Lucía Fuentes, Island Council of El Hierro: “Digitalisation boosts entrepreneurship and encourages Canarian talent”

Lucía Fuentes is the Minister of Tourism, Transport and Communications of the Island Council of El Hierro, and assures that the pandemic brought with it an advance in digitization. “At the institutional level, especially at the Island Council level, we did notice a huge change. Apart from telecommuting, the digitalisation of all files completely changed the way of working that we were used to,” says Fuentes, “the town councils have also changed, to a lesser extent, but at the level of private companies we have not been able to appreciate a change as large as might be expected. These companies were already immersed in digitization long before”.

Digitalisation has the potential to spread across all facets of the business landscape. Even tourism is likely to obtain a digital technology that evolves its functions. At the moment, according to the minister, digitization in this sector is slow, but sure. “It is being applied at very basic levels. We have used it to organize routes, or we have used QR to watch series, simple things but they are very useful”.

Yet Fuentes assures that they are willing to become an example of digitization for private companies. “If we are not pioneers, I think that very few companies are going to do it. So it is our responsibility to work on the digitalisation of the tourism sector so that later all the others can join”. From the Island Council of El Hierro they project themselves as an island with an impressive potential to transition to a more technological evolution of the work system.

One of the possible challenges that El Hierro may face is the formation of a business network and local startups that boost the business ecosystem of El Hierro. Lucía Fuentes, from the Cabildo del Hierro, considers that digitization is the key to this. “If we can offer the same digital connection that exists in Tenerife or Gran Canarias, it would be great for the island. It is the only thing that is needed, a quality of life is already being provided that has nothing to do with other destinations”, maintains the councillor.

El Hierro Red as an emblem of change

Currently, tourism has two aspects on which it works. On the one hand, there is tourism promotion, and on the other, the one that focuses on companies and modernization. Within these sectors, mobility is one of the enclaves on which the Council has begun to work. “As far as mobility is concerned, in the transport sector we have indeed undergone quite a few changes. Through the El Hierro Red (El Hierro Network) project, there has been a process of digitalization of transport systems that has made many changes in the last year”. And it is that any advance, no matter how minimal, can imply a world for El Hierro, where it costs much more for this technological advance to arrive, according to the minister. “One of the new elements that has favored transportation has been the application of information panels at the bus stops, the people of El Hierro can directly check the frequency, or the waiting time of the bus.”

With this new initiative proposed by the Island Council of El Hierro, not only is a new digitized model of transport being outlined, it is also investing in other facets. Now, this project is being carried out by Eduardo Perales, but the counselor has a long way to go on the subject: “We are installing some video cameras at strategic points on the island, such as on the beaches or others. We offer weather information, gauging, and many more resources that may be of interest to citizens”, declares Lucía Fuentes, “we also have measurements at the security and emergency level; measurement of the water availability of the entire complex; meteorological precision to avoid fires that can and several other things”.

El Hierro and employment guidance

“The Island Council of El Hierro, among other institutions, has always shown a great interest in developing all those activities that promote the reduction of unemployment and greater economic development. In addition, we have a very good influence with the Chamber of Commerce”, maintains Fuentes. And it is that the Chamber of Commerce maintains a very good relationship with the Institutions. It is imperative that both administrations work in side by side to encourage both entrepreneurship and innovation on the island.

Remote working conditions have caused hundreds of people to move to areas with good weather to carry out their telecommuting. The job offer in El Hierro may be unknown to some, but such is its relevance in the Canarian business system that it is now experiencing a wave of new workers flocking to the island. “Although fiber optics does not reach all points on the island, which we are working on, I know many cases of Scandinavians who have moved here to work for a few months and then returned to their hometowns, El Hierro offers many opportunities ”, declares Fuentes.

The case of the Scandinavians who come to the island in search of a haven of peace is paradigmatic. Word of mouth has reached Eastern Europe, the Canary Islands are already synonymous with great working conditions. The Minister of Tourism indicates that “the word has spread a lot, there are not a few who come and ask us at the town hall how they can invest on the island, or how taxation works here.”