The Final Conference held in Gran Canaria brought together institutions, researchers and tourism professionals to present the project’s achievements and unveil the next stage of an innovation ecosystem driven by Artificial Intelligence, Neuromarketing and Living Labs.
On 25 June, Gran Canaria hosted the Spain Living Lab Final Conference, bringing together public institutions, funding bodies, researchers, tourism companies and innovation stakeholders to showcase the project’s outcomes and present the roadmap for the next phase of this collaborative ecosystem.
Funded by the Spanish Ministry for Digital Transformation and Public Administration through Next Generation EU and the RETECH Programme, with the support of the Canary Islands Agency for Research, Innovation and Information Society (ACIISI), Spain Living Lab has become one of Spain’s leading initiatives promoting digital transformation in tourism through emerging technologies.
Emotur Lab advancing tourism research through behavioural science
As the Neuromarketing and Neurotourism Research Lab at the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Emotur Lab played a key role in the project by contributing scientific knowledge and advanced methodologies for analysing tourist behaviour.
During the conference, the Emotur Lab team delivered a live demonstration showcasing several technologies, including:
Eye Tracking
Emotional response analysis
Biometric metrics
Artificial Intelligence applied to consumer behaviour
These technologies provide objective insights into how travellers perceive destinations, process information and make decisions, supporting the design of more personalised, sustainable and competitive tourism experiences.
Tangible results for a national innovation ecosystem
Throughout its implementation, Spain Living Lab successfully developed:
450 Living Labs
266 Meta Labs
184 Business Labs
More than 15 Proofs of Concept
266 volunteers participating in experimental studies
The project combined Artificial Intelligence, Large Language Models (LLMs), Mixed Reality, Digital Twins and biometric technologies to better understand tourist behaviour and support evidence-based decision-making within the tourism industry
The journey continues
One of the conference’s main messages was clear: the Final Conference does not represent the end of Spain Living Lab.
Instead, it marks the beginning of a new stage built upon the knowledge generated, the methodologies developed and the collaborative ecosystem established among universities, businesses and public institutions.
During his keynote presentation, Dr Sergio Moreno Gil, Principal Investigator of the project and Director of TiDES Research Institute, introduced the project’s future vision under the message “The journey continues”, highlighting scalability, future collaborations and the long-term impact of the initiative.
Driving the future of smarter tourism
Emotur Lab remains committed to advancing research that combines Artificial Intelligence, Neuromarketing, Behavioural Science and Tourism Innovation to improve visitor experiences and strengthen the competitiveness of destinations.
The knowledge generated through Spain Living Lab provides a strong foundation for future collaborative projects that continue connecting research, innovation and industry.