Category: Tourism Business

Does Virtual Reality (VR) Travel have the potential to be more?

Does Virtual Reality (VR) Travel have the potential to be more? 

Retrieved from Forbes.com 

Due to the pandemic, the global tourism industry had to come to a sudden halt. Even as lockdowns were slowly lifted, travelers were skeptical, and the threat of the virus is still very real. Recently, a second wave has swept across the world which has led to a second lockdown. Until a vaccine is in place, it will be quite difficult for the tourism industry to recover from its losses and reach the pre-pandemic tourist numbers. The tourism industry is constantly innovating and doing its best to get back on its feet. The role of modern technologies in tourism is changing rapidly, leading to customer relationships developing through virtual reality in the marketing of tourist destinations. In addition to focusing on the influence of travel intentions that has prevailed in practice so far, the use of VR is expected to have an impact on the travel experience on the spot. VR has existed for some time now but using it in the travel industry was not extremely popular. But the pandemic has boosted this trend and travelers that were once skeptical and found it pointless are turning to this technology for some solace. Tourism boards, airlines, hotels, destination management companies are making use of this tech to stay relevant in their travelers’ minds and to meet the demand temporarily if not physically. 

The International Air Transport Association (Iata) said that international traffic “has all but disappeared”, with airlines carrying only about 10% of normal levels. By Iata’s estimate, Covid caused disruptions to put more than 41 million jobs at risk across the travel and tourism sector. Iata predicts that travel will not resume to pre-pandemic levels until 2024. 

Steve Perillo is boss of Travel World VR, a US-based VR and 360-degree video marketing and production company. He says the pandemic has been a “shot of adrenaline” for a technology that to date had “not yet really arrived”. Now he says VR can whet a potential audience’s appetite. “The momentum has really picked up. It’s really launched the concept of travelling remotely.” 

 

 Retrieved from StudioBinder.com 

VR acceleration? 

 The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic have had a lasting influence on tourism and will shape travel and booking behavior for generations. Undoubtedly, the desire to travel is uninterrupted, but financial and health fears and worries have made some people confused. However, every crisis can produce some positive outcomes, as difficulties stimulate new innovative ideas. Such a need creates the courage to change and that may include trust in social media marketing and distance tourism. As a result, tourists are more mobile than ever, and their information needs are constantly growing; almost no travel decision is made without prior virtual inspiration or internet research. In addition to the technical requirements of Web 2.0, there has been a change in the virtualization of social networks with much deeper consequences.  

The annual travel report by Euromonitor International Accelerating Travel Innovation after Coronavirus examined innovative concepts designed to accelerate recovery to survive, sharing best practices from the most technologically advanced to the simplest solutions, in four categories:  

  • Digital (virtual experiences, artificial intelligence and automation, biometrics, and digital identification, and 5G)  
  • Sustainability (domestic tourism, social impact, own resources, transparency in terms of carbon emissions, and new sustainable business models)  
  • Health (people first, safety and hygiene, social distance, diversification, and data analysis)  
  • Guests (offers, real-time information, flexibility, personalization, and affordable luxury) 

There are, however, several limitations that are currently holding the technology back, including large, unwieldy headsets and excessive costs. The most important limitation, according to Miguel Flecha, is that there has yet to be a trusted global brand to place its bets on VR. “The industry needs to believe in the technology,” he says. That may have begun to change with the launch in the US of Amazon Explore, a platform that gives access to one-on-one virtual experiences with tour guides and local residents in countries around the world. Experiences offered on the high-tech giant’s public beta version range from tours of Kyoto neighborhoods in Japan to artisan shopping in Costa Rica and fish taco cooking lessons in Mexico. As Mr. Flecha sees it, Amazon Explore may foretell the success or failure of VR in the travel industry. Serious investment by a high-tech giant and a trusted brand – Apple and Samsung are also looking into virtual reality – could, he believes, be the “great accelerator” needed. 

Retrieved from Scooterrise.com 

 VR a blessing? 

 Necessity is the mother of invention, so although we had the digital tools available for us, but it is this pandemic which brought out their significance and advantage of shrinking the world and making it accessible for people to satiate their sense of exploration and discover destinations and cultures which exist around the world. One pitfall that keeps arising is that technology is hugely dependent on internet access, which sometimes can be a challenge. One major benefit of this tech is that it offers an eco-friendly alternative to the rising problem of over-tourism. 

Virtual reality simulations must be created by people. Like most technologies, this means that the people responsible for creating virtual travel packages have a lot of control over how vacation destinations are represented to virtual tourists. One of the important benefits of tourism is that the tourist is usually forced to engage with native populations on their own terms (cruise ships and tropical all-inclusive resorts may be the exemption to the rule). This means that tourists can often learn that their preconceived notions of what other peoples or nations are like were wrong. With VR travel, this isn’t possible. 

Ralph Hollister explained that VR has historically remained a niche concern. “When the technology was first released to global consumers the technology was hampered by technical drawbacks and unrealistic expectations. VR is incredibly hard to love unless you are experiencing high-quality VR with a high-quality VR headset. Sets such as Google cardboard provide affordability but often a sub-par experience, which may be negative for VR’s overall reputation. Travel and tourism is incredibly tangible, which is something VR cannot fully provide. It may provide a temporary fix for travelers with current wanderlust during COVID-19, but it could still be disregarded when restrictions are lifted as it can’t meet other sensory needs, such as taste or smell.” 

In my opinion, I somewhat agree with Hollister (Travel and tourism is incredibly tangible, which is something VR cannot fully provide) as Virtual Travel does not offer the sensations of travel, touch smell, the environment therefore it cannot be considered as an alternative. Future tourism as we imagine it, entirely robotic, is not desirable. Humans are social beings, they need contact. A dimension that the VR cannot (yet) offer. Therefore, the consumer needs someone to accompany in their reflections and decisions. If a tour operator is not supposed to indicate which place is better than another in terms of its offers, the adviser will naturally do so, by expressing his or her opinion. Information that a robot or a virtual experiment will never be able to provide in the same way. 

Retrieved from CASE.org 

 Replacement for Physical Travel? 

A global survey by Italy4Real had found that VR travel will not replace real-life travel experiences. The following are some insights from the survey: 

  • 81 percent do not think virtual reality could ever replace real-life travel 
  • 90 percent say they would miss the full sensory experience of travelling 
  • 77 percent claim that the lack of local food and drinks would be a downside of VR travel, while 69 percent would miss meeting the locals and interacting with new people 
  • 52 percent say travel agents could be replaced by AI (Artificial Intelligence), but the majority agree that tour guides and hotel staff need a delicate touch 

What are the benefits of Virtual Tourism? 

Retrieved from BusinessWorldIT.com 

Even VR travel may not replace physical travel, but it has handful of benefits for tourism.  Because viewers can experience activities, locations, and destinations from the comfort of their own homes, there are many clear benefits to virtual tourism. The most obvious of these benefits is that viewers can see and experience a destination without traveling to it, which means they aren’t limited by available flights, travel logistics, safety concerns, and whether destinations are open. They don’t even have to think about time zones or weather conditions. The other huge benefit for viewers is cost. Virtual tourism makes destinations accessible to millions of people who may otherwise not be able to afford to travel to them. Viewers are embracing the rise in virtual tourism destinations and the increasing quality and availability of virtual reality technology to see and experience things they never thought possible. 

For the travel industry, virtual reality can be used in tourism marketing to enhance travel experience and shape the behavior of travel consumers. What technology can do today is absolutely remarkable. For Tourism, the clear benefit is the ability to stay top-of-mind with potential customers and to highlight a location, amenities, and offerings. Viewers who have experienced a hotel or location through virtual tourism are more likely to book a future stay and will eagerly anticipate experiencing the activity in the real world. There are also great marketing opportunities offered by virtual tourism technology. Potential guests can see a 360-degree view of a property and its amenities, rather than the flat images on a brochure or website. Experiencing a property this way increases the chances that viewers will want to visit in the future and means that they can easily share the virtual offerings with their friends and family. VR in the travel industry also helps specific brands stand out from the rest. VR’s success, like any other outlet, depends on the quality and creativity of the experience. Designing the right things in VR and investing in its quality will guarantee the best customer engagement. This fact has always translated into revenue. 

The most notable benefits of virtual reality in tourism go as follows: 

  • Attract more visitors by enabling them to experience the destination firsthand before even booking it; 
  • Showcase realistic 360-degree views of any destination or hotel in high resolution; 
  • Mesmerize travelers by allowing them to explore destinations on their own from the convenience of their home; 
  • Improve brand image by delivering unique brand engagement; 
  • Gain competitive advantage by offering unique, unforgettable experiences; 
  • Helping travelers worldwide become more comfortable using VR to explore travel destinations; 
  • Virtual reality is a fantastic way to advertise on social media. 

Potential for VR in Tourism 

Retrived from UIEXPERT.com

Virtual reality manages to fool the tourist’s senses into believing they are in the real world in their chosen destination. Through this reality, they can interact with fictional worlds that they could not explore in real life or with worlds that they could only visit with great effort. 

Nevertheless, while the virtual reality vacation is not necessarily destined to replace tomorrow’s travel, it does have features that could revolutionize the industry. Virtual reality could become tomorrow’s travel catalogue. A helmet and 360-degree immersion to help customers discover the destinations offered by tour operators would then replace the brochures on the counters. It is the perfect tool for preparing a trip without revealing everything, it would give a real foretaste and allow tourists to better target their preferred trip. Perhaps it could be even more useful. Without replacing travel, VR could make accessible destinations that are out of reach. It would help to relieve congestion at certain sites, which would be temporarily closed to allow them to regenerate in an eco-responsible manner. Consumers could also go to inaccessible places like space, for example. Or even change times. How? By reconstructing places on an archaeological site, a godsend for history fans eager for knowledge. Once on-site, the tour operator will offer an immersive and educational experience. To a small extent, of course, you don’t visit a place to have glasses on your head. Reliving Pompeii before it was destroyed, for example, like the exhibition currently on show at the Grand Palais in Paris. “Eventually, virtual reality will bring a new form of entertainment to the tourism industry,” imagines Erik Champion. It could appear in the main sites of major tourist destinations, but also as a pastime in airports.” No doubt a revolution is underway. 

The future of VR in tourism is bright and believe it or not with the help of this technology, the tourism industry is going to change. The immersive and interactive virtual reality (VR) is a great opportunity for tourism and travel businesses to offer a unique and memorable experience to their customers. VR technologies will surely continue to advance, and as such, the opportunities in the tourism sector will grow exponentially. Regardless of the direction in which these advancements and developments take place, immediate applications and trends are identified and used within the tourism industry already. VR can and probably will fundamentally change the way in which tourists’ experiences and requirements are managed entirely. Virtual reality will likely enable us to impressively share our experiences with friends and family in a way that brings these destinations to life like no slide show ever could. Many companies in the tourism industry have their sights set towards the future, and some even go so far and publish reports about their expected future developments. As an example, in the 2014 Skyscanner report ‘The Future of Travel 2024’, published by the company which is mostly known for offering a global travel search engine, they envision VR as a major influence on touristic experiences. They predict VR to “become a new form of show rooming, an incredible 3D taste of a destination that will make travelers long to experience the real thing.” (Skyscanner, 2014, p.24). 

 The future of VR in tourism is already here, despite how far it seems away. With the most recent developments in virtual reality (VR), it doesn’t seem like that will be changing anytime soon. VR is constantly gaining traction in the travel industry, and with good reason. VR makes it easy to create an immersive travel experience for anyone, anywhere. VR allows users to be transported to anywhere in the world, which means they’ll be able to experience the world in a way they never could before. VR allows users to feel like they are in the middle of the action, which is what makes it so appealing. VR is the wave of the future in tourism, and it’s not just about experiencing another place in real time.Thus, I think VR has the potential to replace the real world with a digital one. 

References 

Arbulú, I.; Razumova, M.; Rey-Maquieira, J.; Sastre, F. Measuring risks and vulnerability of tourism to the COVID-19 crisis in the context of extreme uncertainty: The case of the Balearic IslandsTour. Manag. Perspect. 2021 

Ralph, Hollister.; VR travel industry 

Rončák, M.; Scholz, P.; Linderová, I. Safety Concerns and Travel Behavior of Generation Z: Case Study from the Czech Republic. Sustainability 2021Gössling, S.; Scott, D.; Hall, C.M. Pandemics, tourism and global change: A rapid assessment of COVID-19. J. Sustain. Tour. 2020  

Rosário, A.; Raimundo, R. Consumer Marketing Strategy and E-Commerce in the Last Decade: A Literature Review. J. Theor.Appl. Electron. Commer. Res. 2021. 

Denise Chen.; Virtual Reality Vacation Offers New Kind of Entertainment, 2020 

Euromonitor International—Accelerating Travel Innovation after Coronavirus. Available online: https://go.euromonitor.com/white-paper-travel-201110-travel-innovation-after-coronavirus.html (accessed on 22 October 2021). 

Igbaria, M.; Schiffman, S.J.; Wieckowski, T.J. The respective roles of perceived usefulness and perceived fun in the acceptance of microcomputer technology. Behav. Inf. Technol. 1994. 

Kim, J.; Hardin, A. The impact of virtual worlds on word-of-mouth: Improving social networking and servicescape in the hospitality industry. J. Hosp. Mark. Manag. 2010. 

AllThingsVR. (2015). Infographic for input technologies for VR. 

Argyropoulou, A., Dionyssopoulou, P., & Miaoulis Georgios. (2011). Tourist Destination Marketing and Management Using Advanced ICTs Technologies. 

Skyscanner. (2014). The Future of Travel 2024: Planning & Booking. 

Barnes, S. (2016), “Understanding virtual reality in marketing: nature, implications and potential” 

Jung, T., Tom Dieck, M.C., Moorhouse, N. and Tom Dieck, D. (2017), “Tourists’ experience of virtual reality applications 

Beck, J. 2017. Try before you buy with Expedia. Virtual Reality in Tourism 

Cavanaugh, C. 2017. Virtual Reality And Augmented Reality Will Change Brand Experiences. 

Graham, L. 2016. Virtual reality devices could transform the tourism experience.

 

 

 

 

 

Enhancing customer experience with smart hotel technologies

Have you checked into a hotel using a mobile app? Or maybe the light in your hotel room switched off automatically when you opened the door to leave? These features are only the tip of the iceberg in smart hotels.

Source: Unsplash.com

What are smart hotels?

According to Dalgic and Birdir 1, a smart hotel adopts a variety of cutting-edge technologies to provide guests with novel and tech-focused experiences. These hotels demonstrate a rise in smart services, defined as the incorporation of data and connected technologies that anticipate customers’ requirements and permit adaptation in response to any changes in settings or circumstances.2

Smart hotels go beyond a single concept or the straightforward application of technology. Instead, they involve gathering, integrating, analyzing, and concerted use of both general and specific client data via connected and synchronized technologies to enhance and personalize the customer experience.3

Usage of smart hotel technologies

DiPietro and Wang 4 distinguished four key areas that reflect the main effects of ICTs on hotel management—strategic planning and revenue management, operations, marketing, distribution and communication, as well as customer service and relationship management. This paragraph includes some examples of most hotels implement smart technologies nowadays.

Behind-the-scenes operations management technology indirectly improves client happiness by assisting executives in managing hotel operations more effectively and efficiently. Due to its ability to streamline the maintenance of rooms and guests’ requests, software like “Opera” or “CloudBeds” aids hoteliers in providing better client services. It is a property management system that is employed in hotels for the creation of reports as well as for reservations, rate administration, guest profile upkeep, and profit management.5

The cost of a hotel room may be one of the major deciding factors for travellers to choose a hotel, but social media and user review websites’ credibility and content might influence travellers’ booking intentions 6. Because so many individuals use social media to choose their holiday destination, share their experiences, and write reviews about the places they have visited, social media has emerged as a tool of essential relevance for the hotel sector.

In addition to social media, hotels realise that they need to employ technology to develop more cutting-edge services to boost client interaction.

How to create a smart hotel experience?

People love innovative experiences, especially they are open to trying something new when travelling. A stream of research has concluded that one of the keys to a company’s success is to offer a unique client experience. 7  Can you imagine checking into a Marriott International hotel and having smart shower doors? What are those? you might ask.  These doors are made so guests can write down their thoughts while in the shower and subsequently send the image to their personal email. 8

Consumers are increasingly more interested in purchasing experiences, instead of buying goods and products, according to Neuhofer et al. 9 Any successful business should prioritize determining and comprehending consumer demands and desires to improve their customer experience.

Luo & Pan 10 identified five aspects of the smart hotel experience—interactivity, personalisation, accessibility, informativeness, and privacy safety. Interactivity means technologies are easy and fun to use. Personalization means that tourists’ demands are met through customized services, which also enhance their travel enjoyment and make smart tourism hotels more appealing to them. Accessibility refers to how simple it is for a person to access and utilize the information provided. Credibility and information quality are important variables that can majorly impact visitors’ experiences. Last but not least is privacy safety, a necessary component of the technology-mediated environment is the protection and security of personal and private information.

These five dimensions are crucial to create a safe and unforgettable smart hotel experience for customers when designing an innovative experience.

Future of smart hotels

A framework for connectivity and interconnection is being adopted by the hospitality sector as an intelligence system that will revolutionize the sector. A fully integrated smart network should be capable of dynamic data sensing, storing, analysis, and interpretation. The capabilities of IoT and sensors allow for the monitoring and extraction of data from the outside world. Three domains are involved in connecting smart IoT networks: network-centric, cloud-centric, and data-centric. 11

Source: Pixabay.com

Challenges of implementing smart hotel technologies

Even though smart hotel technologies have various advantages for consumers, hotel employees, and hotel owners, there are always questionable points in every technology use.  Some of them are discussed below.

Research

Hotel owners hope that technologies may assist staff in daily tasks, cut financial costs, and improve the customer journey of hotel guests. However, to support management strategic planning and decisions, modern hotel management needs a vast amount of data – hotels have to do a great amount of research.

Control

Smart services can meet client needs even before the customer is aware of them. For instance, without consumer involvement, the room temperature in a hotel room is changed to suit an individual’s demands. However, there is always a chance that the algorithm incorrectly calculated it or that the consumer would like the room to be less hot at that moment. Smart services must therefore give the consumer the option to customize the experience. How many settings or options are required to meet each customer’s unique tastes and provide them control?

Privacy

Many hotel customers are hesitant to provide or disclose their data to hotel employees because they are concerned about their privacy. Furthermore, individuals might not feel safe if they realize that service providers are gathering, storing, and using their data behind their backs. Because of these privacy concerns, some guests, for instance, could complain if a hotel records everything they do, such as what they watch on TV or what they eat or drink while they are accommodated.

Technologies vs. human interactions

While technological advancements are crucial nowadays, many travellers could concur that they alone do not produce great and memorable experiences. Therefore, for many, these experiences are created through encounters with locals, other visitors, and employees. However, many smart services use technology and machines to replace guest-staff interactions, which can occasionally be expensive and time-consuming. However, certain smart services and technologies also have the potential to improve human contact.12 The difficulty lies in creating and implementing smart technologies that enhance existing processes in hotels while maintaining the necessary amount of human involvement.

Source: Author

The mind map above wraps up this blog post and gives food for thought on how to create a customer experience using smart hotel technologies. To conclude, it can be stated that the development, adoption, and implementation of cutting-edge technology across all areas of hotels will result in growth and sustained competitive advantage, therefore enhancing guests’ experiences. Smart hotels should focus on involving consumers in experiences and experiences production. However, each hotel must strike a balance between what it can provide given its resources and what its clients are expecting.

References

1 Dalgic, A., & 1 Birdir, K. (2020). Smart hotels and technological applications. In Handbook of research on smart technology applications in the tourism industry (pp. 323-343). IGI Global.

2 Kabadayi, S., Ali, F., Choi, H., Joosten, H., & Lu, C. (2019). Smart service experience in hospitality and tourism services: A conceptualization and future research agenda. Journal of Service Management, 30(3), 326-348.

3 Gretzel, U., Koo, C., Sigala, M., & Xiang, Z. (2015). Special issue on smart tourism: convergence of information technologies, experiences, and theories. Electronic Markets, 25(3), 175-177.

4 DiPietro, R. B., & Wang, Y. R. (2010). Key issues for ICT applications: impacts and implications for hospitality operations. Worldwide Hospitality and Tourism Themes.

5 Law, R., Leung, R., Lo, A., Leung, D., & Fong, L. H. N. (2015). Distribution channel in hospitality and tourism: Revisiting disintermediation from the perspectives of hotels and travel agencies. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 27(3), 431-452.

6 Noone, B. M., & McGuire, K. A. (2013). Pricing in a social world: The influence of non-price information on hotel choice. Journal of Revenue and Pricing Management, 12(5), 385-401.

7 Kim, H., & Choi, B. (2013). The influence of customer experience quality on customers’ behavioural intentions. Services Marketing Quarterly, 34(4), 322-338.

8 Morgan, B. (2020). 10 Examples Of Customer Experience Innovation In Hospitality. Forbes.

9 Neuhofer, B., Buhalis, D., & Ladkin, A. (2015). Smart technologies for personalized experiences: a case study in the hospitality domain. Electronic Markets, 25(3), 243-254.

10 Luo, X., & Pan, Y. (2021). A Study on customer experience design through analyzing smart hotels in China. Journal of the Korea Convergence Society, 12(3), 115-124.

11 Jin, J., Gubbi, J., Marusic, S., & Palaniswami, M. (2014). An information framework for creating a smart city through the internet of things. IEEE Internet of Things Journal, 1(2), 112-121.

12 Sharma, D. (2016). Enhancing customer experience using technological innovations: A study of the Indian hotel industry. Worldwide Hospitality and Tourism Themes.

 

How to Improve Online Presence of Small Tourism Businesses?

Online information search is a crucial and often overlooked part of today’s consumers’ decision-making, and most of it is done through search engines or social media. The searches on search engines and social media platforms correlate with the visits in destinations[1]. Here I have a look at different research papers considering these subjects, in order to get a basic idea on how small and medium-sized tourism companies could be more active about their online presence in order to perform better also in real life.

Information gained from these channels is generally relevant and critical, giving voice to the customers and their options [2]. The holistic experience of the customer shows as a positive review online, making it easier for future potential customers to select the service provider.

Customer’s Search Process

Better business performance can be gained through investing in online marketing to get a little better spot on the search website. Consumers feel stronger value for their money and are less afraid of a fraud when they make the booking through reliable customer review site, like TripAdvisor [3]. Customers are more critical towards the actual advertisements of travel businesses and likes to rely more on consumers turned to producers, who publish their own reviews of destinations and tourism businesses [4]. Companies should always remind customers to send the reviews of their experience to keep the company visible and encouraging future customers’ interest in their products and services.

National DMOs need to make sure their presence in social media is active and relevant, and potential tourists feel easy making contact with them online [5]. Even during the Covid-19 pandemic, the destinations improved their presence in YouTube, for example, to keep future travelers intrigued and invested in travelling to their destinations after lockdowns end and borders re-open [6]. Even after the lockdowns travelling hasn’t been back to normal yet, because of all the economic and safety reasons, but the destinations kept their hopes up and reminding visitors that once it’s safe again, they are welcome to visit.

It is crucial that companies understand the customers’ search engine usage, and behavioral patterns when looking for the information and making plans [7]. When it comes to online visibility through search engines, companies and destinations need to consider the keywords they want to be found with [8]. Consumers like the search process to be smooth and easy, and they will not spend too much time looking for all the possible results, just focusing on the ones showing up first, and if the company hasn’t succeeded with being associated with the correct keywords, it will be missed among the more relevant results.

Most of the searches are made with up to 3-word questions, and 80 % of customers stop looking after the first page of results [9]. A good spot on the top of the list of search results isn’t enough, though. The snippet of the text needs to be attractive and informative enough to make the customer click it [10]. Companies should really put some thought on how they wish to be seen online, before customer enters their website or their own social media page.

Small and Medium-sized Companies

Small and medium sized hotels tend to rely on some distribution partners in order to improve the visibility, even if it leads on some adjusting on partners’ terms and ways of conduction [11]. According to Murphy & Kielgast, small and medium-sized hotels may not have the most recent and relevant IT skills, so their understanding of search engine marketing and optimization is not among the top of their skillset. Making sure that whoever is in charge of marketing of the company has basic skills in SEO, would do a major improvement on the general visibility and give the company some control over their web presence.

As small tourism companies usually run on quite low resources and few people, I understand that diving into analytics probably isn’t the top priority, no matter how useful data they could embrace there. Even if it’s not someone’s everyday job to keep an eye out of their performance on Google and other search engines, just checking and reacting to the numbers every now and then between other work tasks, could make a difference, if the data is used correctly.

Conclusions and Thoughts

Based on the research papers I read for this post, I have started to think about some small tourism business companies which I think could really improve their online presence. The number of visits at the website or social media profile can also be used as an indicator when thinking about the upcoming seasons and booking levels there. I do believe that most companies understand the significance of this, but just may be short-handed about the concrete actions they could do to make it smoother.

I think that DMOs and such could make this easier by providing some education and materials to local companies and organizations. Tourism business is competitive and co-operative at the same time and support between different operators will benefit everyone. DMOs could play big part in this by involving the local operators and possibly having someone with the skillset provide the consultation services among all the companies in the area.

I am looking forward to get more familiar with this subject, do some more research and maybe someday use my knowledge to help some small businesses’ performance improve.

References

[1]Mi Kyung Lee, Ho Young Yoon & Han Woo Park: From Online via Offline to Online: How Online Visibility of Tourism Information Shapes and Is Shaped by Offline Visits. Journal of Travel and Tourism Marketing, Vol. 34, Issue 9, p. 1143 – 1154. https://www-tandfonline-com.ezproxy.uef.fi:2443/doi/full/10.1080/10548408.2017.1330727

[2]Antonio J. D. V. T. Melo, Rosa M. Hernandez-Maestro & Pablo A. Muñoz-Gallego: Service Quality Perceptions, Online Visibility, and Business Performance in Rural Lodging Establishments. Journal of Travel Research, Vol. 56, Issue 2. https://journals-sagepub-com.ezproxy.uef.fi:2443/doi/full/10.1177/0047287516635822

[3]Markus Schuckert, Xianwei Liu & Rob Law: Hospitality and Tourism Online Reviews: Recent Trends and Future Directions. Journal of Travel and Tourism Marketing, Vol. 32, Issue 5, p. 608 – 621. https://www-tandfonline-com.ezproxy.uef.fi:2443/doi/full/10.1080/10548408.2014.933154

[4]Eric Horster & Carsten Gottschalk: Computer-assisted Webnography: A New Approach to Online Reputation Management in Tourism. Journal of Vacation Marketing, Vol. 18, Issue 3. https://journals-sagepub-com.ezproxy.uef.fi:2443/doi/full/10.1177/1356766712449369

[5]Vitor Roque & Rui Raposo: Social Media as a Communication and Marketing Tool in Tourism: An Analysis of Online Activities from International Key Player DMO. Anatolia, An International Journal of Tourism and Hospitality Research, Vol. 27, Issue 1, p. 58 – 70. https://www-tandfonline-com.ezproxy.uef.fi:2443/doi/full/10.1080/13032917.2015.1083209

[6] Eran Ketter & Eli Avraham: #StayHome Today So We Can #TravelTomorrow: Tourism Destinations’ Digital Marketing Strategies During the Covid-19 Pandemic. Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, Vol.38, Issue 8, p. 819 – 832. https://www-tandfonline-com.ezproxy.uef.fi:2443/doi/full/10.1080/10548408.2021.1921670

[7]Zhen Xiang & Bing Pan: Travel Queries on Cities in the United States: Implications for Search Engine Marketing for Tourist Destinations. Tourism Management, Vol. 32, Issue 1, 2011, p. 88 – 97. https://www-sciencedirect-com.ezproxy.uef.fi:2443/science/article/pii/S026151770900226X?via%3Dihub

[8]Chaitanya Vyas: Evaluating State Tourism Websites Using Search Engine Optimization Tools. Tourism Management, Vol. 73, 2019, p. 64 – 70. https://www-sciencedirect-com.ezproxy.uef.fi:2443/science/article/pii/S0261517719300196?via%3Dihub

[9]Alexandros Paraskevas & Ioannis Katsogridakis: Search Engine Marketing: Transforming Search Engines into Hotel Distribution Channels. Cornell Hospitality Quarterly, Vol. 52, Issue 2. https://journals-sagepub-com.ezproxy.uef.fi:2443/doi/abs/10.1177/1938965510395016

[10]Bing Pan: The Power of Search Engine Ranking for Tourist Destinations. Tourism Management, Vol. 47, 2015, p. 79 – 87. https://www-sciencedirect-com.ezproxy.uef.fi:2443/science/article/pii/S0261517714001678?via%3Dihub

[11]Hilary Catherine Murphy & Christian D. Kielgast: Do Small and Medium-Sized Hotels Exploit Search Engine Marketing? International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, Vol. 20, Issue 1. https://www-emerald-com.ezproxy.uef.fi:2443/insight/content/doi/10.1108/09596110810848604/full/html

How content producers can use AI in digital marketing

Do you want to use AI to create better content? There’s no doubt that content production is getting more complex every day. It’s getting hard to get noticed on social media. Your inbox is packed with repetitive messages, and you must fight against a massive crowd to get people to read your content. And then there’s the problem of creating high-value content—it takes time and effort that many content producers and social media managers don’t have. Wouldn’t it be great if AI could help you?

Yes, it would! Today I’ll dive into how AI can produce better content for you than any human could ever do.

Use AI to create better text content

 

Fun fact – The text above was created for me in under 2 minutes using Copy.AI. All I had to do was explain what I wanted to write and what information the introduction should contain. 

 

 

Original text:
Topic of the blog post: How can content producers use AI in marketing?
A few key points:
Common problem: It’s getting harder to get noticed on social media. The content needs to be engaging, informative and stand out from the massive crowd. Creating high-value content takes time and effort that many content producers and social. media managers don’t have.
What to expect from the blog post: An introduction to how you can use AI to create better content.
Ask: Do you think AI can produce better content than you?

Impressive, right?

But what is AI? 

Artificial intelligence can be used by businesses to, for example, inform customers about their products, provide personalized alternatives, and understand their customers better.¹ Businesses and content creators also use Ai when creating content for campaigns and digital marketing, such as copywriting (copy.ai), graphic design (graphicdesign.ai) and even photography (dall-e 2). 

And why is high-value content important?

Creating content is time-consuming but necessary to maintain connections online. A study by Kenzie Burchell² shows that social media users feel disconnected from people who use the same social media platform but for different reasons than themselves. And a study by Stina Bengtsson and Sofia Johansson³ shows that young social media users in Sweden “unfollow” other social media users to whom they don’t feel connected. They “unfollow” users that they are not inspired by, and users make them feel “the wrong thing”.

A study by Nicolas Hamelin, Sameh Ai-Shihabi, Sara Quach and Park Thaichon in 2022⁴ showed that the company logo and brand name aren’t as important as the photographs and information used in advertisements. According to the study, we can assume that it is more important now than ever to create high-value content offline and online. With 96% of 20 to 30-year-old Swedes using social media daily³, this is also very important online. Businesses should focus on creating lively entertainment to strengthen their relationships on social media. ⁵ By using pictures and text to evoke emotions, you affect how your customers receive your content. How successful you are in evoking emotions in your customers can be measured with, for example, likes and engagement rates.

It’s time to embrace AI
– Nobert Wirth

How can you use AI in content creation?

Artificial Intelligence can help digital marketers achieve big things. ⁶ New AI applications are appearing on the market constantly. An AI application should be able to learn, reason, predict and plan. With this, you can use AI to create better content, for example, text production, image editing⁷ and video production. AI solutions are already replacing human knowledge in online targeting and dynamic attribution. ⁷ 

Here are four different ways you can use AI to create better content:

  1. Copywriting.
    1. AI can be used to create simple text but also more complicated ones. You can use AI to write text for your Instagram och blog post, create content for your website and even write difficult e-mails.
  2. Proofread your content
    1. You can also use AI to proofread the content that you have created. Having AI proofread your text is an easy and fast way to check your grammar and even get suggestions on making your text easier to read. Another fun fact; this text was proofread by Grammarly, which helped me make the text easier to read = better SEO points, YEY!

     

  3. Edit your photos

    You can use AI to get beautiful and professional-looking results quickly. Some apps can edit the light and colours and even delete unwanted things from the photo. Using Dall-e 2 you can create an image from scratch without leaving your home.

    Use Ai to create a photo of a dog in a hotel bed

  4. Edit videos

You can use AI to create new videos and edit your own. Ai can, for example, be used to match the colours of your video clips and cut your video clips so that the transitions are smoother. And just like photos, Ai can create new videos from scratch (more on the negative aspects of this later).

So… Should you use it?

Social media can negatively impact entrepreneurs⁸ and social media and marketing managers. Social media is becoming a big part of our lives, and social media connections require more time and attention than ever before⁸. A study on by Fakhar Shahzad, Adnan Fateh, Raja Suzana, Raja Kasim, Kashif Akram & Sheikh Farhan Ashraf showed that entrepreneurs with many social media followers are spending more and more time maintaining their connections. According to the study, female entrepreneurs feel stressed when they cannot keep their social media at the required level. Also, a study by Faseeh Amin and Mohammad Furqan Khan⁹ shows that people who are concerned about their number of likes and followers on social media are more stressed due to social media. It also shows that people who are dependent on social media platforms are more likely to feel stressed than others.

From the studies mentioned above, we can conclude that social media managers and marketers feel stressed when they have less time to create content and maintain relationships with their customers on social media. By using AI to help you write engaging Instagram captions and create eye-catching graphics, you’ll have more time to engage with your followers, build relationships and drive traffic to your social media accounts. And since social media platforms work best when used as a tool to communicate with your customers¹⁰, you should use more time to engage and communicate instead of just creating the content.

What can be the negative impacts of AI-produced content?

Remembering the negative impacts AI can have on content production is crucial. You can even create fake videos and photos of people doing things that they haven’t done¹ which, in my opinion, isn’t ethical at all. It can be challenging to notice if an AI-made video is fake, and it can be very dangerous. Fake videos made by AI are used in, for example, political campaigns.

Leave your opinion in the comments!

In my opinion, AI applications like Grammarly, Copy.Ai, and Adobe Sensei are great additions to a content producer’s toolbox. In my experience, content production can be highly time-consuming. Creating engaging content for over five social media accounts daily can be challenging. Having the chance to use AI to create better content is always welcome. With that said, it is essential to use them ethically. For example, I don’t think creating false pictures of a destination or business is ethical. My question is… If you use AI when creating content, does it mean that the content is no longer yours, or are these just more tools for the content producer’s toolbox to make even better content?

So what do you think? Is AI something you consider using when creating content for your next marketing campaign?

Sources:

¹ Patrick Van Esch and J. Stewart Black (2021), Artificial Intelligence (AI): Revolutionizing Digital Marketing 

² Kenzie Burchell (2017), Everyday communication management and perceptions of use: How media users limit and shape their social world 

³Stina Bengtsson and Sofia Johansson (2022), The Meanings of Social Media Use in Everyday Life: Filling Empty Slots, Everyday Transformations, and Mood Management 

⁴Nicolas Hamelin, Sameh Al-Shihabi, Sara Quach and Park Thaichon (2022), Forecasting Advertisement Effectiveness: Neuroscience and Data Envelopment Analysis 

⁵Xi Chen, Chunlan Jiao, Ran Ji and You Li (2021), Examining Customer Motivation and Its Impact on Customer Engagement Behavior in Social Media: The Mediating Effect of Brand Experience 

⁶Mithun S. Ullal, Iqbal Thonse Hawaldar, Rashmi Soni and Mohammed Nadeem (2021), The Role of Machine Learning in Digital Marketing 

⁷Nobert Wirth (2018), Hello marketing, what can artificial intelligence help you with? 

⁸Fakhar Shahzad, Adnan Fateh, Raja Suzana Kasim, Kashif Akram and Sheikh Farhan Ashraf (2021), Late-Night Use of Social Media and Cognitive Engagement of Female Entrepreneurs: A Stressor–Strain–Outcome Perspective

⁹Faseeh Amin and Mohammad Furqan Khan (2020), Online Reputation and Stress: Discovering the Dark Side of Social Media

¹⁰Amir Zaib Abbasi, Raouf Ahmad Rather, Ding Hooi Ting, Saima Nasir, Khalil Hussain, Muddasar Ghani Khwaja and Amjad Shamin (2022), Exploring tourism-generated social media communication, brand equity, satisfaction, and loyalty: A PLS-SEM-based multi-sequential approach 

How Ambient Intelligence can bring value to travel experience?

It is almost a norm in science fiction movies that doors open automatically, rooms know when you are about to enter, and coffee machines can predict when it is time for a hot cuppa. Ambient Intelligence has been a concept for a long time, but only through recent technological advancements, it has become a real possibility to bring this interactive technological omnipresence into our everyday lives. First Ambient Intelligence systems are already here but the future promises even greater advantages.

Ambient atmosphere with lots of color

But what is Ambient Intelligence, actually?

Ambient Intelligence, or AmI for shorter, is a term used for sensor-reliant, sensitive technologies, that interact with the user, interconnecting different appliances <sup>3</sup>. Many have probably heard about Amazon’s voice-command assistant Alexa or have used a smart tv, but Ambient Intelligence goes beyond voice-recognizing AI. Smartness and AmI are often mentioned together but are not synonyms of each other. Rather, smartness includes many different technologies, including Ambient Intelligence, that all together create a smart environment <sup>1</sup>. Special characteristics for AmI are interactivity, sensitivity, adaptability, and omnipresence <sup>1</sup>. Plus it is embedded in everyday life. An example of AmI system could be interconnected, voice-operated kitchen appliances. Now, wouldn’t it be cool to let your fridge order the groceries?

As technology progresses, it is forecasted that in the future existing and emerging technologies will be more interconnected and interoperable through smart technologies. <sup>1</sup> Ambient environment has been described as a place where humans are “surrounded by intelligent interfaces supported by computing and networking technology that is embedded in everyday objects, such as furniture, clothes, vehicles and smart materials”. <sup>2</sup> This suggests that future with ambient environment is slowly but surely on its way, but are the users ready for this?

Judging by the full potential AmI technologies have, we are still in the beginning stages of the journey. However, AmI systems are already used in many places, such as hospitals, smart homes, and even in schools and kindergartens. <sup>3</sup> Smart homes utilizing AmI systems are helping inhabitants to live happier, safer, and healthier lives. <sup>4</sup> AmI can help relieve stress by making everyday tasks easier, faster, and less stressful. Other perks are its ability to offer entertainment and even customize environments. <sup>4</sup>

There has also been research on use of AmI in commercial settings. Combining AmI and e-commerce principles can create foundations for ubiquitous commerce, or u-commerce in short <sup>5</sup> , a new potential for e-commerce. Another research has been focusing on utilizing geomarketing in the creation of a personal shopping assistant for customers visiting a store. <sup>6</sup> This implies that AmI will be used on a much wider scale than at first glance one might comprehend, truly intertwined with everyday experiences, making it difficult to specify when AmI is assisting you or not.

colorful reflections of home décor bottles in sunlight creating special ambiance

Ambient Intelligence in tourism ecosystems

In the tourism field, Smart hotel concept has been gaining a lot of interest. Much like smart homes, hotels utilizing smartness and AmI systems will create interconnected and sensitive environments. This kind of hotel can use technologies such as a digital wallet, sensor-activated lights, voice-assisted room functions, room décor customization, or even automated real-time translation <sup>7</sup> to create an ambient environment.

Opportunities with AmI have been also explored in interactive museums and even on a city tour <sup>8</sup> but there is much more potential in tourism-related enterprises. One of the biggest, life-changing aspects of AmI is that it increases inclusiveness and accessibility. For example, AmI systems can make it easier for guests with impairments to deal with physical and service-related barriers that they face during their stay. <sup>9</sup>

But what does Ambient Intelligence actually bring to tourism ecosystems? Intelligence, flexibility, sensitivity, and adaptability to all stakeholders, including customers. <sup>1</sup> Good thing about AmI technologies is that they can be used in many places. For example, technologies tested and used in healthcare could very well benefit visitors staying at a hotel or visiting a spa. For companies, the real challenge lies in integration of these new systems into their existing business, which should be done in a way that complements the existing practices, rather than replaces them completely. <sup>2</sup>

smart phone in a technology related ambiance

Value for customers

For customers, Ambient Intelligence can create new experiences and value. AmI supports service that happens in real-time. For customers time is essence and technologies such as AmI allow them to engage with companies and brands whenever they desire. AmI technologies enable value co-creation across multiple platforms among all stakeholders. As an effect of smartness, everybody becomes dynamically interconnected within the ecosystem, and therefore everybody participates in creating value. <sup>1</sup> For AmI systems to work as intended, it is important to add a touch of human element to them. Interaction should be enjoyable, natural, and technology itself easy to use. These systems should recognize user preferences, needs, and wants, but also know when to interrupt and when the communication is too much. <sup>3</sup>

Ambient Intelligence is unfortunately not all positivity and rainbows. Technological advancements bring up darker issues such as privacy, compromised accessibility, and even worries about people neglecting their basic needs as a result of excessive smart technologies. <sup>10</sup> These concerns might seem a bit farfetched for the time being, but it is important to keep in mind the possible negatives that come along all the positives. For customers loss of privacy, information leaks, and hacking can cause serious consequences.

sign post in sunset depicting future direction

So how does AmI bring value to travel experiences?

All in all, Ambient Intelligence presents intriguing possibilities, and it will be very interesting to follow how AmI systems and usage will develop in upcoming years. For the tourism sector, it gives new opportunities for value creation, and for customers, it will be thrilling to explore all the new ways everyday life can be enhanced. At this moment intelligent systems are more common in home and healthcare environments, but the real experiential value lies in the possible use in tourism and leisure. Global pandemic has introduced us to a world that is more accustomed to technologies and tourism industry is taking notes. It is not plausible to take your Alexa with you on holiday, yet, but perhaps in the near future, it will be possible. It would make a tourist’s journey a whole lot easier if it would be possible to integrate your own smart device into the AmI system that is used in the destination, acting as your own, fully personalized electronic butler. But for now, there are still concerns about privacy, and AmI applications are not advanced enough yet.

Reoccurring themes on articles used on this post have been the expected growth in interest for real-time interactions. This is undoubtedly one of the biggest pros of AmI systems and will make lives more convenient, but at the same time a question emerges about what happens in a long run to our everyday lives? Will our cultural and traditional tendencies fade, or does the AmI support our cultural roots? Is human-on-human contact going to be more rare as we move towards a world where technologies and robots are doing tasks for us, instead of us doing them ourselves? If every day is seamlessly assisted with technologies, it surely will translate into travel behaviour as well. Judging by how us humans are using phones even during holidays, it could be very possible that AmI technologies would be the first thing to pack with you to a holiday. On the other hand, in the future value of travelling could also lay in experiences outside the scope of technology, and digital detox would be a big trend. However It is impossible to see in the future, but for the time being, technology is definitely presenting more promising opportunities for the future of travel.

<sup>1</sup> Buhalis, D. 2019. Technology in tourism-from information communication technologies to eTourism and smart tourism towards ambient intelligence tourism: a perspective article. Tourism Review 75 (1), 267-272.

<sup>2</sup>Buhalis, D., O’Connor, P. 2005. Information Communication Technology Revolutionizing Tourism. Tourism Recreation Research 30 (3), 7-16.

<sup>3</sup>Cook, D., Augusto, J., Jakkula, V. 2009. Ambient intelligence: Technologies, applications, and opportunities. Pervasive and Mobile Computing 5, 277-298.

<sup>4</sup>Friedewald, M., Da Costa, O., Punie, Y., Alahuhta, P., Heinonen, S. 2005. Perspectives of ambient intelligence in the home environment. Telematics and Informatics 22 (3), 221-238.

<sup>5</sup>Keegan, S., O’Hare, G., O’Grady, M. 2008. Easishop: Ambient intelligence assists everyday shopping. Information Sciences 178 (3), 588-611.

<sup>6</sup>Zaim, D., Benomar, A., Bellafkih, M. 2018. Geomarketing Solution: An Ambient Intelligence Application in Shopping. Smart Application and Data Analysis for Smart Cities (SADASC’18).

<sup>7</sup>Mutreja, A., Chan, J., Peko, G., Sundaram, D. 2022. Jazz: A Design Metaphor for Ambient Intelligence Tourism Systems. AMCIS 2022 Proceedings 13.

<sup>8</sup>Sadri, F. 2011. Ambient intelligence: A survey. ACM Computing Surveys 43 (4), 1-66.

<sup>9</sup>Michopoulou, E., Buhalis, D. 2013. Information provision for challenging markets: The case of The accessibility requiring market in the context of tourism. Information and Management 50 (5), 229-239.

<sup>10</sup>Aczel, M. 2017. The dark side of technology, by Peter Townsend: Scope: general interest, review. Level: general readership, non-specialist, specialist. Contemporary Physics 58 (3), 1-2.

How can a chatbot influence the customer experience of your tourism business?

With the constantly ongoing advancements of Industry 4.0, several interconnected developments can be seen affecting both the digital and operational environments of tourism businesses. These so-called Tourism 4.0 innovations refer to Industry 4.0 innovations (Big Data, Internet of Things, Blockchain, Artificial Intelligence etc.) that have been specifically refined to suit the needs of the tourism industry, ultimately bringing additional value to customers¹. To scratch the surface of this multidimensional phenomenon, this blog post will focus on technology-mediated communication tools, specifically chatbots, and their influences on customer experience.

Yet, we must notice the other side of the equation. In addition to addressing the influences of chatbots on customer experience, the issue will also be appraised from the perspective of Customer Experience Management (CEM). But first, as stated by Opute, Irene and Iwu², it is vital to define the concept of “customer experience” before addressing topics related to the leveraging of digital technologies. Thus, in order to fully comprehend the complexity of the topic, we first need to create a framework of understanding.

Understanding the fundamentals of customer experience

Customer experience is a common topic of interest in both general business research and tourism-specific research. Due to differences in industry-specific characteristics, it is vital to understand the difference between online customer experience and (overall) customer experience.

In their conceptual model of online customer experience, Rose, Clark, Samouel and Hair³ identify various antecedent variables affecting the Cognitive Experiential State (CES), as well as the Affective Experiential State (AES) of customers. While antecedents affecting CES are closely related to the concept of flow (e.g., interactive speed, online presence, challenge, and skill), antecedents influencing AES are often associated with individual perceptions of website functionality, aesthetics and assumed benefits. The above-noted Experiential States lead to the preferable outcomes of an online customer experience: (1) customer satisfaction; (2) trust; and (3) repurchase intentions.

Picture from Unsplash.com

Stankov’s and Gretzel’s¹ conceptualization addresses similar concepts in a different context. Their conceptualization showcases the role of Tourism 4.0 technologies in creating tourist experiences. Similarly, concepts related to the state of flow (i.e., object-oriented factors) are seen to have an effect on the user experience. Conversely, their Human-Centered Design (HCD) approach gives great emphasis to additional variables, specifically subject-oriented factors (e.g., previous experiences, behavioural patterns, and contextual differences). Ultimately, the aforementioned factors result in a subjective user experience. However, this is just a part of the full story. The main idea of the conceptualization is to illustrate the user experience as a mediator, supporting the formation of the overall tourist experience. In other words, a user experience is a tool creating either goal-surpassing or goal-limiting effects, which have an essential impact on the overall experience.

Hwang’s and Seo’s⁴ findings also emphasize the role of technology-mediated experiences as middlemen between the customer and the overall customer experience. Their conceptualization reviews the topic from a CEM perspective, thus giving greater emphasis to the characteristics and consequences of the overall customer experience. According to this broader description, the overall customer experience is shaped according to a set of internal factors (e.g., customer demographics) and external factors (e.g., online environment, technology, and service attributes). As a result, the overall customer experience revolves around aspects of co-creation, authenticity, transcendence, and transformation. What is the final outcome of the overall customer experience? Mentioned outcomes include emotional and behavioural outcomes, changes in brand perception, as well as other subjective outcomes.

Picture from Unsplash.com

Chatbots: What, How, Why & Why not?

What are chatbots?

Essentially, chatbots are auto-generated software having some sort of ability to interact with its user. This interaction can take place in the forms of audio or text⁵. These natural language-based dialogues between chatbots and users⁶ take place on multiple platforms, including company websites and mobile applications⁷, to name a few.

How do chatbots work?

Chatbots require certain prerequisites to function. At this point it is vital to understand the differences between the two most common chatbots of today – rule-based chatbots and AI-chatbots. Rule-based chatbots operate on a basis of set rules. These chatbots can only function within the framework of these set rules, which limits their functionality⁸.What happens when a rule-based chatbot is not able to process your request? Melian-Gonzalez, Gutierrez-Tano and Bulchand-Gidumal⁷ highlight the complementary relationship required between chatbots and humans. Consequently, when a chatbot is not able to process a piece of information, the request is transferred to a human (i.e., a customer service representative of a company). Another limiting factor is the inability to learn from previous interactions; rule-based chatbots cannot storage processed information into a knowledge base or a data storage⁸.

Conversely, AI-chatbots have the ability to utilize complex datasets and even predict customer behaviour (to a certain extent). These highly intellectual chatbots have a Natural Language Processing (NLP) layer, or they utilize an Artificial Intelligence Markup Language (AIML) to obtain and process customers’ textual and/or oral requests. Moreover, AI-chatbots are often associated with the concept of Machine Learning (ML). ML functions enable AI-chatbots to not only process customers’ requests, but also to make assumptions about customer behaviour and deliver suggestions accordingly⁹.

Picture from Unsplash.com
Why do customers choose or choose not to interact with chatbots?

In Pillai’s and Sivathan’s¹⁰ study, a total of 1480 Indian customers as well as 36 senior managers were surveyed to identify different antecedents of chatbot adoption. Their findings indicate that the main antecedents of chatbot adoption include perceived ease of use, perceived trust, perceived intelligence, and the human-like characteristics of the chatbot (anthropomorphism).

Conversely, a more recent study identifies several negative antecedents affecting the adoption intention (AIN) of chatbots. In the above-mentioned study, undergraduate students from two Spanish Universities were surveyed, obtaining a total of 476 valid responses. The findings imply that individual habits, such as previous use of chatbots, inconveniences in communication (i.e., having to adopt own language in order for the chatbot to understand), as well as having a negative general attitude towards Self-Service Technologies (SSTs) have a negative effect on adoption intention⁷.

Chatbots & customer experience: providing value or increasing frustration?

Chatbots contribute to the customer experience in various ways. A recent Malaysian case study, conducted in co-operation with Air Asia Berhad, analyses the influences of chatbots on customer experience. The study presents a variety of positive outcomes. Firstly, the ease of use is highlighted; utilizing a chatbot requires little or no technical competence. Secondly, the constructed AIRA chatbot is able to operate 24/7, providing immediate responses to customers’ queries. This notion was greatly emphasized, since prior to the case study, the service quality of the company was on an insufficient level¹¹.

The findings of Suanpang’s and Jamjuntr’s¹² case study add to the above-mentioned notions. During their study, an AI chatbot was constructed for tourists visiting the Active Beach Zone in Thailand. Their findings indicate the following: (1) chatbot usage minimized the cognitive overload of customers; and (2) chatbot usage contributed to overall customer satisfaction. A mention-worthy element adding to the overall customer satisfaction was the chatbots ability to provide personalized information and customized content.

Picture from Unsplash.com

Boiano’s, Borda’s, Gaia’s, Rossi’s and Cuomo’s¹³ case study addresses the opportunities presented by chatbots in the context of museums and heritage organisations. The results of their pilot project in Milan imply that chatbot usage increased the immersion of museum tours, encouraging younger customer segments to pay more attention to historic environments and objects.

Conversely, a vital element of experiences, co-creation, divides opinions among scholars. While Bowen and Morosan¹⁴ state that chatbots among other technical developments add to the co-creation of remarkable visitor experiences by efficiently utilizing customer data, other scholars recognize the disruptive elements of the same phenomenon. According to a statement, autonomous devices are seen to “dehumanize co-created experiences” because of their power of overtaking the responsibilities of human beings¹⁵.

Be ahead of the game: identifying future opportunities and threats of chatbots in tourism

By now you should understand the following topics:

      1. The fundamentals of customer experience
      2. The adoption, use, and functionality of chatbots
      3. How do chatbots influence the customer experience?

Adding to the understanding of these topics, a conceptual framework has been constructed.

Source: Author
What about the future of chatbots? What kind of opportunities and threats do you need to acknowledge as a manager?

One of the biggest mistakes you can make as a manager is to focus only on the more direct outcomes of chatbot usage. Chatbots can certainly minimize labour costs, create additional value for customers, as well as give you a competitive edge over your competitors. However, there are additional (indirect) focus points that you should consider.

Firstly, we must acknowledge that advancements in technology increase customer expectations. Consequently, you must consider how your chatbot can be developed to suit the changing needs of customers. Could you utilize Deep Learning practices or additional Application Programming Interfaces to train your chatbot? Do these training practices fit your budget?

Secondly, let us review the situation from an experience design perspective. As said, technology is just a mediator for the overall experience; the overall experience includes holistic and human-centred elements¹⁶. Still, as technology develops, Bowen and Morosan¹⁴ question whether it is the technology that primarily drives value creation. In other words, this would require rethinking the whole experience, since technology can provide more value to the client in the form of a better product, a lower price, or both.

Thirdly, we must address the threats of chatbot usage. The more apparent negative outcomes of chatbot usage include frustration and skepticism towards technology. Could this be affected by determining whether it is mandatory or voluntary for customers to use your chatbot? Furthermore, there is a future threat to consider. Researchers have questioned whether the trend of replacing the human labour force with chatbots will have negative influences on how customers perceive chatbots. This negative perception ultimately affects adoption intentions⁷.

Acknowledgements

This blog post was written as a part of the Information and Communication Technology in Tourism Business course at the International Master’s Degree Programme in Tourism Marketing and Management (University of Eastern Finland Business School). Read more about the programme at https://www.uef.fi/tmm

References:

¹Stankov, U., & Gretzel, U. 2020. Tourism 4.0 technologies and tourist experiences: a human-centered design perspective. Information Technology & Tourism, 22(3), 477-488.

²Opute, A. P., Irene, B. O., & Iwu, C. G. 2020. Tourism service and digital technologies: A value creation perspective. African Journal of Hospitality, Tourism and Leisure, 9(2), 1-18.

³Rose, S., Clark, M., Samouel, P., & Hair, N. 2012. Online customer experience in e-retailing: an empirical model of antecedents and outcomes. Journal of retailing, 88(2), 308-322.

⁴Hwang, J., & Seo, S. 2016. A critical review of research on customer experience management: Theoretical, methodological and cultural perspectives. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management.

⁵Kumar, V. M., Keerthana, A., Madhumitha, M., Valliammai, S., & Vinithasri, V. 2016. Sanative chatbot for health seekers. International Journal Of Engineering And Computer Science, 5(03), 16022-16025.

⁶Dale, R. 2016. The return of the chatbots. Natural Language Engineering, 22(5), 811-817.

⁷Melián-González, S., Gutiérrez-Taño, D., & Bulchand-Gidumal, J. 2021. Predicting the intentions to use chatbots for travel and tourism. Current Issues in Tourism, 24(2), 192-210.

⁸Alotaibi, R., Ali, A., Alharthi, H., & Almehamdi, R. 2020. AI Chatbot for Tourist Recommendations: A Case Study in the City of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. International Journal of Interactive Mobile Technologies, 14(19), 18-30.

⁹Calvaresi, D., Ibrahim, A., Calbimonte, J. P., Schegg, R., Fragniere, E., & Schumacher, M. 2021. The Evolution of Chatbots in Tourism: A Systematic Literature Review. Information and Communication Technologies in Tourism 2021, 3-16.

¹⁰Pillai, R., & Sivathanu, B. 2020. Adoption of AI-based chatbots for hospitality and tourism. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management.

¹¹Kasinathan, V., Abd Wahab, M. H., Idrus, S. Z. S., Mustapha, A., & Yuen, K. Z. 2020. Aira chatbot for travel: case study of AirAsia. In Journal of Physics: Conference Series, 1529(2), 022101. IOP Publishing

¹²Suanpang, P., & Jamjuntr, P. 2021. A Chatbot Prototype by Deep Learning Supporting Tourism. Psychology and Education Journal, 58(4), 1902-1911.

¹³Boiano, S., Borda, A., Gaia, G., Rossi, S., & Cuomo, P. 2018. Chatbots and new audience opportunities for museums and heritage organisations. Electronic visualisation and the arts, 164-171.

¹⁴Bowen, J., & Morosan, C. 2018. Beware hospitality industry: the robots are coming. Worldwide Hospitality and Tourism Themes.

¹⁵Buhalis, D., Harwood, T., Bogicevic, V., Viglia, G., Beldona, S., & Hofacker, C. 2019. Technological disruptions in services: lessons from tourism and hospitality. Journal of Service Management.

¹⁶Tussyadiah, I. P. 2014. Toward a theoretical foundation for experience design in tourism. Journal of travel research, 53(5), 543-564.

How a starting tourism business creates customer value by adopting digital marketing technology?

How a new tourism business creates customer value by adopting digital marketing technology?

Everybody is online today and everybody is expecting all the noteworthy and legitimate running businesses to be there as well. If the consumer can not find your online presence the chances are your business goes unnoticed. Even worse it builds an image of untrustworthiness in the minds of the consumers. The potential customer may presume the business can not deliver what the customer is expecting. If the business fails in the first customer touch point the game is over before it even began, no matter how good the service or a product in reality is.

travel planning

Where to start when you´re starting- the do´s and don’t´s

 Alford and Page state in their study of technology adoption in marketing that SMEs who have a strong Web presence grow twice as quickly as those who have no or minimal presence1. It is essential to seriously think about implementing technology from the very beginning. As a starting business owner, you should start by thinking about what you want to achieve and who you want to reach. Once the business plan is ready, the goals, strategy and the understanding of the desired customer is clear it is time to use this knowledge as a basis in creating a suitable digital marketing plan. The plan should not be a separate aspect but rather intertwined with all that is in the very core of the business.

Dredge et al. examined the challenges and opportunities of digitalisation in tourism listing the needs of tourism businesses when taking up new technology2. They identified five topics: skills, mentoring support, finance, policy support, and infrastructure.

 Skills.

The digital competencies of your business will play a key role in the successful uptake of digital technologies. Often tourism businesses lack the necessary technical resources in their workforce to fully realise digital potentials. This can be due to a number of factors such as a lack of knowledge in identifying required digital skills to limited staffing issues. These restrict the time and effort which can be applied to learning new digital processes. You should map your knowledge and see if you already have knowledgeable personnel in the company. Or think do you want to outsource completely or partly.

Mentoring support

One option is to use mentoring initiatives. Mentoring can boost innovation, enhance creativity and ideation and assist with capacity building. It may improve connectivity between tourism enterprises, technology companies, the arts and cultural sector, and other start-ups. Mentoring reduces the distance and improves the timeliness, of advice between those that have the expertise and those that need to learn. It can be a prolific co-operation between two or more companies where all parties deliver something the other needs helping their businesses thrive. It is smart to keep in mind to not to bite off more than you can chew and here the importance of networking stands out.

Finance

Lack of finance is identified as the number one obstacle preventing the implementation of digital technologies in tourism businesses. There is a significant concern amongst tourism businesses that the cost of implementing new digital technologies will be more than the gains. Analyse what technology your business can benefit from and make a decision. You can start by taking up a few platforms and expanding from there according to the set budget. It is important to remember to build digital marketing around your customers and choose channels accordingly. Thinking which technology to choose to reach the specific customers and which technology brings the most value to the customer in return. Starting smaller and smart saves time and assets.

Policy support

You need policy initiatives and actions to support business awareness of new technologies. They make clear the benefits of their implementation. Your business requires support in business planning and decision-making with regards to new technologies to ensure efficient utilisation. Do research on the available technologies and find what best suits your needs and what serves your customers best. Find out what is out there, any new innovations that would suit you and your customers´, needs. Choose only appropriate, functional and effective technologies.

Infrastructure

The geographic location of tourism enterprises greatly affects their access to adequate digital infrastructures. In developed countries, connections tend to already be adequate even in more remote areas. Still, businesses in urban settings benefit from modern wireless and fibre broadband connections. The infrastructure in rural or more remote areas can be less developed. Getting your software and connections up-to-date is important so that the basic tools at hand are functional.

Are you (all) motivated enough?

Different personal motivations, corporate culture and managers attitude affect the willingness to adopt technology, which is traditionally explained by the technology acceptance model (TAM). Ritz et al. studied the combination of TAM and the do-it-yourself (DIY) behaviour model in adopting new technologies. They stated that small businesses are less likely to participate in digital marketing than larger businesses3. TAM evaluates the ease of use and perceived usefulness of the technology. DIY motivators are economic benefits and lack of quality in existing services. In other words, managers should make the use of technology easy and the economic advantages and other benefits that come with technology apparent. This applies to themselves and communicating this to the whole team.

Alford and Page found out that small business owner-managers have a positive attitude and a real appetite for adopting technology for marketing1. If you can channel this attitude successfully to motivate your employees you may be able to get staff involved in creating more innovative marketing content. This may serve a wider spectrum of customer expectations that exist towards your business.

So what is customer value and how it is created using technology?

 According to Holbrook customer value is the basic foundation for everything in marketing. It can be defined as a preference, experience, interactive and relativistic, that is comparative, personal, and situational4. Komppula and Gartner talk further about desired value, which refers to the value that customers want to receive from products or services and their providers. Received value refers to the value customers have actually experienced through specific customer interactions5. Zeithaml encapsulates the definition by stating that value represents “a trade-off of the salient give and get components”6. All the definitions explain what exactly is the customer value that is created when a business can answer to the needs and wants of their customers.

The product of tourism business is a service that can be thought of as an intangible object which is more difficult to define and label. The service involves emotions, hopes and dreams and the pursuit of satisfaction. As Neuhofer et al. state in their study experiences constitute the essence of the tourism industry7. Holbrook continues that therefore customer value resides neither in the product purchased, in the brand chosen, nor the object possessed but rather in the consumption experiences outcome. People desire not simply the product but rather what is behind the product or service; the satisfaction the experience brings through activity8.

It is all about the experience

It is important to understand the consumer´s journey. How they experience it throughout all the phases of tourism experience which happens before, during and after the service situation as stated by Opute et al9. For a business aiming to achieve improved customer experiential value at a profit, the focus should be to leverage digital technology. This is to fundamentally optimise customer satisfaction. That is why the focus should not be limited to leveraging digital technology to ensure more effective service design and implementation. It should also be about leveraging such technology to drive an integrated implementation strategy. The strategy should recognise the importance of reaching out to customers. This involves engaging actively with them to access customer ideas and suggesting cues for improving their overall experience.

Opute et al. studied the role digital technologies play in tourism customer service experience. They continue by stating and summing up that tourism service providers can leverage digital technologies to drive a customer engagement focus. Doing this higher customer experiential value is reached. At the same time, customer retention and organisational performance improve. Achieving these targets requires the business to interactively engage with customers. By leveraging customer-generated information to fine-tune tourism service design and delivery leave an indelible and memorable impression in the mind of the customers. Customers may attach a high experiential value to a tourism service episode. When this happens they are motivated to undertake a repurchase or re-endorsement of the service. In addition, they want to share their positive service experience afterward9. This reminds the business to put emphasis on the follow-up of the customer visit on the marketing plan.

Ready, engage, interact!

Interaction is what consumers want. They want to be recognized and treated personally. Businesses have to keep in mind that consumers are not completely dependent on communication with the business. They also want to communicate with other consumers and a smart business creates these opportunities. This brings great value to the customer. Customers want honesty and transparency and they go where they can get it. As Prahalad and Ramaswamy 10 found out the consumers can choose the firms they want to have a relationship with. The consumer base this on their own views of how value should be created for them. This reminds the starting tourism business to be humble and how important it is to engage and answer to the customers’ expectations.

Technology adoption has been successful when your business uses technology that is suitable for your strategy. If the technology produces measurable customer value it can be said your business has been very successful. Tapping your digital marketing efforts on all the stages of the tourism experience you maximise the effect and benefit of technology. This way your business ends up creating superb value for the customer.

Acknowledgements

This blog post was written as a part of the Information Technology in Tourism Business course at the International Master’s Degree Programme in Tourism Marketing and Management (University of Eastern Finland Business School). Read more about the programme at https://www.uef.fi/tmm

References

1Alford, Philip & Page, Stephen John. 2015. Marketing technology for adoption by small business. Faculty of Management, Bournemouth University. The Service Industries Journal, 2015-07-07, Vol.35 (11-12-9, p. 655-669. ISSN: 1743-9507 DOI: 10.1080/02642069.2015.1062884

2Dredge, D., Phi, G., Mahadevan, R., Meehan, E. & Popescu, E.S. 2018. Digitalisation in Tourism: In-depth analysis of challenges and opportunities. Low Value procedure GRO-SME-17-C-091-A for Executive Agency for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (EASME) Virtual Tourism Observatory. Aalborg University, Copenhagen. © European Union, 1995-2019. Available at: https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/vto/documents?page=1. Retrieved 25.10.2020.

8Holbrook M.B. (Ed.). 1999. Consumer value: A framework for analysis and research. London (UK): Routledge.

4Holbrook, M. B. 2005. Customer value and autoethnography: subjective personal introspection and the meanings of a photograph collection. Journal of Business Research, 2005-01, Vol. 58 (1), p. 45-61. ISSN: 0148-2963, DOI: 10.1016/s0148-2963(03)00079-1

5Komppula, R., & Gartner, W. C. 2013. Hunting as a travel experience: An auto-ethnographic study of hunting tourism in Finland and the USA. Tourism Management (1982), 2013-04, Vol.35, p. 168-180.35. ISSN: 0261-5177, DOI: 10.1016/j.tourman.2012.06.014

7Neuhofer, B., Buhalis, D., & Ladkin, A. 2014. A typology of technology‐enhanced tourism experiences. International Journal of Tourism Research, 2014-07, Vol. 16 (4), p.340-350. ISSN: 1099-2340, DOI: 10.1002/jtr.1958

9Opute, A. P., Irene, B. & Iwu, C. G. 2020. Tourism Service and Digital Technologies: A Value Creation Perspective. African Journal of Hospitality, Tourism and Leisure, 2020-03-01, Vol. 9 (2). EISNN:2223-814X

10Prahalad, C. K., & Ramaswamy, V. 2004. Co-creation experiences: The next practice in value creation. Journal of interactive marketing, 2004-01, Vol. 18 (3), p.5-14. ISSN:1094-9968, DOI: 10.1002/dir.20015

3Ritz, Wendy, Wolf, Marco & McQuitty, Shaun. 2019. Digital marketing adoption and success for small businesses: The application of the do-it-yourself and technology acceptance models. Journal of Research in Interactive Marketing.2019-06-16, Vol.13(2), p.179-203. ISSN:2040-7122. DOI: 10.1108/JRIM-04-2018-0062

6Zeithaml, V. A. 1988. Consumer perceptions of price, quality, and value: a means-end model and synthesis of evidence. Journal of Marketing, 1988-07-01, vol. 52 (3), p.2-22. ISSN:0022-2429.DOI:10.1177/002224298805200302

 

What makes or breaks the content on a good tourism website?

What kind of content works on a top-notch tourism website? What actually engages the visitor to stay on the page longer and better yet -develop a genuine interest towards the company?

When a few small things are taken into consideration, it is easier to capture the attention of the visitor. The most important thing to take into consideration is the customer value proposition.

The nitty-gritties

Who is your customer, what problem are you trying to solve for them, what are your customers’ needs and what will they gain from your services? By answering these questions you are well on your way of designing prime content for your website.

Answering these questions is also important because a website acts as a first impression -the first few seconds determine whether or not the visitor will stay on your site. The content on your website must be engaging not just for selling but for solving the customers’ needs in the best case. Also, keep in mind you may want to produce different content for your various target groups.

Make the first impressions count

Needless to say, what affects the first impression is the visuality of your site; pictures, videos, colours etc. Did you know that there’s research to show that visuality affects the customers ability to imagine themselves in your destination or using your product? Now you do. While it may not work to your advantage to have a 2 minute HD ad video on your site as it would slow it down, it will be beneficial to have relevant pictures and you may want to consider shorter clips.

Symbolic ideas for content

Convince, link and create

Whatever you produce onto your website, the content has to be persuasive as this affects the customers’ attitudes towards your company and product. The tone in which you present your written points should also be consistent -this way you maintain credibility in the eyes of the reader. In addition, you should sound confident but not intimidating and the tone must tell the story of your business and be in line with what you offer.

A couple of tech-savvy pieces of content that are good to have would be online chats, relevant calls to action as well as reviews from your clients and perhaps even photos taken by your customers. Don’t forget to include your contact details or social media links either! If you’re for example writing a blog, it might be an idea to include a snippet from your content there as well.

Above all, your website content needs to tell a story, as stories are what appeals to us and make us engage with a brand. Don’t just lay out the facts and service attributes but tell the emotional stories around them.

The most important concept in destination marketing?

What is a concept or a term that every destination marketer should know and understand about destination marketing? I think I found it. It is very catchy. A bit marketing-oriented even. Quickly thought, something far-fetched? But coherent and makes a lot of sense when thought more deeply.

It gathers up something very wide in one tight, distinct term. It makes me go “aha” and to nod. Have I now learned the most important concept during my master studies in tourism?

Destination DNA

Understanding Destination DNA is the key to plan and implement destination marketing. The identity of a place, the code written there by nature, the basic framework of a certain destination. It is something not to invent. It is something that already exists and has existed for a long time. It cannot be faked to be something it is not or changed to something else.

Destination Marketing DNA

Destinations, embrace your identity!

Place DNA is the destination’s competitive identity, and that’s why it is important to dig out. It must be deeply understood and commonly agreed among the entrepreneurs and residents in the area – the destination’s ‘frontline ambassadors’: those with whom visitors come into contact.

It is the atmosphere, the setting, and surrounding, the natural staging of the destination. It makes the genuine holiday experience possible to happen, to exist.

Or can the DNA of a destination change?

Actually, will it – eventually – anyway?

No. It won’t. Destination DNA is something that stays as it is. Presence, personality, and characteristics change. Or rather, develop. It is important to distinguish these two.

As important as it is for a destination to be well aware of its DNA, it is important to understand that once it’s known, it cannot be ignored, left unattended or unutilized.

What matters the most in destination marketing?

People build the destination marketing

Destination DNA is the basis of “what” and the core for “how”. Also, it gives the visitor a purpose, “why”. What makes a certain destination special? How are the available attributes possible to experience during the visit? Why should someone visit in the first place?  Therefore, an essential concept in tourism marketing and management.

As I stated in the beginning, learning this term got me captivated by its importance. Destination DNA – I pondered, maybe even the most important realization considering my tourism studies? Well, it is a term. A written, nicely formulated concept. Putting into practice, another thing. And who does it?

The people.

People behind the product, the service,

the experience.

Heart and soul to destination marketingThe final touch, in connection with the customer, comes from the business owners and the employees. They, the people, are the ones who transform the destination into a tourism product. Into experiences which breathe the place atmosphere.

And they add their own personal DNA into it,

 to make it memorable for the people.

For the customer.

 

 

 

Get a master’s degree in tourism business

Are you looking for an international tourism-focused master’s degree programme in business? Tourism Marketing and Management programme by University of Eastern Finland provides a unique learning experience for students who have finished their bachelor’s degree and are looking for new skills and knowledge in developing tourism industry in a sustainable way. Read more about the programme at www.uef.fi/tmm.

TMM developing tourism business at Etelä-Konnevesi region

Our International Master’s Degree Programme in Tourism Marketing and Management (TMM) has started a collaboration with municipalities of Konnevesi and Rautalampi and tourism stakeholders in the region. The concrete first step in this collaboration was a two-day workshop on developing nature tourism in the Etelä-Konnevesi region, organized in Konnevesi research station 14.-15.3.2018. Together with Anne Hyvärinen, project manager at a regional tourism development project, two days full of tourism business content were designed and tailored for the region.

Tourism insights and knowledge

The idea of the first day was to bring in all the actors to the same level when it comes to tourism marketing and management in a nature tourism destination. The day started with introductions and three short group work presentations by our students. As a preliminary assignment, our students had examined how the region is represented on the Internet from the perspective of potential tourists, both domestic and international. They also gave a quick overview of the recent development of the region in combination with development possibilities.

Making tourism better
Nature tourism workshop at Etelä-Konnevesi region

From the student presentations, it became obvious that the region has a vast tourism potential, but the problem is that very few know about this hidden gem. Most tourists that come to the region just visit the Southern-Konnevesi National Park, even though the region is full of interesting, high-quality and distinctive tourism businesses. Thus we were able to pinpoint the tourism development problem to marketing and sales, as well as networking between the actors in the region.

Besides our students, there was a wide range of presentations from local entrepreneurs and tourism personnel, Jyväskylä UAS and Visit Jyväskylä, and Johku. The tourism in the region and development possibilities were discussed from many different viewpoints, providing a great overview of the topic.

Networking and collaboration

At the end of the first day, we had the chance to visit a local rural tourism business Suopirtti Highland and meet their “hairy cows” (ie. highland cattle). It was indeed an experience for all of us. Afterward, we had a chance to taste delicious locally produced dishes at restaurant Mierontie. The restaurant also had a unique, wooden interior design made by local Jukola Industries. At the end of the second day, we had the chance to visit the National Park and experience KalajaRetkeily hospitality from Markku Utriainen. These visits only reinforced our view that there are many great and original tourism products and services in the region, but very few have ever heard of them.

Tourism services at Etelä-Konnevesi
Local tourism services

Professor Raija Komppula emphasized at the workshop how important collaboration and networking are for tourism businesses. Not that much can be achieved by doing things alone. Tourists seldom choose a destination based on one tourism business. Tourists are looking for an amalgam of experience that they can enjoy during their trip and only by working together a region can provide tourists what they want.

Tourism business development

Our students are now working with individual tourism businesses as their second assignment. Each student was assigned with a tourism business with their own development possibilities. The businesses gave our students practice-oriented tasks connected to topics such as marketing mix development, service packaging, experience design, technology adoption and new-service development. Our students will provide each involved business a short report that guides the businesses to take the next steps.

Students in a nature trail
TMM students and staff at the Etelä-Konnevesi National Park

Collaboration with TMM

We have built our programme so that this kind of destination and business collaborations are possible. Our students performed really well during the workshop and have clearly learned a lot during this past year they have been studying with us. We will continue our collaboration with Etelä-Konnevesi region and are also open to new possibilities to make tourism better. If you are interested in collaboration, please contact me at juho.pesonen[at]uef.fi.