On 11 June 2025, the Hotel El Mirador —in Puerto del Rosario (Fuerteventura)— hosted the opening of the third edition of Canarias Destino Startup, an event organised by AJE Las Palmas with the support of the Island Council, regional entities and the private sector. The day placed the transformation of tourism in the Canary Islands at the centre of the debate, with a clear focus on innovation, digitalisation and entrepreneurship.
An ecosystem coming together: institutions, companies and startups
The official opening brought together high-level institutional representatives: Javier Franco Hormiga (Director of ACIISI), Nuria Cabrera Méndez (2nd Vice-President of the Island Council of Fuerteventura), María Delgado (President of AJE Las Palmas), Héctor Mateo Castañeyra (Director-General for Tourism Infrastructure, Sustainability and Quality of the Government of the Canary Islands) and Mónica Nuez Ramos (Director for the Self-Employed at the Government of the Canary Islands), highlighting strong public–private backing for the initiative.
Afterwards, companies, startups and industry professionals shared talks, ideas and networking in a format designed to connect talent, resources and real-world challenges.
“The power of data spaces”: our contribution to smarter tourism
MNX Online was honoured to contribute a talk titled “The power of data spaces” —delivered by our CEO, Mannix Manglani— where we showed how data intelligence can act as a lever to:
- make more informed decisions in tourism and destination management;
- build realistic models for sustainability, efficiency and territorial competitiveness;
- foster collaboration between businesses, public administrations and startups through a shared data infrastructure;
- turn the islands’ potential into concrete innovation opportunities.
We shared concrete examples developed from the Canary Islands, explained in accessible language so that the concept of “data spaces” is not seen as purely technical but as a practical tool —not theoretical— to improve tourism management, sustainability and the experience of visitors and residents.
An event that reaffirms the value of the Canary innovation ecosystem
For MNX Online, Canarias Destino Startup was an opportunity to connect with key actors in the tourism sector, emerging companies and administrations committed to digital transformation. Events like this show that, while the innovation path has its challenges, there is a clear will to create synergies that can make a difference.
From Fuerteventura, we would like to thank AJE Las Palmas, the Island Council, the Government of the Canary Islands and the rest of collaborators for organising spaces where technology, tourism and territory converge with real impact potential.
If you would like to learn more about how we apply data spaces in tourism —and how they can help transform tourism and the digital economy from the Canary Islands— discover more here.
TOURiLAB DATA SPACE, file no. DUM-030000-2023-580, has received support for “Last-Mile” digitalisation projects in tourism companies for 2023 from the Ministry of Industry and Tourism, within Spain’s Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan – NextGenerationEU funds.
