Lakhasly

EU guide on data for tourism destinations 2 EU guide on data for tourism destinations This document was prepared for the European Commission - DG GROW by Smart Tourism Destinations SI2.843962 PresentedbyPwCEUServicesEESV,IntelleraConsulting,CARSAandtheUniversityofMalagatothe EuropeanCommission,Directorate-GeneralforInternalMarket,Industry,EntrepreneurshipandSMEs Thiscontentisforgeneralinformationpurposesonly,andshouldnotbeusedasasubstituteforconsultationwithprofessionaladvisors.AccordingtotheEuropeanCommission,smarttourism "respondstonewchallengesanddemandsinafast- changingsector,includingtheevolutionofdigitaltools, productsandservices,equalopportunityandaccessforall visitors,sustainabledevelopmentofthelocalarea,and supporttocreativeindustries,localtalentandheritage". EU guide on data for tourism destinations Abilitytocollect,curateandre-usetouristicdatain accordancewithacoherentstrategicplan.Thegoalistohelp peopleandorganizationsinmakingdecisionsandtaking actionsthatmaximisethebenefittotheorganization. Tourism data management Destination Management Organisation (DMO) Tourism accessibility Tourism sustainability Organisationwhichcoordinatesthemanyconstituent elementsofthetourismecosystem;contributingtothe destinationdevelopmentconsideringresidentsand stakeholdersinterestsandwellbeing.TheDMOmayprovide visitorservicesandthenecessaryinformationstructureto marketthedestinationinamostdemocraticway. Theabilityoftourismandtraveltobeaccessibletoall people,irrespectivelyofage,socialconditionsorofanytype ofdisability-temporaryorpermanent.Includesaccessibility inthephysicalenvironment,intransportation,information andcommunicationsandotherfacilitiesandservices. Theabilityofatourismecosystemofpreservingitsnatural andculturalresources,promotingthewellbeingoflocal communities,mitigatingtheseasonalityofdemand,limiting theenvironmentalimpactoftourism-relatedactivities, supportingaccessibilityandimprovingthequalityof tourismjobs. Integrationofglobalandcurrentdataanalyticstoinform thedecisionmakingprocessforthetourismsector.The purposeistoreduceuncertaintybyusinginformation obtainedfromamanydatasources,eveninrealtime. Travel intelligence Open Data Informationcollected,producedorpaidforbythepublic bodiesandmadefreelyavailableforre-useforanypurpose. Itisbuiltaroundthekeypillarsoftheinternalmarket:free flowofdata,transparencyandfaircompetition. Tourism ecosystems Therangeofstakeholdersinvolvedinthetourismsector.It includesnotonlypublicadministrationandprivate businesses,butalsoinnovationlabs/hubs,universitiesand researchcentres,innovationaccelerators/incubatorsand localinhabitants. Smart environments Smartenvironmentsuseambienttechnologies(sensors, telecomsnetworks,IoTandAIs)toprovidesustainable resourceefficienciesandnewinsightsintooperationsfrom complexdatatofirmsandtheirstakeholders. Key definitions Main trends in the tourism sector Three megatrends to predict the evolution of data use for tourism EU guide on data for tourism destinations Smartdestinationsarecontinuouslyevolvingintheir provisionofservicestotourists,followingsocio- demographic,cultural,technological,environmentaland politicalchangesthataffectallareasofsociety.Beingaware ofandunderstandingthesedevelopmentsinthetourism sectoriskeytoplantourismdevelopmentstrategies, especiallyintheattemptofadoptingsmarttourism approacheswhichrequirenotonlyinvestmentin technologiesbutalsoculturalchangesinDMOandacross theentiretourismecosystemsotoallowthetransitionfrom 3Stourism("sea,sun,andsand")to3Etourism("education, entertainment,andexperience").Onthemediumterm,evolutionsofcurrenttechnologies combinedwiththestructuraladoptionofnewtechnologies thatarenowreachingthenecessarymaturitystage,will makesmarttourismincreasinglypossibleandaccessiblefor bothDMOsandend-users.InternetofThings(IoT),for instance,willreachanewstageofdevelopment,notonly becauseofthecostofsensors,devicesandrelatedsoftware isprogressivelydecreasing,butalsobecauseofthehigher complementarityandinteroperabilityofthesystems involved.Inthiscontext,increaseddatainteroperability, coupledwithimproveddataprivacyandsecurity,willfoster widespreaddatasharingandre-use.Cybersecuritywill becomeincreasinglyimportantforbothdestinationsand usersandtechnologysolutionsproviderswillneedtoadapt tonewregulatoryconstraintsandguidelines.Atthesame time,furtherdevelopmentinmachinelearningandneural networksareexpectedtounlockthepotentialofother technologiesalsointhetourismsector.Anexampleofthis isAugmentedReality(AR),currentlymostlylimitedtothe gamingsector,butwithhugepossibleapplicationsalsoin thetourismindustry,toofferincreasinglyimmersiveand dynamicexperiences.Whilewehavemadeeveryattempttoensurethattheinformationcontainedinthisdocumenthasbeenobtainedfromreliablesources,PwC,Intellera Consulting,CARSAandtheUniversityofMalagaarenotresponsibleforanyerrorsoromissions,orfortheresultsobtainedfromtheuseofthisinformation.All informationinthisdocumentisprovided"asis",withnoguaranteeofcompleteness,accuracy,timelinessoroftheresultsobtainedfromtheuseofthis information,andwithoutwarrantyofanykind,expressorimplied,including,butnotlimitedtowarrantiesofperformance,merchantabilityandfitnessfora particularpurpose. InnoeventwillPwC,IntelleraConsulting,CARSAandtheUniversityofMalaga,itsrelatedpartnershipsorcorporations,orthepartners,agentsoremployees thereofbeliabletoyouoranyoneelseforanydecisionmadeoractiontakeninrelianceontheinformationinthisdocumentorforanyconsequential,specialor similardamages,evenifadvisedofthepossibilityofsuchdamages. TheprojecthasreceivedfundingfromtheEuropeanCommissionunderservicecontractpilotproject"SmartTourismDestinations"-GROW-2020-OP-0014- NumberSI2.843962 Theinformationandviewssetoutinthisdocumentarethoseoftheauthor(s)anddonotnecessarilyreflecttheofficialopinionoftheCommission.The Commissiondoesnotguaranteetheaccuracyofthedataincludedinthisstudy.NeithertheCommissionnoranypersonactingontheCommission'sbehalfmay beheldresponsiblefortheusewhichmaybemadeoftheinformationcontainedtherein.1 EU guide on data for tourism destinations 2 3 6 9 11 Allovertheworldtourismdestinationsarecontinuously investinganddevelopingnewstrategiestoincreasetheir appealtowardsprospectvisitorsandbettermanage tourismflows.Tothisend,manydestinationmanagement organisations(DMOs)decidedtopursuethestatusof smartdestination,byfosteringinnovationandtheuptake ofdata-drivensolutionstoenhancetheirownandlocal stakeholdersofferandbusinessstructure,developingnew andmoresustainableformsoftourism,whilebroadening theirapproachto'destinationmanagement'.Thelatterhas beenoftendonebycreatingsynergieswithwider'smart city'programmes-e.g.,bysharingtechnologiesinitially usedformobilitypurposesonly,adaptingthemalsoto tourism-specificpurposesandgeneratingeconomiesof scale-orbyestablishinglong-termpartnershipswiththe privatesector.Onthelongterm,theparalleldevelopmentofdata interoperability,AI-poweredsolutionsandbigdata processingcapabilities,willallowtoincreasinglymakethe tourismmanagementaccurateandefficientandtourism experiencesseamlessandpersonalized.Blockchain-based solutionshavethepotentialtoincreasethesecurityand transparencyofdataandinformationsystems.The metaversewillofferopportunitiesforimmersiveeducation andentertainmentexperiences.Improveddatasecurity systemscoupledwithamoreadvancedandencompassing regulatoryframeworkaregoingtosupportthewidespread embeddingofbiometricsandrecognitionsystemsinto tourists'life.Developmentsinrobotics-combinedwithAI forautonomousmovementorlanguageprocessing-are alsoexpectedtoproducesomeimpactinthetourism servicesandhospitalitysector.Onalongtime-horizon conciergeandreceptiontaskscouldbeexecutedby chatbotsandrobots,aswellasassistancetoe.g.,tourists withlimitedmobilitycouldbeprovidedthroughrobotsor autonomousvehiclesystems.4 Main trends in the tourism sector EU guide on data for tourism destinations Megatrend 2 -Socio-demographic
changes Anageingpopulationandprogressivelyhigherratesof digitalliteracyrepresenttwodefiningdemographictrendsfor thenext30years.Regardingageingpopulations,theshareof olderindividualsinthetotalglobalpopulationisexpectedto increasesignificantlyinthecomingdecades.Thesetrends needtobetakenintoaccountbothfromtheperspectiveof targettouristsandlabourmarket.Forexample,thefive primarygenerationsalivetodayaretheBabyBoomers,born intheperiod1946-1964;GenerationX,bornintheperiod 1965-1980;Millennials,bornintheperiod1981-1996;and finally,GenerationZ,whichincludestheindividualsbornin theperiod1997-2012.Inthiscontext,ontheshortrun,itcanbeobservedthat5G and6Gmobilenetworkswillplayapivotalroleinaddressing thegrowingdemandforspeed,coverageandqualityof networksaswellastosupportbigdataandcloud-based solutions,fedbyagrowingnumberofdatasetsgeneratedby sensorsandIoTapplications.Bigdatasolutionsarealreadyin useinseveraldestinationstosupportdecision-makingand thiscentralityisexpectedtoincrease,alsoinlightofgrowing awarenessofthebenefitsofdatasharingandtheadoption ofcommonstandards.Destinations,ontheshortterm,will alsohavetowidentheirabilitytoprocessdatacollected throughvoluntarydatacaptureandrecommendation systems.Suchdata-generallycollectedthroughonlineforms orbeaconscommunicatingwithtourismapps-iscrucialto designpredictiveandbehaviouralmodelsbasedonuser profilesaswellastomakepersonalisedrecommendations.Why this EU guide Table of content Asmarttourismdestinationisdefinedasadestinationwhere differentstakeholders,eventuallyunderthecoordinationofa DestinationManagementOrganisation,facilitateaccessto tourismandhospitalityproducts,services,spaces,and experiencesthroughICT-basedinnovativesolutions,making tourismsustainableandaccessible,andfullyleveragingtheir culturalheritageandcreativity.Thisentailsaddressingand improvinglocalpopulations'qualityoflife,astheybenefit fromasustainablesocio-economicdevelopmentandare activelyinvolvedinthedigitalculturefosteredinthearea.Thisguideondatafortourismdestinationsmight thereforeresultusefulforanytypeofdestinationwilling toimprovethewaytheycollectandusedatafortourism purposesandhopefullybecomeinspirationalforthose cities,regions,orcountries,eagertostarttheirjourney towardsbecomingsmarttourismdestinations.

EU guide on data for tourism destinations 2
EU guide on data for tourism destinations This document was prepared for the European Commission -
DG GROW by
Smart Tourism Destinations
SI2.843962
PresentedbyPwCEUServicesEESV,IntelleraConsulting,CARSAandtheUniversityofMalagatothe
EuropeanCommission,Directorate-GeneralforInternalMarket,Industry,EntrepreneurshipandSMEs
Thiscontentisforgeneralinformationpurposesonly,andshouldnotbeusedasasubstituteforconsultationwithprofessionaladvisors.
Whilewehavemadeeveryattempttoensurethattheinformationcontainedinthisdocumenthasbeenobtainedfromreliablesources,PwC,Intellera
Consulting,CARSAandtheUniversityofMalagaarenotresponsibleforanyerrorsoromissions,orfortheresultsobtainedfromtheuseofthisinformation.All
informationinthisdocumentisprovided"asis",withnoguaranteeofcompleteness,accuracy,timelinessoroftheresultsobtainedfromtheuseofthis
information,andwithoutwarrantyofanykind,expressorimplied,including,butnotlimitedtowarrantiesofperformance,merchantabilityandfitnessfora
particularpurpose.
InnoeventwillPwC,IntelleraConsulting,CARSAandtheUniversityofMalaga,itsrelatedpartnershipsorcorporations,orthepartners,agentsoremployees
thereofbeliabletoyouoranyoneelseforanydecisionmadeoractiontakeninrelianceontheinformationinthisdocumentorforanyconsequential,specialor
similardamages,evenifadvisedofthepossibilityofsuchdamages.
TheprojecthasreceivedfundingfromtheEuropeanCommissionunderservicecontractpilotproject“SmartTourismDestinations”–GROW-2020-OP-0014–
NumberSI2.843962
Theinformationandviewssetoutinthisdocumentarethoseoftheauthor(s)anddonotnecessarilyreflecttheofficialopinionoftheCommission.The
Commissiondoesnotguaranteetheaccuracyofthedataincludedinthisstudy.NeithertheCommissionnoranypersonactingontheCommission’sbehalfmay
beheldresponsiblefortheusewhichmaybemadeoftheinformationcontainedtherein.
Reproductionisauthorizedprovidedthesourceisacknowledged.
Managed by European
Commission
July 2022 About the project
The‘SmartTourismDestinations’project(ServiceContractSI2.843962,2021-2023)isfundedbythe
EuropeanCommission–DirectorateGeneralforInternalMarket,Industry,EntrepreneurshipandSMEs(DG
GROW)andmanagedbyPwCEUServices,IntelleraConsulting,CARSAandtheUniversityofMálaga.The
objectiveoftheprojectistosupportEUdestinationsintheirpathtowardagreenanddigitaltransition
aimedatimprovingsmartandsustainablemanagementoftourismintheEUthroughdatamastering,
understoodastheabilitytocollect,analyseandre-usetouristicdatainaccordancewithacoherent
strategicplan.
The concept of smart
tourism and key
definitions .................
Main trends in the
tourism sector.............
Types of data for
tourism.....................
Key challenges in
the EU tourism
ecosystem ............
Getting smart: the
path of tourism
destinations............
1
EU guide on data for tourism destinations
2
3
6
9
11
Allovertheworldtourismdestinationsarecontinuously
investinganddevelopingnewstrategiestoincreasetheir
appealtowardsprospectvisitorsandbettermanage
tourismflows.Tothisend,manydestinationmanagement
organisations(DMOs)decidedtopursuethestatusof
smartdestination,byfosteringinnovationandtheuptake
ofdata-drivensolutionstoenhancetheirownandlocal
stakeholdersofferandbusinessstructure,developingnew
andmoresustainableformsoftourism,whilebroadening
theirapproachto‘destinationmanagement’.Thelatterhas
beenoftendonebycreatingsynergieswithwider‘smart
city’programmes–e.g.,bysharingtechnologiesinitially
usedformobilitypurposesonly,adaptingthemalsoto
tourism-specificpurposesandgeneratingeconomiesof
scale–orbyestablishinglong-termpartnershipswiththe
privatesector.
Inthissense,the2020pandemicoutbreakmarkedan
accelerationintheprocessofdigitalisationandinthe
generationofnewideasandinitiatives,oftenbasedon
smartdatamanagement.Thenecessitytosupport
businessesandensureadministrativeandoperative
continuitybyswiftlyadoptingdigitalsolutionsanddata-
drivenapproachesemergedinnearlyanysectorand
industry,andthetourismonewasnoexception.
Consequently,anever-growingnumberofdestinations
virtuouslystartingtheirjourneytowardssmarttourism
canbeobservedtoday,bothinEuropeandabroad.
Thefollowingpagescontainkeyinformationonthemain
aspectsrelatedtotheimplementationofsmarttourism
solutionsbasedonenhanceddatamastering.The
purposeistosharecrucialknowledgeandunderstanding
fromcurrenttourismmega-trendsobservedworldwide
andtypesofdataproducedinthetourismecosystem,to
challengesintheimplementationofdata-driven
approachesfortourismmanagement.Thedocument
alsoincludesanumberofpracticalandactionable
suggestions,basedonsmarttourismbestpractices,
takingintoconsiderationalsothedevelopmentsand
challengesgeneratedbythe2020pandemic.
Thisguideondatafortourismdestinationsmight
thereforeresultusefulforanytypeofdestinationwilling
toimprovethewaytheycollectandusedatafortourism
purposesandhopefullybecomeinspirationalforthose
cities,regions,orcountries,eagertostarttheirjourney
towardsbecomingsmarttourismdestinations.
Why this EU guide
Table of content Asmarttourismdestinationisdefinedasadestinationwhere
differentstakeholders,eventuallyunderthecoordinationofa
DestinationManagementOrganisation,facilitateaccessto
tourismandhospitalityproducts,services,spaces,and
experiencesthroughICT-basedinnovativesolutions,making
tourismsustainableandaccessible,andfullyleveragingtheir
culturalheritageandcreativity.Thisentailsaddressingand
improvinglocalpopulations’qualityoflife,astheybenefit
fromasustainablesocio-economicdevelopmentandare
activelyinvolvedinthedigitalculturefosteredinthearea.
Theideaofsmarttourismisanoffspringoftheconceptof
smartcity.Asmartcityischaracterisedbyapervasive
presenceandmassiveuseofinformationtechnologiesto
achieveresourceoptimisation,effectiveandfairgovernance,
sustainability,andqualityoflife,withapplicationsinavariety The concept of smart tourism destination
The concept of Smart Tourism
2 offieldssuchasmobility,living,people,governance,
economy,andenvironment.Thissmartapproachisbeing
appliedalsototourismdestinations.Indeed,considering
theimportanceoftourisminbothurbanandrural
contexts,thecomplementaritybetweenservicesfor
touristsandresidents,aswellasthepotentialofemerging
technologiesforthetourismecosystem,smartsolutions
havebeenwidelyintroducedinthetourismsector.
AccordingtotheEuropeanCommission,smarttourism
“respondstonewchallengesanddemandsinafast-
changingsector,includingtheevolutionofdigitaltools,
productsandservices,equalopportunityandaccessforall
visitors,sustainabledevelopmentofthelocalarea,and
supporttocreativeindustries,localtalentandheritage”.
EU guide on data for tourism destinations Abilitytocollect,curateandre-usetouristicdatain
accordancewithacoherentstrategicplan.Thegoalistohelp
peopleandorganizationsinmakingdecisionsandtaking
actionsthatmaximisethebenefittotheorganization.
Tourism data management
Destination Management
Organisation (DMO)
Tourism accessibility Tourism sustainability
Organisationwhichcoordinatesthemanyconstituent
elementsofthetourismecosystem;contributingtothe
destinationdevelopmentconsideringresidentsand
stakeholdersinterestsandwellbeing.TheDMOmayprovide
visitorservicesandthenecessaryinformationstructureto
marketthedestinationinamostdemocraticway.
Theabilityoftourismandtraveltobeaccessibletoall
people,irrespectivelyofage,socialconditionsorofanytype
ofdisability–temporaryorpermanent.Includesaccessibility
inthephysicalenvironment,intransportation,information
andcommunicationsandotherfacilitiesandservices. Theabilityofatourismecosystemofpreservingitsnatural
andculturalresources,promotingthewellbeingoflocal
communities,mitigatingtheseasonalityofdemand,limiting
theenvironmentalimpactoftourism-relatedactivities,
supportingaccessibilityandimprovingthequalityof
tourismjobs. Integrationofglobalandcurrentdataanalyticstoinform
thedecisionmakingprocessforthetourismsector.The
purposeistoreduceuncertaintybyusinginformation
obtainedfromamanydatasources,eveninrealtime.
Travel intelligence
Open Data
Informationcollected,producedorpaidforbythepublic
bodiesandmadefreelyavailableforre-useforanypurpose.
Itisbuiltaroundthekeypillarsoftheinternalmarket:free
flowofdata,transparencyandfaircompetition. Tourism ecosystems
Therangeofstakeholdersinvolvedinthetourismsector.It
includesnotonlypublicadministrationandprivate
businesses,butalsoinnovationlabs/hubs,universitiesand
researchcentres,innovationaccelerators/incubatorsand
localinhabitants.
Smart environments
Smartenvironmentsuseambienttechnologies(sensors,
telecomsnetworks,IoTandAIs)toprovidesustainable
resourceefficienciesandnewinsightsintooperationsfrom
complexdatatofirmsandtheirstakeholders. Key definitions Main trends in the tourism sector Three megatrends to predict the evolution of data use for tourism
EU guide on data for tourism destinations Smartdestinationsarecontinuouslyevolvingintheir provisionofservicestotourists,followingsocio- demographic,cultural,technological,environmentaland politicalchangesthataffectallareasofsociety.Beingaware ofandunderstandingthesedevelopmentsinthetourism sectoriskeytoplantourismdevelopmentstrategies, especiallyintheattemptofadoptingsmarttourism approacheswhichrequirenotonlyinvestmentin technologiesbutalsoculturalchangesinDMOandacross theentiretourismecosystemsotoallowthetransitionfrom 3Stourism(“sea,sun,andsand”)to3Etourism(“education, entertainment,andexperience”). Differenttypesoftrendscanbeobservedandforeseenin thetourismsectoroccurringinoracrossdifferent timeframes,correspondingtoshort-term(until2024), medium-term(until2030),andlong-term(2050).Such trendscanbegroupedinthreemega-trendscategories presentedbelowandnamely: •Technologicalprogress •Socio-demographicchanges •Sustainabledevelopmentandenvironmentalneutrality Changesinthepoliticalandregulatorylandscapeare transversaltothesethreecategoriesandalsoneedtobe closelyconsidered.
3 Main trends impacting the tourism sector Anageingpopulationandprogressivelyhigherratesofdigitalliteracyrepresenttwodefining demographictrendswithdirectimplicationsforthetourismsector. Socio- demographic changes
•Big Data •Recommender Systems •Cloud computing •Augmented Reality •Artificial Intelligence •Sensors and evolution in IoT •Cybersecurity and blockchain •Metaverse •Robotics for tourism Thegrowthofconnectivityanddistributedinfrastructuresaremakingdigitaltransformation increasinglyaccessibleandcapillary.Datarepresentthekeyfuelformostoftheseforces.
•Responsible Tourism •Increasing sharing economy •Accessible and Inclusive tourism •New business models and regenerative tourism AlreadyoccurringbeforetheCOVID-19crisis,theseforcesareexpectedtodrivechangetowardsa moreinclusive,economicallyandenvironmentallysustainableeconomy. •Boost in lifelong learning •Ageing population •Propensity to remain connected •Changes in the purchasing process •Digital natives to become the main consumers of smart tourism
Sustainable development Technological progress Megatrend 1 –Technological progress
Digitaltransformationatdifferentspeedsisalreadytaking
placeintheEuropeantourismsectorandthegrowthof
connectivityanddistributedinfrastructuresaremakingsuch
transformationincreasinglyaccessibleandcapillary.As
organisationshavedifferentreadinesslevelsandneeds,
trendsintechnologicalprogressopendifferentopportunities
foreachdestination.Cloud-basedandBigDatasolutionsfor
travelintelligenceandtoinform(predictive)decision-making
arealreadywidelydiffused,alsosupportedbytheever-
growingquantityofsensorsdeployedondestinations
territory,ofteninthecontextofsmartcity-relatedsolutions.
Atthesametime,othersolutionsarebecomingincreasingly
matureandreadyforthego-to-marketalsofortourism
purposesinthenextdecade.Augmentedrealityapplications,
enhanceddatasharinginfrastructuressuchasdataspaces,
andblockchainbasedcertificationsystemsareexamplesof
suchsolutions.Finally,thereisasignificantmomentumin
R&Dinvestmentsbyleadingtechnologicalplayersinthefield
ofthemetaverse,promisinginterestingapplicationsforthe
tourismsectoronceitwillbecomemature.
Inthiscontext,ontheshortrun,itcanbeobservedthat5G
and6Gmobilenetworkswillplayapivotalroleinaddressing
thegrowingdemandforspeed,coverageandqualityof
networksaswellastosupportbigdataandcloud-based
solutions,fedbyagrowingnumberofdatasetsgeneratedby
sensorsandIoTapplications.Bigdatasolutionsarealreadyin
useinseveraldestinationstosupportdecision-makingand
thiscentralityisexpectedtoincrease,alsoinlightofgrowing
awarenessofthebenefitsofdatasharingandtheadoption
ofcommonstandards.Destinations,ontheshortterm,will
alsohavetowidentheirabilitytoprocessdatacollected
throughvoluntarydatacaptureandrecommendation
systems.Suchdata-generallycollectedthroughonlineforms
orbeaconscommunicatingwithtourismapps-iscrucialto
designpredictiveandbehaviouralmodelsbasedonuser
profilesaswellastomakepersonalisedrecommendations.
Onthemediumterm,evolutionsofcurrenttechnologies combinedwiththestructuraladoptionofnewtechnologies
thatarenowreachingthenecessarymaturitystage,will
makesmarttourismincreasinglypossibleandaccessiblefor
bothDMOsandend-users.InternetofThings(IoT),for
instance,willreachanewstageofdevelopment,notonly
becauseofthecostofsensors,devicesandrelatedsoftware
isprogressivelydecreasing,butalsobecauseofthehigher
complementarityandinteroperabilityofthesystems
involved.Inthiscontext,increaseddatainteroperability,
coupledwithimproveddataprivacyandsecurity,willfoster
widespreaddatasharingandre-use.Cybersecuritywill
becomeincreasinglyimportantforbothdestinationsand
usersandtechnologysolutionsproviderswillneedtoadapt
tonewregulatoryconstraintsandguidelines.Atthesame
time,furtherdevelopmentinmachinelearningandneural
networksareexpectedtounlockthepotentialofother
technologiesalsointhetourismsector.Anexampleofthis
isAugmentedReality(AR),currentlymostlylimitedtothe
gamingsector,butwithhugepossibleapplicationsalsoin
thetourismindustry,toofferincreasinglyimmersiveand
dynamicexperiences.
Onthelongterm,theparalleldevelopmentofdata
interoperability,AI-poweredsolutionsandbigdata
processingcapabilities,willallowtoincreasinglymakethe
tourismmanagementaccurateandefficientandtourism
experiencesseamlessandpersonalized.Blockchain-based
solutionshavethepotentialtoincreasethesecurityand
transparencyofdataandinformationsystems.The
metaversewillofferopportunitiesforimmersiveeducation
andentertainmentexperiences.Improveddatasecurity
systemscoupledwithamoreadvancedandencompassing
regulatoryframeworkaregoingtosupportthewidespread
embeddingofbiometricsandrecognitionsystemsinto
tourists’life.Developmentsinrobotics–combinedwithAI
forautonomousmovementorlanguageprocessing–are
alsoexpectedtoproducesomeimpactinthetourism
servicesandhospitalitysector.Onalongtime-horizon
conciergeandreceptiontaskscouldbeexecutedby
chatbotsandrobots,aswellasassistancetoe.g.,tourists
withlimitedmobilitycouldbeprovidedthroughrobotsor
autonomousvehiclesystems.
4 Main trends in the tourism sector
EU guide on data for tourism destinations Megatrend 2 -Socio-demographic

changes
Anageingpopulationandprogressivelyhigherratesof
digitalliteracyrepresenttwodefiningdemographictrendsfor
thenext30years.Regardingageingpopulations,theshareof
olderindividualsinthetotalglobalpopulationisexpectedto
increasesignificantlyinthecomingdecades.Thesetrends
needtobetakenintoaccountbothfromtheperspectiveof
targettouristsandlabourmarket.Forexample,thefive
primarygenerationsalivetodayaretheBabyBoomers,born
intheperiod1946-1964;GenerationX,bornintheperiod
1965-1980;Millennials,bornintheperiod1981-1996;and
finally,GenerationZ,whichincludestheindividualsbornin
theperiod1997-2012.
The‘BabyBoom’generationwillbecometheoldesttarget
groupinthecomingdecades,withthehighestspending
capability,butaveragelowerdigitalskillsincomparisonto
othertourists.Theywillprogressivelyrequireasetof
personalisedtouristicservicesbasedonacombinationof
healthandculturaltourism,inlinewithboththeirhealth
necessitiesandculturalhabits.
GenerationsZandYwillbecomeyoungadultsbefore2050,
withlowerspendingcapabilitythantheirparents.Forwhat
concernsdigitalliteracy,however,individualsbelongingto
thesegenerationswillbefullyengagedwithdigital
technologiesthroughouttheirlives.Millennials,whoare
collectivelyconsidered“digitalnatives”,willbecomethemain
smarttourismconsumers,butmoreinneedoflowspending
solutions.Thepurchasingprocessoftouristicproductsand
servicesisalsochanging,asmoreandmoreindividualsare
usingonlineservicesratherthantravelagencies.These
generationswillalsorepresentthenewemployees,bringing
newcompetencesthatwillneedtobeattractedthrough
digitalrecruitmentstrategies.
Asaconsequence,intermsofsocio-demographictrends,on
theshorttermtherewillbeagrowingpropensityandneed
toremain‘connected’andconsumedigitalservicesand
products.Thisisgoingtotakeplacedespiteanaverage
ageingpopulationofnon-digitalnativeindividuals.Lifelong
learningfordevelopingandconstantlyupgradingskillsalso
inlessdigital-confidentpopulationsegmentsiscertainlyan
aspectfavouringthistrendandtobefollowedclosely.
Onthemedium-term,moreimpactingchangeswillstartto
beobserved,mostlydrivenbydigitalnativesbecomingone
ofthemaintouristsegments.Theirgrowth,combinedby
digitallysavvyindividualsofGenerationsZandYwillentaila
behaviouralshiftwithdemandsofmoreinclusiveand
interconnectedvirtualservicesaswellasstructuralchangesin
thepurchasingprocessoftourismservices,increasingly
‘modular’andcustomisable.
Onthelongterm,digitalnativeindividuals,suchas
millennialsandalphageneration,arebecomingthemain
smarttourismconsumers,pushingevenfurthertheneed forasmarteranddigitaltourismoffering.GenerationYand
inparticulargenerationXwillbecomeolderadultswith
accompanyingrequestsofsmarttouristservicesthat
combineboth‘healthy’andculturaltourism.
Megatrend3-Sustainabledevelopment
andenvironmentalneutrality
Sustainabilityandenvironmentalneutralityarebecoming
centralalsointhetourismsector.Touristsareincreasingly
awareandcarefulwhenitcomestotheimpactsoftheir
choices.Likewise,DMOs,businessesandevenbigtourism
sectorcompaniesaredevelopingmoreinclusive,
responsible,andenvironmentallyneutralsocialinnovations
forbothresidentsandtourists.Thistouchesnotonly
aspectsrelatedtotheenvironmentandthepreservationof
heritagesites,butalsopertainingtothepreservationof
localhistoricalbusinessesandeconomicactivities,andthe
regenerationofterritoriesandresources.
Inthiscontext,newbusinessmodelswillenterintothe
tourismmarketwithforce,takingfulladvantageofnew
informationandcommunicationtechnologies.Theoverall
trendwillbeaneasingintheend-users’exchangeof
productsandservicesoutsidethetraditionalmodelsby
creatingpeer-to-peerrelationships.Thistrendhasitsrootin
thecontinuousgrowthofinternetaccessibilityand
connectivity,aphenomenonwhichincreaseditsspeedafter
the2020pandemicoutbreak.Manywell-established
tourism-relatedbusinessmodelswererevolutionizedby
digitalization.Thistrendwillcontinueinmanyareas,from
mobility,toaccommodationbookingandsharingandto
holidayrental.Thiswillrequirefurtherlegislativeand
regulatoryeffortsaswellasthereviewofcurrentquality
controlframeworksandtaxationschemes.
Inthemediumterm,digitalnomadsandfreelancerswill
representasignificantshareoftheconsumers’marketfor
touristicservices.Thismarketsegmentwillmostprobably
seeklowfareandfunctionalaccommodationsandservices,
allowingtoseamlesslyperformprofessionalactivitiesand
makethemostoutoftheextra-worktime.Apowerful
digitalconnectivityandefficientmobilitythereforeemerge
askeyaspectsofthistypeoftourismofferingandwhichwill
alsohavetovaluetherelationwithresidents.Asitisalready
takingplaceinsomesmartdestinations,newtouristsare
morewillingtobeengagedwiththelocals,toenjoy
‘authentic’experienceslessenvironmentallyimpactfuland
fosteringtheregenerationoflocaltraditionandintangible
culturalheritage.Successfulsmarttourismdestinationswill
beabletoattractresponsibletouristswiththepromiseof
havingapositiveimpact,andinturnwillstrengthentheir
environmental,cultural,andsocio-economicresources
thankstotourism.Inthelongterm,theabovetrendsare
expectedtoevolveintoamoreinclusive,andsustainable