Tourism 4.0 Partnership is getting its recognition across Europe. Last weeks the members have been representing the ideas at various international events. After the presentations of our research partners Dr. Dejan Križaj and Dr. Boštjan Brumen, the project lead Dr. Urška Starc-Peceny was promoting the idea of Tourism 4.0 as the driver of the UN sustainable goals at the Bridge for Cities Conference in Vienna. Later she participated at the Smart City Expo World Congress in Barcelona together with Tomi Ilijaš, the CEO of Arctur and a co-initiator of Tourism 4.0. There they have spread the ideas of tourism of the future and have met many people and organizations sharing our vision. Among others, Prof. Muhammad Yunus, a Nobel laureate, who gave an inspiring speech zero poverty, zero unemployment and zero net carbon emissions pointing out that smart communities really are about the people and collaboration.
Simon Mokorel, the third co-initiator of Tourism 4.0, was representing the partnership together with Dr. Ljubica Knježević Cvelber from the Faculty of Economics, University of Ljubljana, at the workshop on Digital transformation in tourism held by the Hospitality Chamber of Slovenia. In addition, he spoke about the need for creative thinking for innovation needed in tourism of the future at the Conference of Creative Tourism in Ljubljana. The need for smart use of technology in tourism is huge, which is why we receive so many invitations to present our vision and research. The aim to build a collaborative, not just a digital platform, has also sparked interest at the European level. Our ideas about Tourism 4.0 made an impression also on Anna Athanasopoulou, the Head of Tourism, Emerging and Creative Industries at European Commission, where tourism is getting a more and more relevant place as an industry.
The EU Commission is not intrigued only by the objective of collaboration that is the core of the European Union from its beginnings. In addition to interdisciplinarity and crossing of different sectors, it is vital that Tourism 4.0 enables SMEs with access to expensive high-tech technology, which is usually exclusively in the hands of big players. To change this trend, the regulation must develop laws that create fair competition between tourism giants and other local tourism providers.
As we believe in collaboration, we have opened the Tourism 4.0 Partnership for everyone, who want to enrich tourist experience with technology and drive positive impact in tourism. Also and especially those, who focus also on tourist with special needs or promote social inclusion are very welcome. You can sign the declaration of support to Tourism 4.0 and join us on our journey to transform the perception of tourism and business around it: https://www.tourism4-0.org/en/join-us/
