Its main goal is to turn social media comments and online reviews into valuable insights for more reality-based decision-making—helping improve services, respond quickly, and move towards a more balanced and sustainable model of tourism.
Torrevieja’s Councillor for Tourism, Rosario Martínez Chazarra, and Professor José María Cecilia Canales from the Department of Computer Systems at the Polytechnic University of Valencia (UPV), and Co-CEO of Sensing Tools (a UPV spin-off), have introduced TorreviejaSensing.com—a new platform designed to listen to the voices of residents and tourists in real time.
The tool was developed by Sensing Tools, in collaboration with the Torrevieja Town Hall, TI·LAB, and the University of Alicante’s Torrevieja campus. With this launch, Torrevieja is making a pioneering move in smart tourism management. The platform provides real-time insights into how people perceive tourism in the city. This initiative reflects the town’s commitment to more sustainable, data-driven, and participatory governance. Its primary objective is to transform online reviews and social media conversations into actionable knowledge.
Rosario Martínez stated,
“This platform lets us understand what residents and visitors think about key aspects of our tourism model—mobility, cleanliness, events, accommodation, and environmental impact. It helps us respond faster, improve services, and work towards a more sustainable and balanced form of tourism.”
HOW DOES TORREVIEJASENSING WORK?
The system analyzes thousands of messages posted on platforms like X (Twitter), YouTube, Meta (Facebook/Instagram), and Google Reviews, using artificial intelligence to extract opinions, emotions, trending topics, and frequently mentioned places.
With this data, the City Council can:
- Identify recurring complaints (e.g., overcrowded beaches or campervan issues).
- Spot underrepresented but in-demand tourism offerings (like ecotourism or food tours).
- Assess the city’s public image after major events or ad campaigns.
- Understand which zones or activities bring the most satisfaction—or problems—to visitors.
AI WORKING FOR THE PUBLIC GOOD
To extract this information, the platform uses natural language processing models, a branch of AI that can “read” and understand human text. These models are specifically trained to analyze sentiment, detect themes, and recognize entities like places or institutions.
The platform also features a smart chatbot that allows municipal staff to ask questions such as:
“Where are the most complaints about overcrowding?”
“Which events are generating the most positive engagement?”
This virtual assistant uses a method called RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation), which combines searching a database of texts with generative AI models like GPT-4 or LLaMA v3 to provide accurate and contextual answers.
A TOOL TO SHAPE THE FUTURE OF TOURISM
The real value of TorreviejaSensing lies in its ability to provide a continuous snapshot of public sentiment on the strategic pillars of the city’s tourism development. It helps create evidence-based tourism policies instead of relying solely on perception.
“Thanks to this platform, we’re moving beyond just looking at tourist numbers. We’re entering a more qualitative phase—one that helps us understand how people feel about tourism. It’s a strategic tool to take care of both our visitors and our residents,”
concluded Tourism Councillor Rosario Martínez.
