Technology’s role in the resurgence of the Tourism Industry
When I was given the opportunity to write an article for IBM’s Beyond Strategy, my instinct told me to write about one of the things I, and probably many of you, have yearned the most this 2020, traveling.
I want to see this industry revive and succeed in the future, to rise from the ashes into a better and more sustainable industry. Since several publications have been working around tourism trends for 2021(newspapers, industry-related companies, industry experts, etc.), I will go one step further and merge tourism with technology to explore the possibilities technology offers to the sector.
How can we merge tourism with technology to explore the possibilities that technology offers to this sector?
My relationship with the tourism industry goes beyond me being a passionate traveler. I was part of a consultancy firm specialized in tourism. During my time at the consultancy firm, I met amazing people involved in the industry, visited spectacular destinations, and gained knowledge about what it entails to keep the industry running. Although I am not longer part of the tourism consultancy world, the tourism sector is still on my radar and very close to my heart.
Traveling for “pleasure” — traveling for business is a whole different story — has always been the moment of the year where I can disconnect from everything else. For the however amount of time the trip lasts, my focus and energy are on what’s going on right at that moment. This 2020, I have missed the feeling of living one day at a time, soaking in new cultures, and enjoying the experience that each destination has to offer.
Tourism is one of the sectors that has been hit the hardest due to COVID-19. Travel restrictions, self-quarantine requirements, and public uneasiness about being in close quarters with other potentially sick people, among other pandemic related consequences, have negatively affected the sector.
After doing some research and some internal reflection, I concluded that one of the most challenging obstacles that the industry will face and that will need to be mitigated very fast is that tourists will need to feel attracted to travel again and get out of the cacoon we have been to for almost a year.
The most challenging obstacle that the industry will face and that businesses will need to mitigate very fast is to convince tourists to be tourists once again.
Objective: Bring tourists out of their comfort zone
Humans are creatures of habit, and for the last — more or less — nine months, our world has shrunk to the geographical restrictions each of our governments deemed safe for us. So, It will take some time for us to get comfortable going beyond the zone that we have been bound to for something like full-term pregnancy (or more).
That got me thinking, what would be the first question that a “cocooned” tourist might ask? And the second? and the third? And I came up with this decision tree:
Although there are some aspects where it will be very hard for technology to make an impact, there are two questions where technology can help and support businesses to attract tourists:
Will the destination be safe to travel to?
Until the pandemic passes, and even some time afterward, people will be very aware of how the safety protocols are in place to evaluate and decide if it is worth exposing themselves to the risks of going outside their comfort zone.
Business owners have to efficiently guarantee their clients’ and employers’ safety while offering an extraordinary experience, so the clients will know they will be safe and will enjoy it.
Businesses need to build efficient workflows so that their workforce is in the right place at the right time, and this can be achieved using technology. The feeling that a business has to give away is that everything is under control and that the staff is where they are supposed to be, doing what they are supposed to do.
Some examples of my perception of safety:
- if I go to a restaurant, I would expect the host to know if a table is ready, and by ready, I mean squeaky clean, so I can safely sit on the table and enjoy my meal.
- I would expect a hotel not to be at its full capacity and that the elevators do not do stops between lift journeys so I will not “bump” with other guests.
- There is a controlled entrance to the museum's exhibitions with a traffic light indicator based on how many heads are in the room.
Human error is meant to happen, and the current consequences of not embracing technology to build safe experiences are too great to ignore.
Is the risk of infection worth traveling?
If we want to bring people out of their “safe circle” and into our business (restaurants, hotels, museums, monuments, etc.), we have to think out how to elevate the experience and make them want to come to our offer. What makes an experience an extraordinary experience is how memorable it is, and something that makes an impact is how personalized the experience can become.
The information [data] from our visitors and clients come from many sources (social media, devices, etc.) and can be one of our keys to success when it is ethically exploited.
Just Imagine:
- Getting into a hotel room where your Netflix account is already set up, and you only have to plug in your password.
- The restaurant already knows that you are allergic to shellfish.
- A translator is waiting for you at the Eiffel Tower without you requesting it, but they know you don’t speak french.
- Any other WOW moment where you feel special because someone took the time to personalize the offer to your preferences and needs.
These are not major efforts if the data is already available and the industry is prepared to embrace all the information to create memorable and unique experiences worth the risk of exposing.
One last thing… Businesses need the infrastructure to support the beforementioned technology.
Trying to build a bridge without the right materials, the right blueprint, and the right people will result in no bridge; that’s the same with technology. Businesses need to have the right infrastructure in place that allows them to build safe and extraordinary experiences that will attract clients to our businesses, the right building blocks.
Moreover, the world is changing way too fast for businesses to invest in stale and fixed infrastructure that will get them nowhere; businesses and organizations need technology that is scalable and adaptable. Companies can start with a small investment in infrastructure and scale up as soon as it is able or needed.
I will be traveling soon, and I hope you also do it if you wish to do so. Let’s hope that the crisis we are in will soon be over so we can grab our bags and keep exploring the world!
If you found this post helpful, have any feedback, or have more ideas regarding the impact of technology in the tourism industry, feel free to comment!
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Stay Safe!
Andrea
*For the sake of briefness, this article is focused only on the experience building efforts in the tourism industry. It does not involve the transportation industry, although it is a big part of the tourism sector. Stay tuned for the Transportation and technology article that will be published in IBM’s Beyond Strategy blog soon.
