The Internet of Things facilitates to reopen tourist establishments and enhances smart tourism

Lee este artículo en español aquí.

Innovation and technology have always been at the heart of the tourism sector. Their involvement is vital at this critical time of adaptation to new health and safety protocols and the social distancing measures required by post-Covid regulations.

Digitization and Internet of Things based solutions (IoT) can be the basis for the reactivation of the productive activity of companies in the tourism sector without losing sight of competitiveness.

Libelium and Integra, technology companies focused respectively on digitization and the Internet of Things, organized two webinars now available on Youtube with English subtitles.

We offer now the video with a training session on IoT technology for the management of tourism establishments.

◦ Speakers:

Ana Bernal, Director of Business Development at Libelium.
José Manuel Juan, Consultant of Suitech (Integra).

This technical session on digitization and IoT for hotels focused on specific solutions to provide greater confidence to tourists and boost bookings. These include temperature control systems, capacity control, water quality measurement in swimming pools and spas, air quality monitoring and intelligent parking solutions.

You can see the complete video in Spanish with English subtitles in our YouTube channel.

There was also a panel of experts with leading representatives of the Spanish tourism sector.

◦ Speakers:

Jorge Marichal. President of the Spanish Confederation of Hotels and Tourist Accommodation (CEHAT).
José Luis Yzuel. President of the Spanish Hotel and Catering Business Confederation (CEHE).
Ricardo Buil. CEO of Centraldereservas.com
Moderators: Alicia Asín. CEO of Libelium / Félix Gil. CEO of Integra

◦ Discussion topics:

The necessary adaptation of the hotel sector to give confidence to the clients.
What hoteliers need to raise the blind with guarantees and profitability.
The new offer: what travellers are looking for now and how it affects reservations.
IoT technology for the reactivation of tourism.
Digitalization of tourism companies for competitive improvement.

You can see the complete video in Spanish with English subtitles in our YouTube channel.

Main conclusions of the tourism experts’ round table:

The traveller wants to buy certainty before planning a holiday. Therefore, reservation agencies and establishments need to offer confidence.
It is necessary to remove the fear of travelling from the head of the tourists by establishing unique action protocols for all the accommodations that are applying those procedures and training their staff in security to convey that message of assurance to the customers.
Distinction versus normalization: Spanish hotels have opted for quality seals to identify those clean and exclusive spaces that will stand out for being more demanding in the application of protocols.
The traveler has gone from worrying about which establishments will be open to find out which services will be available within the establishment and in what conditions of health and occupation: swimming pool, free buffet, spa, children’s entertainment…
The more information provided by reservation portals and hotel chains offering objective data from their IOT devices directly on the Internet, the more they will encourage reservations when choosing a destination.
It is a year for tourism companies to invest in technology as a reward for customers. The customer thinks differently, the context has changed and different experiences are sought.
Technological investments on which they bet:
1. Devices to apply the new safety protocols: capacity control, temperature detection, water quality…
2. Applications to improve the tourism experience by tracking travelers during their stay. With a double objective: to stop contagion, on the one hand, and to know better their preferences in order to analyze them with artificial intelligence.
The importance of promoting smart tourism destinations in order to offer a complete experience. All the attractions around an accommodation (beaches, museums, theme parks, shopping centers…) must be adapted to be smart spaces.