Cases for Tourism (EN)

Smart Cities: Shaping the Future of Tourism

Smart tourism represents a significant evolution in the way tourism is managed and experienced, utilizing emerging technologies to optimize operations and enhance the tourist experience. This concept integrates elements of Big Data, the Internet of Things, and Artificial Intelligence to create more efficient and personalized tourism ecosystems. However, the successful implementation of smart tourism presents logistical and service delivery challenges. In the following of this newsletter, we will address some innovative solutions focused on logistics and service convenience that promise to mitigate these issues and revolutionize the sector.

Cities like Barcelona, Singapore, and Amsterdam are already at the forefront, implementing solutions that exemplify the potential of smart tourism. In these cities, distributed IoT sensors allow for the collection of real-time data, which is analyzed to manage tourist flows, reducing congestion and optimizing the experience at popular attractions. For example, Big Data analysis can predict peaks in visitation and suggest alternative routes, while mobile applications provide personalized information based on user preferences and behavior.

Dubai is positioning itself as a pioneering city in smart tourism with its Smart Dubai initiative. The city is using virtual reality to provide immersive experiences of its tourist attractions and mobile applications that offer personalized services, from hotel reservations to event tickets. With the use of blockchain technology, Dubai also aims to ensure secure and transparent transactions for tourists.

Copenhagen aims to be carbon-neutral by 2025. The city uses data collected from sensors to optimize everything from traffic to energy consumption, creating a sustainable and efficient urban environment. For tourists, this translates into a city with clean air, abundant green spaces, and an infrastructure that supports a healthy and sustainable tourist experience.

Tokyo, known for its cutting-edge technology, is using artificial intelligence and robotics to offer a unique tourist experience. Multilingual robots are used to provide information and assistance, while facial recognition systems are employed to improve the safety and efficiency of public transportation, especially during large-scale events like the Olympics.

The search of tourists for experiences caused the marketing and promotion strategies to change. Now, based on new decision-making and governance dynamics based on an efficient and flexible data information system.

In addition, innovative solutions and technologies applied to Intelligent Tourism are being widely encouraged, an example of this new and growing demand is the “European Smart Tourism Capitals” initiative launched in 2019 by the European Union whose goal is to stimulate innovative and intelligent tourism practices in Europe.On this, we can note that there is a concern with the suitability and new forms of tourism and this is due to the vast market and the movement that this sector generates for the economies of the countries, another important fact, too, and 2019, is that the travel and tourism sector represented 10.4% of the global GDP (US$ 9.2 trillion) and 10.6% of all jobs (334 million) in the world.

In this regard, another important factor for this growth of tourism is the recovery of the sector after the pandemic, in which, according to the latest World Tourism Barometer of the World Tourist Organization (WTO), international travel reached 80% of pre-pandemic levels in the first quarter of 2023. Moreover, it is estimated that 235 million tourists traveled internationally in the first three months, more than twice as much as in the same period of 2022.

The economic importance of tourism and the warming up of the sector, have driven the innovation and restructuring of the market, in which Intelligent Tourism has been the main player. Thus, to accompany this new model, the emergence of new types of tourism business has grown, with great protagonism of startups. What is observed is that the “Information and Communication Technologies” reconfigure the dynamics and modes of development of tourism, which requires the development of new management schemes that can respond to the big changes and challenges of the moment.

In response to this evolution, several solutions have been developed and launched in the market. One notable example is the “PLATAFORMA MABRIAN TECHNOLOGIES S.L.”, launched by a Spanish Startup, which offers a real-time holistic observatory of everything that affects a tourist destination. The platform uses data analysis from various sources that allows it to identify and predict the dynamics of tourism. In addition to monitoring the spontaneous behavior of visitors to a destination at all stages of their decision-making, the platform uses data analysis from various sources that allows it to identify and predict the dynamics of tourism.

Another interesting solution is the “BoRa” application from the Brazilian startup Fubá Educa??o Ambientes, in which the app is customized for each visiting space and ecotourism and serves as a personal guide in trails, protected areas, zoos, aquariums, urban parks, squares and museums without the need for internet connection. Even if the space receives thousands of visitors per day, with BoRa each person can have their guide in the palm of the hand and learn during the tour in a light and fun way.

References:?

SEBRAE. Smart Tourist Destinations: an analysis of the use of technologies to enhance tourism management and experience. Available at: https://sebrae.com.br/Sebrae/Portal%20Sebrae/Anexos/BI_Tur_2016_06_Destinos%20Tur%C3%ADsticos%20Inteligentes.pdf

BOSCH. Smart Cities: How the Internet of Things is transforming cities. Available at: https://www.bosch.com.br/noticias-e-historias/aiot/smart-cities/

MABRIAN TECHNOLOGIES S.L. Mabrian Technologies. Available at: https://mabrian.com/

SEBRAE. The influence of technology on hospitality and its impacts on small businesses. Available at: https://bibliotecas.sebrae.com.br/chronus/ARQUIVOS_CHRONUS/bds/bds.nsf/7cc4b5b32573afbf76b9af6cd507d83e/$File/32194.pdf