Improve tourists’ experiences with technology and data management

The final objective of this proposal presented on 30 July is to become a tool capable of collecting specific and detailed data in order for managers to analyse what information helps when it comes to decision-making.

Big Data technology provides significant opportunities for the tourism sector, considering the interest that large quantities of information generates among all agents in the value chain: companies, public administrations, and the users themselves. Systems capable to automatically learn from the data are being developed; in the future we will be able to make smart predictions on occupancy rates, the nationalities of arriving tourists, or to identify the regular routes taken by tourists in the country.

We will analyse the amount tourists spend in Gipuzkoa through card transactions and POS operations with a banking entity. Likewise, mobility and traceability data will be obtained from a mobile phone carrier.

Technological infrastructure is also being created by applying the Internet of Things, based on a network of sensors which allows the area to be monitored in real-time, and also takes advantage of the digital fingerprint that visitors leave by using a People Counting and Tracking system at tourist hotspots.

Through this technology and by developing various pilot initiatives, we will ultimately have tools that enhance service management, reinforce consumption, and improve the tourists’ experiences.

The creation of new niche activities in the field of smart tourism will be developed and promoted by analysing the information provided from various sources about who visits the area, what they like, what their shopping habits are, etc., in order for tourism to become a means of integration and social cohesion.