The evolution and implementation of digital technologies are profoundly changing the way people live, work, travel, and do business, and in the process, they are transforming and reshaping tourism.

Tourism was one of the first sectors to digitalize business processes on a global scale, bringing flight and hotel booking online to become a digital pioneer. As information and communications technology (ICT) became a global phenomenon, tourism was a consistent early adopter of new technologies and platforms.

Digitalization is bringing unprecedented opportunities for tourism small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to access new markets, develop new tourism products and services, adopt new business models and processes, upgrade their position in global tourism value chains and integrate into digital ecosystems. 

Digitalization brings significant potential benefits to SMEs - it can help them to become more efficient, free up time and resources to focus on strategic tasks, and increase their capacity to develop new business models, enter new markets, or internationalize operations. 

However, SMEs are lagging behind in the digital transition and many small traditional tourism businesses are struggling to understand the opportunities and reap the benefits.

The role of digitalization in tourism

In the same way, the smartphone has transformed communications and media, a smart travel model – which includes smart visas, borders, security processes, and infrastructure – will revolutionize tourism. 

With the merging of these tools, passengers can book their flights and check-in online, have their boarding passes on their smartphones, go through automated clearance gates, and even validate their boarding passes electronically to board planes. These measures improve both travel facilitation and security.

A smart destination is one with an approach for the entire tourism cycle: before, during, and after the trip. This includes technology, innovation, sustainability, accessibility, and inclusivity. A smart destination is also one with residents as well as tourists in mind, factoring in multilingualism and cultural differences.

This is why smart destinations are key to the transformation of the tourism sector. By continuously and accurately measuring, integrating, and analyzing data for efficient decision-making, prioritization, and anticipation of challenges, they create a seamless and exciting experience for tourists while managing local resources efficiently.

How can tourism organizations improve their digital strategies?

Travel and hospitality businesses are not always optimized to take advantage of the emerging benefits of digital technologies. 

Four of the most important areas for improvement are: 

• Handling business data — The vast amounts of data generated by increasingly digital business operations and customer interactions must be collected, organized, and analyzed in ways that aid proactive decision-making. The information needs to be available to all company decision-makers in real-time. It must also be used to support efforts to create superior customer experiences personalized to adapt to each traveller's constantly evolving needs. 

• Training and hiring talent — Industry employees must be adept at understanding the information gathered from digital sources and trained to collaborate across traditional industry business silos. Travel and hospitality industry businesses must also compete with other industries to hire the most skilled workers to achieve their digital transformation goals.

• Building long-term customer relationships — Companies need to understand how to effectively interact with customers, adapt based on their constantly changing desires and behaviours, and make those relationships sustainable over the long term. 

• Implementing the most efficient business systems and tools — New types of software, systems, and digital tools offer new capabilities and advantages, whether connected to marketing, revenue management, e-commerce, operations, sales, or beyond. Companies that rely on outdated systems and technology risk being out-manoeuvred by more agile competitors.

To learn more about how the tourism industry can become more resilient, click here.

How do Innovation Standards Support Digitalization within your Tourism Organization

Standards help organizations embrace tourism digital transformation.

The BS EN ISO 56000 series helps organizations introduce an innovation management system to identify the most important challenges, capture the right ideas, seize the best opportunities and properly manage emerging trends and risks. 

BS EN ISO 56002:2021 Innovation management system gives guidance for businesses looking to adopt an innovation management system.

BS EN ISO 56003:2021 Innovation management tools and methods gives guidance to organizations on the tools and methods for innovation partnership, support wider innovation training for staff, and provide guidance on how innovation partnerships are managed so that collaborative efforts become mutually beneficial.

Tourism organizations could also use BS ISO 44001 to further support collaborative business relationships with other organizations in the tourism cycle. This standard offers specific guidance around knowledge sharing and managing joint objectives to build better relationships and improve innovative results.

When preparing your tourism business to adopt new digital technologies, it is also vital that tourism businesses have a system in place to protect their organization’s information security. Protecting personal records and commercially sensitive information is critical. BS EN ISO/IEC 27001 helps you implement a robust approach to managing information security (infosec) and building resilience.

The BS EN IEC 62443 series also helps organizations to adopt security best practices for industrial automation and control systems.

Prepare your tourism business for the digital innovations of tomorrow by adopting the above innovation standards today.

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