The “High-level Forum on Greater Bay Area Tourism Development 2024”, part of the 2024 Macao International Travel (Industry) Expo, provided valuable insights into the transformative potential of artificial intelligence in enhancing travel experiences. However, the panel discussion also underscored the importance of responsible development in light of privacy challenges
The role of artificial intelligence (AI) in the development of tourism was discussed at an event co-organised by UTM last month.
The “High-level Forum on Greater Bay Area Tourism Development 2024”, themed “Artificial Intelligence and Creativity in Culture and Tourism”, attracted more than 100 participants, including people connecting via video conference.
The forum was co-organised by UTM, making use of its role as the coordinating unit for the Alliance for Developing Macao into the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Tourism Education and Training Base, and UTM’s function as the relying unit of the Tourism Education and Training Base for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.
The other co-organising unit was the China Tourism Academy.
The event was part of this year’s Macao International Travel (Industry) Expo, also known as MITE. The expo was held at The Venetian Macao integrated resort from 26 to 28 April.
Forum attendees included government representatives, executives from businesses in the fields of tourism and technology, plus representatives of trade associations, scholars, and higher education students.
In a speech at the event, UTM Rector Dr. Fanny Vong Chuk Kwan said the University would continue to contribute to the integration of technology and cultural tourism through academic research and talent development, bringing new advancement opportunities to the Greater Bay Area.
Invited speakers for the forum were: Dr. Dai Bin, President of the China Tourism Academy; Mr. Sun Hui, Secretary General of Tencent Culture and Tourism Research Institute; Mr. Leo Chong Chi Kuan, Chairman of Senge Data Technology Macao Ltd.; and Mr. Ma Chenglong, Specialist of the Technical Research Team at Pachira Information Technology Co., Ltd.
AI: a positive force for change
Dr. Dai explained that AI had largely changed people’s way of travelling. He gave an example: “Before arriving at a destination, AI helps us predict pedestrian flow so that we can plan our sightseeing schedules accordingly, to avoid very crowded times.”
The scholar noted that AI’s impact on tourism extended beyond the length of a specific trip. For instance, the technology could even influence how people would remember a particular holiday, by optimising and customising digital albums of videos and photographs taken by visitors during that trip. Such impact of AI, argued Dr. Dai, should be regarded as positive, as it contributed to enhancing visitors’ overall experience.
However, there were challenges involved in using AI to promote tourism development, stressed the President of the China Tourism Academy. Collecting the vast volumes of data needed to train AI models could raise privacy protection concerns, including among those living in tourism destinations. “It is always important to listen to different people to maintain a balance among the interested parties,” suggested Dr. Dai.
Nonetheless, AI could help tourism operators achieve performance improvements regarding visitor experience, including during pre-, mid-, and post-travel periods, stated Mr. Sun from Tencent Culture and Tourism Research Institute. The latter is a prominent Mainland-based research body in the field of integrated innovation in technology and cultural tourism.
“Business-wise, using AI can significantly lower the cost of customer service,” he said. An example provided by Mr. Sun was the use of AI-powered chatbots to provide travel assistance to visitors.
He added: “From a visitor’s standpoint, AI can provide a lot of support, namely in terms of planning, ticket booking, and acting as an on-site tour guide. Even after the trip, AI can customise souvenirs to give the holiday a perfect ending.”
Technology development
Senge Data Technology’s Mr. Chong agreed that AI is the future, but he noted that the technology’s development path was complex. “Researchers and investigators need financial support to carry on; we need users’ feedback to improve and further promote AI usage; and users need to be provided with interesting features to keep using AI-powered applications or services,” he said. “These are all connected and are influential to the development of the technology.”
Senge and its Shenzhen, Guangdong Province-based parent are recognised for their terrestrial and space-borne remote-sensing platforms. Senge has plans to utilise these capabilities to construct a metaverse view of Macao, using collected data combined with real-scene 3D modelling and employing AI. This approach aims to enable the aggregation, analysis, and calculation of urban ‘big data’, leading to precise models.
Discussing cross-border collaboration via AI technology among tourism stakeholders in the Greater Bay Area, Mr. Chong highlighted the importance of scale. “We can connect the Ruins of Saint Paul’s area with, for example, the Tap Seac area, and gradually connect all different areas in Macao so that visitors and residents can easily obtain information on all spots,” he explained. “Then, we can enlarge the models to a city scale, and later to a regional scale, to establish cross-border collaboration.”
Mr. Ma, from AI-specialist Pachira, said the technology was already of great use for tourists. For instance, AI-powered real-time translation mobile applications were a quick and easy way to access information about attractions when in a foreign destination, he said. But the expert also cautioned that AI use still faced challenges. “One is about privacy protection, another one is about cost control,” he said.
“Indeed, AI is just a tool. The most important thing is to use it appropriately. We can create a platform that is co-managed by stakeholders within the Greater Bay Area, thus cooperating and building creative and cultural products that meet users’ needs,” suggested Mr. Ma.
Editor: UTM Public Relations Team
