Before the pandemic, Hawai‘i was experiencing congestion and overcrowding at popular tourism sites. This is a picture of the top of Diamond Head trail in Honolulu, where thousands of visitors go to enjoy the spectacular view.
Unfortunately, with too many visitors, the experience is affected. With tourism numbers low at the moment because of the pandemic, it is a good time to plan for managing these sites before they become crowded again.
Management may involve creating – or increasing – access fees, requiring reservations and restricting access, shutting some sensitive sites down entirely, and educating visitors about how to respectfully visit sensitive cultural sites.
A new concept in tourism management is the idea of “smart tourism” … using technology to manage congestion, inform and educate visitors, and collect fees to help maintain sites.
The concept of “smart tourism” came from the movement toward “smart cities” which similarly use technology as a management tool. Destinations use technology like robotics, data analytics, artificial intelligence, biometrics, augmented reality and other tools to interact with visitors. The visitors receive communications and access through social media and their personal technology devices.
Just as an example, an app on a smartphone can be used to control access, make reservations, and collect payment for a popular attraction. With real time data, the app would know whether space was available … it might even charge a premium price for peak hours … make a reservation … collect payment … and provide a code for access to the site
Tourism will recover … but it will change. I believe the changes can be exciting and I look forward to your questions.
Frank Haas ist President von Marketing Management, Inc., einem Beratungsunternehmen, das sich auf Gastgewerbe- und Tourismusprojekte für Kunden in den USA und international spezialisiert hat. Er ist der ehemalige nationale Vorsitzende der American Marketing Association und war leitender Angestellter bei der Hawaii Tourism Authority, Ogilvy & Mather Advertising (spezialisiert auf Hospitality Accounts) und Higher Education (School of Travel Industry Management der Universität von Hawaii und Kapiolani Community College). .
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