On 3 September 2024, Prof. Haiyan Song, Director of RCDTT, was invited to be a Speaker at the Smart Tourism Forum organized by China Mobile Hong Kong, in collaboration with Legislative Council of Functional Constituency (Tourism), the Federation of the Hong Kong Hotel Owners, and the Hong Kong Hotels Association. The forum aimed to promote smart tourism and boost productivity in the sector, attracting around 40 representatives from various tourism businesses, associations and the Tourism Commission.
During the event, Prof Song addressed current trends of Digital Transformation in the hospitality and tourism industry. He discussed the applications of smart tourism, including big data analytics, artificial intelligence, virtual and augmented reality, the Internet of Things in hospitality, and ecological intelligent systems, which deepened attendees' understanding of these innovations.
From the discussions, participants agreed that there is an urgent need for the hospitality and tourism industry to go through a digital transformation in order to remain competitive. They also recognized the importance of cross-sector collaboration to develop smart tourism solutions.
