April 3, 2023
by Amber Johnson
(My favorite neighborhood Invader art piece, Ljubljana, Slovenia, 2021)
(Digitally tuning into the UNWTO World Forum on Gastronomy Tourism,
Bruges, Belgium, 2021)
We are, as we already know, in the midst of an ongoing digital transformation. It feels as if, every other week, some new form of technology or a digital trend is dropping. As an individual not necessarily strongly focused on this sector specifically, it doesn't always catch my immediate interest. And yet, there are ways in which our everyday processes through our personal interactions, work life, and more are connected to it! I currently can account for myself being active on numerous digital platforms daily–whether Google-related, Whatsapp, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, or others–as well as using apps and messaging on my phone and being always able to instantly access the internet at the drop of a pin! In other countries and cities I’ve lived, I’ve utilized even more digital tools in my everyday movement and tasks. And yet, I don’t consider myself particularly digitally obsessed. The truth is, we are very digitally connected. And we’ve only become more so in the last few years.
(The new normal, online courses for my master's degree at one of my favorite spots,
Le Petit Cafe, Ljubljana, Slovenia, 2021)
(The perks of rooftop studies in Ljubljana, Slovenia, 2021)
Already, the intersection of technology and tourism finds its bearings in my previous experiences. There are so many ways in which technologies are gaining root in tourism offerings, management, and tourists’ undertakings. Digital trends in tourism include: recognition technology (think, opening your phone or a hotel room with retina, face scan, or fingerprint), personalization (the way that your apps and purchases lead you to more individually ideal options), virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) (think those fun games or virtual cityscapes you might be visiting while playing with VR goggles or taking a real-life tour at a cultural site to learn about the specific buildings with a fabricated layer you can only see through your phone), artificial intelligence (AI) (machine learning) and more [2]. Whether it was working on an ‘outer space tourism’ team project with group mates for our Tourism Innovation course, taking class field trips to the Barcelona EXPO with a focus on mobility and technological innovation, or experiencing personal tourism offerings that implemented digital methods, or could be vastly improved if they had, I found that the technology and tourism crossroads is increasing interactions at rapid speeds! And the ways in which technologies continue to expand, change, and develop are fascinating! Several such trends found their grounding in lived experiences.
One recent concept that’s been trending: ChatGPT. I won’t spend a lot of time discussing this digital tool itself, aside from providing resources to learn more about it, as it isn’t my expertise [7]. But I will share a bit about a mini experiment in using it, so it’s useful to know that it’s an artificial intelligence (AI) focused text-generating tool. I’d heard about it for a while, with several friends sharing their own experiments. Essentially, you can start a conversation and it will produce a cohesive text response, or result. My first inquiry: “Can I be a teacher and also a tourism practitioner?” A little bit existential, huh? The response it gave is here:
(ChatGPT Response #1)
Pretty good, for a basic response. It actually mirrored some of my own thoughts lately when considering a multi-faceted career. Furthermore, I tried to narrow it down further. I continued the conversation with: “I am passionate about literacy, tourism, and the world. What type of teacher should I be?” It fired back with a reply that really hit it on the head for me, breaking down the types of teaching options that might appeal to me based on the information I gave, and even using some of my own personal buzz words such as global citizenship and honing on personal values including intercultural exchange, diversity, and personal development through learning.
(ChatGPT Response #2)
Now this was just one quick thought experiment, utilizing my conversational partner of AI. What are the implications? Well, this digital tool and concept may revolutionize so much in the world in years to come–including business operations, the way our learning environments work (Heyo, AI is doing my homework for me, thanks!), human labor and jobs, and the potential for accessing further knowledge through human and AI learning collaboration. It also means I’m out of a job as a writer. ;) Or at least, the better this technology gets, the easier it mimics human authorship. I wistfully take a mental note that if I had been born 10 years later, maybe I could have had a ChatGPT descendant write my master’s thesis for me. Just kidding! Well, kind of. As with most innovation, governance and legislation will follow slowly, as it has with the operations of Airbnb and Uber in many countries across the globe. The innovative digital realm definitely puts things into perspective.
(Bruges, Belgium, 2021)
(Exploring nearby Ghent, Belgium, 2021)
Another quandary that arose related to digital tools was how to implement them super fast in the face of a global pandemic (COVID-19). During the onset of the pandemic, digital transformation was forced to speed up a bit [1]. Due to the nature of the situation, organizations and the world’s inhabitants were forced to go online where they could for reasons related primarily to safety and social distancing. The pace at which these changes were implemented–by governments, and in businesses, educational institutions, and personal social circles–was swift. In 2020, there was already the sense that such changes put us 3-4 years ahead of schedule [1]. This manifested itself in my own life at the time in numerous ways–initially, my European-based master’s programme courses were converted temporarily to be primarily online and I was facing the challenges and consequences of this massive undertaking along with countless other students worldwide. Not to mention, I had to navigate 3+ university systems and online portals as I traveled between Denmark, Slovenia, and Spain. Zoom, Adobe Connect, FaceTime, and too many more platforms to count, became a part of my regular life. With previous virtual experiences from working professionally in the earliest months of the pandemic, I had already practiced with Zoom and Microsoft Teams, and felt the struggles of working primarily online within systems and networks built on and relying on in-person operations.
(UNWTO World Forum on Gastronomy Tourism sign
in Bruges, Belgium, 2021)
Many interactions became virtual, but other experiences were IRL and digitally complemented. From an experience of ITB Berlin solely online in the spring of 2021, to attending the UNWTO World Forum on Gastronomy Tourism virtually despite being literally in Bruges, Belgium for the event in the fall of 2021, not all digital experiences were as satisfying as they would have been in person. And yet, the methods were slowly being improved, and paving the way for future hybrid work methods and events.
(COVID Passport QR scans in Belgium, 2021)
Soon after the earliest vaccines were available and I received one, I had to download an app and get a virtual COVID passport stating that fact in order to access restaurants, public buildings, and flights. The swifter adaptation of QR codes in Europe, the U.S., and elsewhere reminded me of my time living in Qingdao, China in 2018-2019, where I solely paid by QR code daily, whether for a street sweet potato or to enjoy a proper Chinese feast at one of our favorite restaurants where we ate family style!
(The gorgeous streets of Ljubljana, Slovenia, 2021)
(The notable triple bridge featuring a surprise art 'invasion' in Ljubljana, Slovenia, 2021)
Living in Ljubljana, Slovenia in the fall of 2021, many of these digital practices shaped my daily habits. Whether I was in my apartment, at a restaurant, on the top of the city’s skyscraper with classmates, or in the classroom, I had access, albeit with constraints, to education. In enjoying other things the city had to offer, it went beyond that. I had access to the country’s amazing system for students, študentski boni, which consists of government-subsidized food coupons. This system has long existed but was more recently digitized–I personally felt the difference as I had lived in Lj in 2016 during my undergraduate studies through a direct exchange and had previously needed to dial a number on my phone next to the machine utilized by restaurants in order for its operation to be successful. In 2021, there was an app, and due to COVID-19 and the governmental restrictions in place, it was primarily being used with another innovation, food delivery services. This was a huge difference to me, and it was well suited for the ever-adapting landscape of digital transformation. While COVID-19 brought a speedier implementation process, many of these changes had been on a gradual path toward practice already!
(The Dragon Bridge with a recent artist's addition in Ljubljana, Slovenia, 2021)
(Experiencing Local Tours in Ljubljana, Slovenia, 2021)
(My scavenger hunt event in Ljubljana, Slovenia, 2021)
I also had access to digital tools I could use to create experiences all on my own. While in Ljubljana, a friend and I visited a local museum and learned about the anonymous French artist ‘Invader.’ Immediately, we found ourselves eagerly seeking out the newest additions to his art project which was a ‘mosaic tiles’ meets ‘graffiti’ meets ‘artistic expression’ effort. The artist had invaded Ljubljana previously in 2006 with several pieces and was actively invading the city while we lived there in the spring of 2021 [3]. It was incredibly fun to search for these art pieces around the city, especially as they were being dropped. The artist himself had an app to use to ‘capture’ these art pieces and gain points, think Pokémon Go! We used this a bit but primarily found ourselves content in merely spotting and photographing the pieces. In April 2021, I decided to create a fun and engaging scavenger hunt for my EMTM cohort. I used the most basic digital approach I could–pins dropped on Google Maps shared as a private list directly by link. The creativity in creating the path, the puzzles and clues, and in orchestrating and hosting the event for my classmates was much more developed. Had I a more digital inclination, perhaps it could have been developed further. This stays in my mind as not too long after this, we experienced some professional tours by local guides that were equally fixed in non-digital methods. These spaces carry great potential for digitalization and tourism.
(Slovenia in Colors Tour in Ljubljana, Slovenia, 2021)
(Enjoying a Slovenia in Colors Tour in Ljubljana, Slovenia, 2021)
In May 2021, we participated in tours by local guides who touched on the Invader project. At the time it was still ongoing. Our amazing guide through her tour, Slovenia in Colors, introduced us to the city in a personal and heartfelt way [4]. Tjaša Janovljak, born and raised in Ljubljana, shared with us her takes on the city, taking care to point out the newest additions to the project as myself and classmates wandered around the Slovenian capital. I heartily recommend her as a guide. With previous experience in the city, I also recommend Alternative Ljubljana for their eclectic tours [5]. Furthermore, I suggest supporting and experiencing Invisible Ljubljana, a tour focusing on social issues, particularly homelessness, and social justice by supporting those who had experienced this themselves [6]. While there are many tours available and they are continuing to innovate, it is my hope that, similar to the desires for my own scavenger hunt project, more and more digital tools are utilized in the process. No matter the place or offering, tourism can better utilize digital tools in the ways that it operates.
What are your favorite ways to stay connected or use digital tools to travel? Moreover, if tourism innovation and design were in your hands, what ideas would you be most eager to implement?
Let’s tackle tourism, technology, & innovation together!
~Amber
(Sporting bright colors in my hikes around Ljubljana, Slovenia, 2021)
References:
#ambrosiaelsewhere #sustainabletourism #education #educationabroad #tours #tourguides #digital #trends #tourism #onlinelearning #remote #innovation #art #invaders #slovenia #ljubljana #belgium #bruges #ghent
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