The event was attended by the Minister of Economy, Mr. Jordi Alcobé, and the Secretary of State for Economic Diversification, Mr. Josep Maria Missé, among other authorities. Mrs. Barbara Navarro, Director of Policy and Public Affairs for Google in southern Europe, and Mr. David Castro, Program Manager at Google in Switzerland also participated.
The minister inaugurated the event showing his satisfaction for reaching 95% of the Andorran businesses having joined the Google Business View. He thanked the private sector for such implication, contributing to a true success story in the country. According to Alcobé, this project has a positive impact, together with the economic openness, for increasing the competitiveness of companies and improving the Andorran economy.
The Minister acknowledged the efforts being made, by the Actua initiative, supporting the innovation cluster and positioning the country as a smart country. He also recalled other complementary projects such as the Andorra Telecom’s building which the company would like to renew in the centric Meritxell Avenue.
Andorra, for being associated with global brands like Google or Cirque du Soleil shows his ongoing effort to improve the positioning of Andorra internationally.
The Secretary of State, Josep Maria Missé recalled the beginnings of the project and shared his satisfaction for the fantastic results achieved. He explained that the project Google Business View has implemented during nine months, culminating in March with 1469 businesses integrating the Google tool. He also took note of the businessmen’s high level of satisfaction and stressed the desire of the Actua initiative to strengthen the interaction between businesses and its customers. From now on, new applications will be presented, in line with other Smart Country projects.
For instance, Missé is willing to increase functionalities, providing businesses with the existing Google technology. This could enable each business to improve its offers, but at the same time, He wants to promote the cultural facilities existing in Andorra. The next steps should be, according to Missé coordinated with the private sector and entities like Andorra Turisme, Andorra Telecom and FEDA. He finally presented the ” Tour Dash” tool which has been approved by Google and will be adequately detailed soon. This tool allows small information panels that appear in the screen during the businesses’ virtual tours.
Meanwhile, David Castro recalled how Google contacts with the Government of Andorra begun 2 years ago with the Google Steet View project. On this occasion, presenting the Business View application, Castro detailed the functioning of the current platform and provided figures, emphasizing the coverage of Google Business View on 4 continents and 28 countries. However, he firmly congratulated Andorra for having 95% of businesses participating, a coverage which is unthinkable elsewhere in the world.
In his presentation, Castro showed practical examples of the possibilities offered by the Google tool and said it is vital that the private sector provides updated information on its offers, while maintaining and strengthening their online presence. Businesses like hotels or restaurants must also encourage customers to use the platform with reviews of evaluation.
Joan Prat, manager of Via Moda fashion stores and Elena Millán, Director of Human Resources at Group Pollyanna, positively rated their experience with the Google tool mentioning positive results in terms of visits to their web pages, which in turn allows businesses to strengthen their online positioning, which brings value to them but also to the country.
Finally, Barbara Navarro was “impressed” during her stay in Andorra, highlighting the great success of the project. Businesses in the country, says Navarro will take profit with Google applications, as they adapt undoubtedly to new behaviors patterns of potential consumers, and contribute to the economic competitiveness of the economy.
