Suncruise Gathers Port Innovation and Cruise Tourism in Malaga

11/03/2026

The Suncruise Innovation Forum addressed the technological transformation of ports, their relationship with the tourist experience, and the opportunities of open innovation.

Signicat and Sebka Technology won the challenges of the fifth edition of the Open Innovation Challenge Prize, promoted by the Public Agency for Ports of Andalusia and the Port Authority of Almería, respectively.

Port innovation and its capacity to generate new opportunities for maritime tourism were the focus of the Innovation Forum for Nautical and Cruise Ports of Andalusia and the Alboran Sea, held this morning in the José de Gálvez y Gallardo Hall of the Port Authority of Malaga. Under the title "Seas of Opportunity: The Axis of Innovation in Maritime Tourism," the meeting brought together representatives from ports, institutions, companies, and academia to share experiences and explore solutions that improve port services and their connection with destinations.

Organized by Suncruise Andalusia and the Alboran Sea and the Port Authority of Malaga, with the support of the Junta de Andalucía, the forum combined professional discussions, the presentation of the Nexus Project as a success story, and the awards ceremony for the fifth edition of the Open Innovation Challenge Prize, developed in collaboration with espacio_Res.

The institutional opening featured Carlos Rubio Basabe, President of the Port Authority of Malaga, and Estrella Díaz Sánchez, General Director of Tourism and Hospitality Planning of the Junta de Andalucía.

Carlos Rubio highlighted that "innovation must translate into concrete improvements for those who operate in ports, for those who visit them, and for the cities that host them. Sharing experiences among enclaves allows us to identify useful solutions and advance a closer relationship between port activity and the destination."

For her part, Estrella Díaz noted that "nautical and cruise ports are gateways to Andalusia and an opportunity to connect visitors with the cultural, gastronomic, and natural richness of our territory. Collaboration between institutions and companies is fundamental for innovation to translate into a higher quality, more accessible, and sustainable tourism offering."

After the inauguration, Esther Molina Crespo, Managing Director of Suncruise Andalusia and the Alboran Sea, presented the Open Innovation Challenge Prize project, which connects needs raised by ports with proposals from the innovative ecosystem.

"The value of open innovation lies in starting from a real problem and bringing together those who can contribute to solving it. From Suncruise, we want to facilitate that encounter and help ideas advance towards applicable solutions, with continuity and the capacity to generate value for ports and their destinations," explained Molina.

The first discussion of the day, "Innovation in Ports," was moderated by Juan José Sibina Calderón, Manager of ACEMAR–Association of Stevedores and Port Companies of Malaga, and featured Juan Antonio Herrera Salas, Head of Innovation at the Port Authority of the Bay of Algeciras, and José Hernán, Head of Technology at the Port Authority of Huelva.

The block focused on the transformation of port activity and the exchange of experiences between their innovation and technology managers, within a day aimed at bringing the needs of ports closer to the capabilities of companies and professionals.

Next, the Public Company for the Management of Tourism and Sport of Andalusia presented the Nexus Project as a success story, incorporating a practical experience into the program to illustrate the possibilities of innovation applied to the sector.

The second discussion, "Innovation and its Interaction with the Destination," broadened the analysis to the relationship between port activity and the tourist offering of the territory. Moderated by Pilar Fernández-Fígares, Managing Director of the Malagaport Foundation, it brought together Beatrice Rasmini, General Manager of Sevilla Cruise Port; Lourdes Millán, Director of Ambassadors of Malaga; and Vicente Ferrero Muñoz, PhD, FHEA, from the European University.

The composition of the panel allowed for the incorporation of perspectives from cruise terminal management, destination experiences, and academia, relating port innovation to the services and proposals that visitors encounter upon disembarking.

With this block, the forum connected the improvement of port processes and services with one of its main tourist objectives: to facilitate that arrival by sea becomes an experience linked to the destination and its businesses.

The fifth edition of the Open Innovation Challenge Prize, developed in collaboration with espacio_Res, occupied the final part of the meeting, with the presentation of the challenges promoted by the Public Agency for Ports of Andalusia and the Port Authority of Almería, the reading of the jury's minutes, the awards ceremony, and the exhibition of the winning proposals.

Miguel Camacho Martín, Head of the Technology Department of the Public Agency for Ports of Andalusia, presented the challenge "Secure digital identity for the Andalusian port ecosystem," whose recognition went to Signicat. Their proposal suggests remote identity verification using different technologies and mechanisms that allow adapting the solution to the needs of port services and their users.

Signicat's technological offering includes video identification solutions certified by the National Cryptologic Center (CCN) and identity document verification using NFC, along with other already available digital identification mechanisms and the possibility of incorporating future European digital wallets. This approach allows combining different avenues of digital identity verification within a broad and flexible solution.

The second challenge, "Connecting the Port of Almería with the Citizenry," was presented by Jorge Perals, Manager of the Bahía Almeriport Foundation, and recognized Sebka Technology for its proposal "Almería, Living Port. Stories that connect the sea and the city."

The project proposes transforming the port environment and its connection with the city into a discovery experience that makes its history, heritage, economic activity, professions, culture, and environmental challenges visible. To do this, it proposes a network of stories and digital characters linked to real places, accessible via a mobile phone. Citizens and visitors will be able to locate different experience points and, upon reaching them, discover historical or contemporary characters integrated through augmented reality into the space they are visiting.

The content will allow, for example, a historical character to narrate what happened in a place, a worker to explain the current operation of the port, or a specialist to bring closer its sustainability challenges. The proposal also contemplates characters linked to tourism who can offer a first welcome to cruise passengers, connecting the journey from the port to the city and from the city to the port.

The day concluded after a morning of professional exchange in which Suncruise connected technological innovation with port management, the tourist experience, and the relationship of ports with their cities. The meeting reinforces its line of work to promote cooperation between the ports of Andalusia and the Alboran Sea and bring their needs closer to the business and innovative ecosystem.