The Sri Lanka Hotel Association recently announced the virtual tour as the medium of visiting national parks, natural heritages, stunning monuments, and many other striking destinations. This showcases a clear reflection of how technology is revolutionizing tourism and how other nations are applying new technological systems and architecture in their tourism industry. The facilities of online booking platforms, review sites, ride-hailing apps, chatbots, translation apps, digital payments, recommendation systems, etc. are the major tools used by many tourism services. The adaptation of information technology by the tourism industry brought the next level of change in the context of marketing, promotion, communication, and enhancement of customer service and has reshaped how tourists interact with service providers, making travel easier, more personalized, and more efficient.
As the new wave of technological development emerges, AI is playing a crucial role in the tourism industry. It significantly enhances the hotel industry by improving operational efficiency, customer experience, and revenue management. For hotel owners, AI-powered tools can streamline processes like booking, check-in, and customer service, resulting in the reduction of labor costs and enhancing guest convenience. Predictive analytics of AI can help owners anticipate demand and manage inventory effectively, leading to better resource allocation and reduced waste. In other words, AI can improve operational workflows, boost customer satisfaction, and drive profitability in the growing and competitive hospitality sector.
The positive factor of AI and information technology regulated the overall system of the tourism and hospitality industry. But this industry is also on the radar of many cyber security attackers and hackers. This industry holds valuable and sensitive information about itself and its customers related to their bank information, health status, and other personal details. To tackle this issue, the overall industry is focused on technical, organizational, and behavioral measures. These measures include operations such as anti-malware protection, encryption, two-factor or multifactor authentication, disaster recovery plans, network segmentation, and much more. The implementation of such preventive and curative measures requires a huge amount of financial and governmental involvement. It results in unsafe and backward tourism conditions for developing countries like Nepal.
Nepal's tourism industry has proven to be modernizing and improving in the context of new technological ideas and implementation. Gradually, the use of AI would be visible throughout the establishment and foundation of this industry. The pressure to catch up to the ever-changing global world seems like a challenge, but the opportunities provided by it should be understood and utilized at its core.
