How Smart Are We?
SANDRA NOBRE
Words
GONÇALO VIANA
Illustration
Cities and destinations are trying to be smarter, which means more efficient, faster, even more perfect for both visitors and residents. Are we on the right track? Or are we fuelling a utopia? And is technology an ally or an invader? Three experts give us their opinion.
Cities want to be smarter and smarter. Locally, changes occur in areas such as services, mobility, resource use and management, and this almost always happens with the aid of technological tools that facilitate processes. The pandemic introduced a more technological dimension to our everyday life, even among the most sceptical, as well as a new way of living, which has become established or inspired a discussion about mobility, managing agendas and working methods. The world is witnessing the first steps of artificial intelligence (AI), which is both exciting and terrifying. To some degree, travellers are in the same boat, with tourism needing to be sustainable on different levels: environmental, social and economic. In other words, destinations need to be equally smart. However, in this frantic search for tools and applications that make everything simpler, easier and faster, are we really being smarter?
Dimitrios Buhalis, director of the eTourism Lab and deputy director of the International Centre for Tourism and Hospitality Research, at Bournemouth University Business School in England, has a diary crammed with conferences and presentations to discuss smart tourism. What do those who invite you to speak expect to hear? “They want validation that they're smart. However, what they get is confirmation of the contrary, which is why I'm so controversial.
I highlight the flaws and all the opportunities they're missing out on every day. They don't even want solutions because such things require compromise, change, sacrifice. It's much easier to identify problems and criticise without doing anything. Do we really want to change? It's not easy. It's important they realise exactly what kind of situation they're in.
It's so easy to assume that technology will replace us and that AI is a threat. Even so, I'm an optimist.” The tourism and hospitality expert highlights a key difference: “Smart cities are designed for citizens, smart tourism is just one aspect of smart cities, which meets the needs of users/travellers. And smart tourism isn't about technology, it's about creating networks, developing ecosystems that operate efficiently and support one another to optimise resources and manage tourist flows.”
What we see all over the world is a reaction to the saturation that certain destinations are beginning to experience. Lisbon is an example, much to residents’ annoyance. “Most of the time, this perception doesn’t match the data when we analyse it. In reality, there’s an undeniable need to manage tourist pressure. Portugal doesn't have excess tourism, there's still plenty of room for growth. That said, there is excess tourism in some places and at certain times. Even in Lisbon, there are various unvisited attractions, because tourists go to the same places because they don't know what else is available. Here, there's an opportunity to turn apparent problems into revenue streams. Instead of reacting to situations, we need to be pro-active and plan more,” says Miguel Castro Neto, director of NOVA IMS and coordinator of NOVA Cidade - Urban Analytics Lab, a laboratory dedicated to studying smart cities and data analysis. Seeing the endless queues to visit any museum seems non-sensical, but it happens in every major European city. Where are the pre-purchased tickets? Which app shows you the waiting time? And what if they suggested alternative attractions nearby with fewer visitors?
The solution might be found in the data. This is key to understanding citizens and tourists better, profiling them, discovering interests and anticipating needs. The focus groups agree that data management is essential. Estrella Díaz, professor at the University of Castilla-La Mancha, researcher in smart tourism and member of the Global Young Academy, is also part of the European Union's “Smart Tourism Destinations” pilot project, which defines the cornerstones of smart destinations. “A data culture is now being forged at European level. This means collecting all the information obtainable on tourism from multiple sources, statistics from each country's tourism office, surveys, search engines, etc. When data is analysed and interpreted, it provides destinations with valuable information. A common data space is being created, which will allow different organisations and tourism agents to add data to the platform so everyone has to access. However, there still needs to be a collaborative culture.”
Miguel Castro Neto is very much an advocate of this data culture. “It's a great opportunity, but entrepreneurs still find it difficult to respond to this challenge. There's a lot of information not yet available for applications and new services to be created.” The data protection that sets limits and defends individual privacy appears to impede digital transformation. “There's no risk regarding people’s privacy. When we talk about data analysis, it's never about individual data, it’s about aggregated data. As a precaution, organisations often don't release information because they don’t have the legal expertise to interpret the regulations and act within the law. Using and analysing data enables added-value services and better-informed decisions.”
Dimitrios Buhalis isn’t convinced of the efficiency of data collection and how this information is used, when even the most basic issues are still ignored. “The key matter is the knowledge that stems from the data and how quickly it can be applied. What's the point of having a fancy car if you don't know how to drive? I recently worked with the Seville Tourist Board and asked a quite simple question: are tourist information offices open at the weekend? No. And they close after lunchtime. Now, being smart means being connected in real time, always, wherever you are.” Ultimately, tourism doesn’t take holidays, nor do cities sleep when it comes to meeting visitors’ needs. “We need to change mentalities and how we do things. And if we don't change, artificial intelligence will do it for us,” says Buhalis. “Nowadays, when we make choices when using applications, artificial intelligence works out what we like and anticipates what we want the next time we use the same services. If that's what we mean by privacy, we lost it a long time ago. However, we have to see the convenience of everything, how much it can optimise our time and make life easier.”
Technological threat
Artificial intelligence is controversial and polarising. Some see it as a threat to humans and their jobs, while others view it as an opportunity to do more and better. Estrella Díaz sees technology as something that facilitates. “AI can facilitate promotion and information and match it to a tourist’s profile. It permits interconnection, data management, early forecasting and decision-making. However, no machine can replace human acts. Humanity cannot be lost.” She highlights “attention and personalisation, which make each experience unique”.
The Information Management and Data Science School (NOVA IMS) at Lisbon’s Universidade Nova was created to respond to the lack of senior staff specialising in information management and the growing need for information technologies. Director of the IMS, Miguel Castro Neto is keenly aware of universities’ decisive role in training those who analyse data and transform it into value, as well as making digital tools real allies.
In Portugal, there has been increased demand for courses with new approaches to the market, which is also true with the postgraduate course in business intelligence and analytics for hospitality and tourism. Job opportunities also arise in other sectors. “In the field of tourism there are few large groups with the economic capacity to employ the right human resources. For most businesses, which are medium-sized, small and micro-enterprises, digital transformation is a challenge they are unlikely to achieve without proper support.” Estrella Díaz highlights another need: “Retaining talent is essential for applying knowledge and promoting change.” More talent means more value, better pay, and more support - the answers are familiar, although dissatisfaction remains widespread.
Government policies are crucial, especially in economies that lack scale, like Portugal. Technological advances might be common in one part of the country, but the interior endures energy poverty and poor network coverage. “To use applications and monitor the tourist load on the ground, there needs to be connectivity throughout the country. We still have major limitations, which is critical for tourism. With 5G, there's the prospect of the state investing to ensure minimum levels of coverage throughout the territory, which is crucial. If we're talking about digital nomads and attracting companies, there has to be internet access.” Miguel Castro Neto believes that things can be improved, but it’s wrong to treat the whole country in the same way, especially when the various parts are so diverse and have different needs. “Within the PRR framework [Recovery and Resilience Plan] and Portugal 2030 [implements the partnership agreement between Portugal and the European Commission to use European funds for projects that develop the Portuguese economy], this is getting off the ground now. We now have the tools and, in my opinion, the policies to promote investment and the necessary transformation. That said, we really must speed up decentralisation, because local authorities have to play a role in this process. They must be central government's main partners in implementing the policies that are designed in the field.”
The best experience
Dimitrios Buhalis knows Portugal's situation well and mentions how tradition isn't open to change: “There are lots of examples of intelligent gestures in Portugal, but it's still a very conservative society, and sometimes technology clashes with tradition. Tourists don't have to know the history, habits or culture of a place. They have to have options that match their profile. I can be in Lisbon for 72 hours and nobody tells me how to best use that time. It’s given that I know fado, pastéis de Belém [famous custard tarts] and the trams, but I don't have to. And there are traditions that no longer make sense. In the end, we don't want places that smell bad or we don't want to get our hands dirty. We don't have to go to everything or like everything. We just want to have the best experience possible.”
In many places, this knowledge can also combat seasonality, as it increases supply. If a sun and sand destination explores heritage and culture or rural tourism, like the Spanish islands of Ibiza and Palma de Mallorca have done, their value increases. “This way, wealth is generated for the places and, at the same time, residents improve their quality of life,” explains Estrella Díaz. The real challenge is achieving a balance, which again leads us to the issue of forecasting, anticipation, planning, in an attempt to guide the tourist flow, which data analysis can enable. “Everyone in tourism has to work in unison to promote and enhance the destination. It's not easy when there’s no spirit of collaboration. But it's not just tourism and the destination that win, it's the citizens themselves. It's only with them that places can continue to make a difference, with their hospitality, their gastronomy, their authenticity. Sustainability emerges from this balance of factors.”
The future is just around the corner and uncertainties abound. “Everything is a process. No destination becomes smart overnight. We're not going to stop flying. We have to be more responsible and measured, no extremism is healthy. The tourist of the future will be digital; well informed. The aim is quality, getting involved at a local level and integrating, respecting and protecting the destination; to look after it”, says Díaz.
Buhalis says he’s an optimist and prefers to be hopeful. “I think the world can be better. I spend my life explaining what it takes for someone to enjoy a few wonderful days in the Algarve or Lisbon. That's my contribution. But then we watch the news and see what’s happening in other parts of the globe. How intelligent are we?”