Hanoi promotes smart tourism development

On August 19 and 20, the Hanoi Department of Tourism organized a workshop on smart tourism development with three focuses: Travel, accommodation and destinations. This is not only a training and experience sharing activity, but also a forum for cooperation between the government, tourism businesses and technology units.

Mr. Nguyen Huu Viet, Deputy Director of the Tourism Information and Promotion Center (Hanoi Department of Tourism) said that based on the resolutions and digital transformation plans of the Central and the City, Hanoi has clearly defined the goal: By 2025, basically forming a smart tourism ecosystem; by 2030, completing the digital platform, making the capital's tourism one of the important pillars of the creative economy . These orientations not only emphasize the application of technology, but also involve innovation in thinking, green transformation, and taking tourists as the center of all activities.

According to Mr. Viet, developing smart tourism is a harmonious combination of technology and culture, between innovation and preserving traditional values. “Every tourist coming to the capital not only finds convenience and safety, but also experiences unique cultural and heritage values,” Mr. Viet emphasized.

In the tourism sector, experts affirm that digital transformation no longer stops at the promotion stage, but has penetrated the entire service value chain. Solutions such as multi-channel sales management, OTA integration, AI application in customer care and travel itinerary optimization have been introduced.

However, the biggest challenges remain investment costs and human resource capacity. Therefore, experts recommend that Hanoi needs to have a mechanism to support digital skills training, while building an open data platform for businesses to exploit more conveniently.

For accommodation establishments, the trend of online booking and the need for smart experiences have created pressure for comprehensive change. At the conference, many technological solutions were introduced such as PMS management system integrated with IoT (smart lock, energy management), AI application to adjust room prices flexibly, or VR/AR to help customers visit rooms before booking.

For tourist destinations, technology is opening up opportunities to recreate history and culture in a more attractive way. The application of Big Data, GIS, IoT to manage visitor flows, preserve heritage, and combine AR/VR to recreate past contexts has been considered a key direction. Currently, tourism applications integrate digital maps and multilingual QR codes, allowing visitors to easily look up information about the nearest monuments, restaurants, and hotels.

The notable point of the smart tourism model is the connection of three pillars: travel - accommodation - destination. Hanoi not only aims to equip individual technologies, but also build a comprehensive connected ecosystem. Through a common data platform, businesses can share information, coordinate promotions and together create diverse tourism product packages.

Speaking at the workshop, Deputy Director of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism Ha Van Sieu emphasized: Vietnam tourism is recovering strongly after the pandemic, with an expected 22 million international visitors and 120-130 million domestic visitors in 2025. This is a golden opportunity for tourism to make a breakthrough, but it is necessary to effectively utilize digital technology.

Smart tourism must be based on three pillars: technology – people – institutions. Technology helps manage data, operations and enhance experiences; people are the decisive factor for the success of digital transformation; and institutions create a transparent, secure and sustainable legal corridor.

Mr. Ha Van Sieu affirmed that the three key areas: travel, accommodation, and destinations all need to be comprehensively digitalized to improve competitiveness. Enterprises must proactively innovate; management agencies need to play a creative role; experts and training institutions must be one step ahead in researching and training digital human resources. Hanoi is expected to become a pioneer and model for the whole country in developing smart tourism.

The Smart Tourism Development Workshop gathered hundreds of delegates, including managers, travel agencies, hotels, homestays, resorts, tourist attractions, and representatives of departments, branches, and associations. The highlight of the event was the in-depth discussion sessions, in which speakers analyzed opportunities, challenges, and introduced digital solutions that can be applied immediately to each group of businesses.

Along with the workshop, the organizers also arranged a space to display smart devices, management software and advanced technology solutions, helping businesses directly experience and choose suitable tools.

Source: Hanoi Moi Newspaper

Source: http://sodulich.hanoi.gov.vn/ha-noi-day-manh-phat-trien-du-lich-thong-minh.html