omnia Branding and Noema Consulting in the development of the solution. We continue to collaborate together to tackle shared challenges and build a stronger, more reference-driven ecosystem.