Driven by the wave of digitization, smart tourism is reshaping the traditional tourism industry at an alarming rate. When it rains, all sorts of tech means it looks like mushrooms. Among other things, technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT), Big Data, Artificial Intelligence (AI), and 5G play a key role in bringing tourists a more convenient, personalized, and immersive travel experience.
Internet technologies have powerful sensing and monitoring capabilities, providing unprecedented intelligence for managing scenic sites. For example, in the Wulinyang scenic area of Hunan province, underground sensor systems are deployed to monitor soil moisture, temperature, and potential erosion risks in real time. This exact surveillance not only effectively protects valuable natural resources, but also provides a scientific basis for the sustainable development of scenic sites. Compared to traditional inspection methods, IoT technology greatly improves surveillance efficiency and accuracy, and reduces labor costs.
The application of big data technology in smart tourism should not be underestimated. By exploring and analyzing travelers’ search history, booking data, spending behavior, and other information on travel platforms, travel companies can gain a more accurate understanding of travelers’ preferences and needs. Not only does this help to enable accurate and more efficient marketing, but it also provides travel process predictions for beautiful landscapes, and can also help managers plan responses in advance, optimize resource allocation, effectively reduce congestion and improve the visitor experience. It should be noted that while enjoying the convenience of big data, how to protect visitors’ private data has also become an important topic.
The integration of AI technologies has further improved intelligence and personalization in smart tourism. For example, in the Spanish village of Alpujarra, AI technology is used to predict the course of a tour and intelligently plan travel routes to avoid crowding among tourists in the same area. In addition, the application of technologies such as intelligent guide systems, customer service robots and image recognition has greatly improved the efficiency and convenience of tourism services. These applications not only optimize tourists’ travel experience, but also reduce labor costs and improve service quality at scenic attractions. It is foreseeable that as AI technology continues to develop, its application in the field of smart tourism will become even more extensive and in-depth.
The rapid development of 5G communication technology has revolutionized smart tourism. Its high-speed and low-latency capabilities allow immersive experiences such as virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) to run smoothly, providing visitors with a more realistic and interactive travel experience. A prime example is the Fly Along the River program. It uses 5G technology to enable visitors to experience the prosperity of ancient cities in an immersive way and gain insight into traditional Chinese culture. 5G technology not only improves visitor entertainment, but also provides new ways to showcase and promote the beautiful scenery.
Notably, the SEA Computing model is also beginning to make its mark in the smart tourism space. As an emerging computing paradigm, SEA Computing assigns cloud computing tasks to edge devices, reducing pressure on cloud computing centers and increasing the efficiency and real-time nature of data processing. In smart tourism, SEA computing can be applied to real-time monitoring, intelligent analytics and decision support. For example, edge computing devices can be used to perform real-time analysis of tourism flows, environmental data, etc., to provide a basis for timely decision-making for field managers in a scenic world. As offshore computing technology continues to mature, the prospects for its application in the smart tourism sector will become broader, and new forces will be injected into the future development of smart tourism.
