Ready or Not! is the theme of this year’s Tourism Summit Aotearoa. The Summit, organised by Tourism Industry Aotearoa, will take place in early November.
Tourism is an industry that never stands still, and tourism operators are increasingly looking to emerging technology and artificial intelligence trends to understand the future of the industry.
Technology and AI are no longer beyond the horizon said Tourism Industry Aotearoa chief executive Rebecca Ingram.
“We’re already seeing robots serving in hotels and restaurants, virtual and mixed reality tourism, and new platforms for bookings and operating systems that are developing at an ever-increasing pace.”
Ingram stressed the importance of tourism operators staying up-to-date with the latest technology and AI trends.
“To borrow a saying from one of our members, ‘Once a new technology rolls over you, if you’re not part of the steamroller, you’re part of the road.’”
One of New Zealand tourism’s flagship events, the Summit begins with important insights into the current state of the tourism industry from Rebecca Ingram, Greg Foran (Chief Executive, Air New Zealand), and Tourism New Zealand.
Keynote speaker, technology futurist Ben Reid, will then dive into how artificial intelligence will bring both opportunities and impacts for Kiwi tourism operators.
Attendees will hear about how businesses are utilising technologies such as robotics, virtual reality, and AI for sustainability from Les Morgan (Sudima Hotels), Soraya Sarwary and Sean Mascarenhas of SkyMotion (virtual reality), and Annie Lewin (Senior Director of Global Advocacy and Head of Asia Pacific at Google’s philanthropic arm, Google.org).
The focus sessions will look at demystifying AI, building a resilient business, navigating our future tourism workforce, and trying AI-powered carbon calculators. Focus sessions will be led by Alex Dykman (Maverick Digital), Dr Erica Seville and Dr Tracy Hatton (Resilient Organisations), Jason Hill (Tourism Talent), and Tom Hallam (Carbon Trail).
The end of the summit will see short presentations from Ara Journeys and Tuwhiri on Augmented Reality, Interislander on its game-changing new ferries, PredatorFree 2050 on the world-first AI trap, and an inspiring talk from award-winning champion for digital equality, Eteroa Lafele.
The Summit will be followed by the New Zealand Tourism Awards in the evening. The event celebrates outstanding tourism businesses and individuals with the presentation of 13 awards.
