Lorca goes digital with a new way to discover the city

Visitors can find out what's on, plan their day and buy tickets online, with information available in four languages

Planning a visit to Lorca should soon be a little easier, thanks to a new digital service bringing many of the city's tourism services together in one place.

The Ayuntamiento de Lorca has completed VISITLORCA, a new online platform where visitors can find information about attractions and events, plan their visit and buy tickets. The website is available in four languages and includes an events calendar covering everything from leisure and sporting events to exhibitions, fairs and activities organised by local associations.

There's also an interactive map and an itinerary planner using artificial intelligence, allowing visitors to put together their own route around the city.

A mobile app forms part of the same system, with tickets stored in the phone's digital wallet. Visitors can also choose a digital tourist card lasting 24, 48 or 72 hours, depending on how long they are staying. The card can be built around the attractions and services they want to use and shows how much they can save compared with buying individual tickets.

The new system is also intended to make things easier for local tourism businesses. Museums, hotels, restaurants and shops that join the platform will be able to sell tickets and tourist cards, check tickets using QR codes and keep track of visitor numbers.

The Ayuntamiento says the system can also show how many people are visiting different parts of the municipality. This information is collected anonymously and can help the city understand visitor numbers and how people move around.

The VISITLORCA project has received €134,823 in funding and is part of the Plan de Sostenibilidad Turística, financed by the European Union's NextGenerationEU recovery fund.

A separate digitalisation project is also being carried out to make Lorca's tourist attractions available online. This includes 360-degree and 3D models of attractions and resources, including the city's Semana Santa and San Clemente celebrations. The project has received a further €87,513.25 and will give people another way to see and discover Lorca's attractions online.

For more local information about Lorca, including news and what’s on, enquire at the tourist office (Palacio de Guevara, telephone 968 441914, email lorcaturismo@lorca.es, or visit the home page of Lorca Today.

Images: Ayuntamiento de Lorca