Tourism industry transformed by technology

On June 27, Nguoi Lao Dong Newspaper organized a discussion on "Developing tourism in the digital age" in the context of the increasingly popular trend of applying technology to tourism.

Applying AI to serve tourists

Data from the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism in the first 6 months of 2024 shows that the number of visitors to the city reached about 20 million. Of which, international visitors were nearly 3 million, approximately the same as in 2023. Total tourism revenue reached nearly 90,000 billion VND, nearly 50% of this year's target.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Minh Phuong, Head of Tourism Information and Technology Department - Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism, said that earlier this year, tourism events such as Tourism Festival, Ao Dai Festival, Ho Chi Minh City River Festival... attracted millions of visitors who directly and indirectly interacted through technology platforms. The technology applications that the tourism industry and the Department of Tourism are implementing such as 3D maps, 360-degree maps at nearly 100 destinations help visitors interact intelligently.

The seminar "Developing tourism in the digital age" is a forum for experts and businesses to propose many solutions to apply technology to the tourism industry. Photo: HOANG TRIEU

In the coming time, the Department of Tourism will continue to replicate this model, applying virtual reality to enhance the experience for tourists. The Department has also digitized 15 publications, which can be accessed with just a smartphone.

From the business perspective, Mr. Nguyen Minh Man, Director of Communications and Marketing of TSTtourist Company, commented that technology has changed 90% of the way businesses approach tourists - from passive to proactive. From there, businesses change their approach, are faster in market analysis, research customer needs, and reduce costs. When communicating through technology platforms and online channels, businesses will be selective to focus on the right customer segments.

Mr. Dang Manh Phuoc, Director of The Outbox Company - specializing in researching tourism data, analyzing at the trip search stage, more than 2/3 of tourists search on social networking platforms, destination websites, business websites, hotel booking service platforms... At the destination, the application of technology is not mandatory but is considered an added value. However, in the current technology boom, customer demand is increasing, so in the near future, the application of technology at the destination will also be mandatory.

Mr. Nguyen Khoa Luan, Director of Anh Viet Hop On - Hop Off Vietnam Company, said that right from the beginning of operating the double-decker bus, the company has introduced multilingual commentary. Immediately after the COVID-19 pandemic, the company switched from manual commentary to AI (artificial intelligence) application with many different voices and languages ​​to meet the diverse needs of customers. Each tourist will have 1 headset, easily choosing their favorite language.

"We use POS machines for payment, printing invoices and scanning QR codes to help the operation team know where customers board the bus. The company also applies tour introduction software, products and services that are being sold by the company in about 60 countries from many different platforms. Technology helps collect data on how many tickets and tours are sold every minute. The number of customers at which time frame is crowded or quiet, the company will adjust and sell to the appropriate customer flow" - Mr. Luan cited.

The biggest difficulty is still cost.

In the story of applying technology to tourism, experts and businesses all see the difficult problem as cost. Investing in technology requires a huge cost, then investing in promotion on digital platforms to ensure efficiency, profit and optimize business operations.

Mr. Tran Quang Duy, Director of Penguin Travel Service Joint Stock Company, said that his company has applied technology very early through building a data system, marketing online more than directly, and applying social networks for promotion. However, the development of tourism cannot be separated from digital transformation, but the application of technology is also needed at a certain level.

"Tourism is an emotional industry, especially when implementing cultural and historical tours. At destinations, the application of technology supports tourists' emotions, not replacing tour guides. Especially after the COVID-19 pandemic, customers are interested in in-depth experiences, some apps can support team building activities better" - Mr. Duy said.

Besides the positive aspects, the obsession with applying technology also causes many difficulties for businesses. According to Mr. Dang Manh Phuoc, in the world , there are many destinations that have invested heavily but tourists do not have much demand for experience. Especially, in the context of the tourism industry just recovering, we need to be careful, consider who our customers are, what technology should be applied... Because after all, technology is just a means, the attractiveness of the destinations is important.

Ms. NGUYEN THI MINH PHUONG, Head of Tourism Information and Technology Department - Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism: Investing in a smart tourism operations center

The Smart Tourism Development Project for the period 2020 - 2025, with a vision to 2030 of the Ho Chi Minh City tourism industry has identified many important contents, in which the Big Data database is being urgently prepared, followed by the deployment of a smart tourism operations center... to answer the requests of tourists.

In the trend of technology tourism and green tourism, indicators and criteria related to carbon credit reduction of enterprises will be one of the factors for foreign units to choose cooperation. Therefore, this is also something that enterprises need to pay attention to.

Mr. PHAM VAN TIEM, Marketing Director of Resorts International Vietnam Co., Ltd.: Tourists benefit from technology applications

Using applications linked to platforms helps businesses and tourists access easily, take better care of customers, reduce operating costs, increase business efficiency, and enhance customer experience. The company's RI application fully meets all needs from what to eat, where to stay, what to play anywhere in the world, linking with booking platforms according to customer needs.

From the RI app, customers are members of RI, providing the right to stay at 5-star resorts at home and abroad, with many options on the same platform. The RIVN Live-booking app helps customers save money when booking international air tickets with discounts up to 30%, book rooms immediately, exchange resorts at wholesale prices, check room prices online with discounts up to 50%, discounts on entertainment areas, restaurants, dining, entertainment, shopping...

Mr. NGUYEN MINH MAN, Director of Communications and Marketing of TSTtourist Company: Investment in technology must bring efficiency.

The company applies multi-channel in approaching customers and recently livestreaming to introduce tourism products has also received attention. Internal management and operation applications are also key factors to meet the need to reduce manual overlap, increase efficiency and business effectiveness. However, to ensure success when applying technology, it is necessary to combine analytical capabilities, market judgment, measuring customer behavior and needs... It is necessary to optimize technology as much as possible but it must be effective and appropriate.

Source: https://nld.com.vn/nganh-du-lich-chuyen-minh-nho-cong-nghe-196240627214902958.htm