Smart travel, or
tourism aided by technology, will not
only help tourists but boost
innovation in the industry, the head
of the China Tourism Academy said
last Tuesday.
Dai Bin said
that thanks to the Internet, cloud
computing and mobile terminals, data
analysis can now help tourism
companies figure out what attracts
tourists so the companies can come
up with better products and innovative
marketing.
He said that most
tourists prefer individual travel to
package tours. Many destinations such
as Taiwan and Hong Kong allow
residents from major mainland cities,
including Beijing, Shanghai, Xiamen and
Tianjin, to visit as individual
travelers.
To capitalize on
this trend, Beijing's FAB Enterprise
Group signed an agreement with
Macao's Duty Group worth 630 million
yuan ($102.7 million) on July 10, 2013. The
two companies will work together on
building travel-related mobile terminals and
providing themed tours in an attempt
to share tourism information nationwide
and provide more convenience to
travelers.
The companies inked
the deal at the Second Beijing
Macao Cooperation and Exchange Symposium,
which opened on Wednesday in
Macao.
Chen Renxue, an employee
of the Beijing company, said that
mobile terminals allow tourists with
smart cellphones to receive information
on places of interests, detailed
routes, dining hotspots, shopping hubs
and hotels.
Such terminals will
be built in major subway stations,
shopping malls and densely populated
communities. Tourists need only to
scan their phones at a terminal
to get an e-ticket to visit
scenic areas and make reservation at
hotels, he said.
Visitors can
also get audio tour guide at
the terminals, Chen said. "It's
like having a portable tour
guide."
Chen said such mobile
terminals in Beijing have served 300,000
visitors in the second quarter of
this year.
The National Tourism
Administration has promised to boost
the application of technology at
scenic spots. Beijing, as one of
the first trial cities, has seen
rapid growth in the use of
technology in the tourism sector over
the past three years, Dai
said.
Xu Weidong, a staff
member of the Beijing Tourism
Development Committee, said the city
has been accelerating its WiFi
coverage, and 50 scenic spots in the
city will provide self-guided tour
services to tourists with smartphones
by the end of
September.
"The mobile terminals
and 3-D technology allow the public
to enjoy themselves before they visit
the place in person," he
said.
However, the development
of technology-aided tourism also faces
challenges.
"Many places are
not covered by WiFi, which makes
it impossible for visitors to have
access to the information they need,"
he said. In addition, the high
costs of Internet traffic and its
slow speed prevent more people from
using the services.
Dai also
mentioned the lack of channels for
tourists to lodge
complaints.
"Tourists who are
cheated in a place far from
their homes are more helpless and
desperate than we think, and it
is necessary to provide related
information as well," he said.
