“Going smart for sustainable development” is a hot topic in almost every sector, including the travel industry. Green awareness and changing traveller demands are simultaneously shaping developments in the industry. Airlines, hotels and travel agencies are searching for novel approaches to improve business operations and offer travel experiences in ways that fulfil travellers’ needs, support the economy, and preserve environments and cultures. At its core, sustainable tourism cares for people and the planet. Digital tourism is emerging as an attractive solution that is shaping the industry’s future. To “go sustainable”, the industry has to “go smart”: it is now time to “go digital”.
Digital tourism in the new era of smart cities
Digital tourism refers to the use of technology to modernise the operation of travel businesses and their interactions with customers. The use of technology in the travel industry is not entirely new, and it is all around us.
Airlines use mobile check-in apps to reduce passenger boarding time. Travel platforms leverage analytics to offer travel deals. Expedia, an online travel agency, recently introduced a ChatGPT plugin on its platform for online enquiries and seamless trip bookings. Meanwhile, social media are major sources of cool places to geotag and tips for avoiding travelling pitfalls.
However, there is so much more than these. The sector is aiming for “advanced” travel tech—“smart” technologies that support a sharing economy and intelligent automation in the industry. These technologies include engineering innovations to help reduce carbon emissions from hotel and flight operations, the Internet of Things (IoT), and big data that improve tourism forecasting and business intelligence.
Quality education and research that drive successful tourism and hospitality
With over 40 years of excellence, the PolyU School of Hotel and Tourism Management (SHTM) is among the world’s leading academic institutions in the field of hospitality and tourism. SHTM has claimed the top spot in the “Hospitality and Tourism Management” category of ShanghaiRanking’s Global Ranking of Academic Subjects 2023 and in the “Tourism & Services” category of the University Ranking by Academic Performance 2022/23, as well as the second place in the “Hospitality & Leisure Management” in the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2023.
SHTM’s excellence is not limited to educational offerings on campus and at Hotel ICON (PolyU’s unique teaching and research hotel). The School values research—its Hospitality and Tourism Research Centre brings together SHTM academics, partner institutions, and executives in industry for research that is bridging the gap between theory and practice in the field.
Helping tourism and hospitality to go digital has become a niche area of expertise. As the sector firmly upholds the “go digital” motto, a practical question is “how to go digital”. To most tourism and hospitality business organisations, particularly small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), there is not a clear strategic plan or adequate talent and resources for executing a cost-effective digital transformation.
How can we better keep track of travellers’ satisfaction? What kinds of travel options do young people prefer? Are “eco” hotels really as green as they claim? What type of travel tech is needed to address industry needs? The answers to these questions and many others require systematic investigation. PolyU is poised to seek the solutions via interdisciplinary research.
