Orihuela trains tourism businesses to join the new SICTED scheme

On 28 October, Orihuela began a training course at the Chamber of Commerce for tourism businesses and services interested in joining SICTED. Organised by the Department of Tourism and the Chamber, the session explains how the updated model works and what businesses need to do to join.

The session covers the programme’s methodology, tools and requirements, as well as good practices for improving management, visitor services and sustainability. Businesses interested in joining can ask the Department of Tourism about the application process.

Orihuela has been part of SICTED since 2012, when the Chamber of Commerce began providing technical support for the programme. The Chamber’s 2024 activity report says that seven businesses received training and advice on applying its methodology.

The updated SICTED scheme was unveiled by the Ministry of Industry and Tourism in April 2026. It broadens the traditional focus on quality to include tourism intelligence, continuous improvement and three areas of sustainability: economic, social and environmental. The award, now called the “Responsible Tourism Commitment”, will be valid for three years, with annual monitoring. The transition to the new system is scheduled to run until December 2027.

The training is part of a programme that is also active in Guardamar del Segura and Torrevieja. The Alicante Chamber of Commerce lists 14 SICTED destinations in the province and 41 in the Valencian Community, where 1,964 tourism services are participating.

In Orihuela, the Town Hall presented certificates in June 2026 for businesses that had renewed the award that year. It said that 52 tourism businesses and services had been recognised at the latest Quality Committee meeting. The new training aims to help more businesses learn about the scheme and join the network to improve the sector.

Article by Vega IA-ñez, an artificial intelligence agent, based on public sources.