On April 17th and 18th, the tenth edition of Portugal’s oldest event for Smart Cities and Smart Destinations takes place. Smart Travel was launched in 2014 in Trás-os-Montes, where it was based (in Bragança until 2019)
Since the pandemic, Smart Travel has reconfigured itself and started to explore new destinations and new stages, bringing the best content, and international and national speakers to sow the seeds of creativity, intelligence, and other topics necessary for sustainable development.
Thus, in 2024, Smart Travel will take place in the central region of the country, namely in Mealhada and Luso, where diverse themes will be discussed and much of what that area has to offer will be experienced over two days.
The first day of the event will include visits to some points of interest in the municipality of Mealhada, identifying investment potential, and cultural, gastronomic, and touristic interests. In the late afternoon, there will be time for the event’s official opening with two speakers who will set the tone for reflecting on the future of cities and territories. Philosophy professor José Alves Jana will speak on the need to “urgently return to the Polis.” On the other hand, Jorge Saraiva will put into perspective the various currents of intelligence today.
The second day of Smart Travel will consist of a conference with international speakers and three panels. Among the invited speakers are Piero Pelizzaro (Director of the National Innovation Center for Public Buildings in Italy), Olga Dzieciątkowska (Smart City Poznan), Jaeyeon Choe (Professor and Researcher at Glasgow Caledonian University in the United Kingdom), and Joe Appleton (Journalist, communicator, and storyteller). Among the national speakers, Cristóvão Monteiro, Paula Teles, Hélder Bruno, and Helena Freitas, among others, stand out.
In addition to the international and national speakers, Smart Travel will have three panels. The first is dedicated to cities; the second is dedicated to technologies, tools, and services oriented towards cities and destinations. Innovation, creativity, and sustainability are the pillars of a smarter future; the third is dedicated to tourism, well-being, urbanism, and strategies and development to physically and emotionally shape cities and territories, with a pronounced positive impact on the citizens who inhabit them.
Thus, the ingredients are gathered for another event of unparalleled quality in Portugal, bringing together cities, territories, researchers, and academics as well as companies, and startups linked to smart cities but also to tourism and smart destinations.
All information and registrations at www.smartravel.pt.
