
Success story
Designing and implementing a tourism quality assurance system in 21 destinations
Capabilitiess: Quality assurance system, Competitiveness, Training
Client: SICTED
Location: Spain (21 destinations)
The Sistema Integral de Calidad Turística Española en Destinos (SICTED) takes into account the importance of the quality of a tourist destination. Therefore, it sets out a new objective to reach a homogeneus quality level at a specific tourist destination.
Creating a comprehensive quality assurance system for tourist destinations with the main objective of guaranteeing a certain level of service and consistent standard of care through previously approved standards. This ensures the tourist's or visitor's satisfaction. It was essential to raise awareness amongst companies in the destinations in order for them to commit to the implementation of good practices.
THR decided to follow a clear, simple and systematic methodology:
- Designing an efficient awareness-raising plan.
- Implementing a training action plan which allowed to teach both local public and private technicians about system methodology and tools.
- Creating a managing body for each destination which coordinated and dynamised the quality assurance system.
- Establishing a competitive diagnostic of the tourist destination which helped the managing body in strategic decision-making.
- Implementing a technical assistance process which allowed companies of the industry to reach a quality label.

Source: THR
The comprehensive SICTED quality assurance system was implemented in 21 Spanish destinations. Moreover, a managing body was created at each destination, which was responsible for managing and organising tourism in the area.
The project produced the following results:
- 600 firms obtained individualised technical assistance.
- Almost 400 companies were included in the system.
- 21 destination technicians were trained to maintain the system.
- 21 tourism improvement plans for the destinations.
- Coordination of the computing SICTED tool.
- 800 tourism industry professionals trained in the SICTED tools.
- 21 virtual guides for the included companies.
