Digitalness and platform economy changing tourism
Tourism is changing fast and the drivers of change are digitalness and the platform or sharing economy. How will these show in future tourism? What do they require from tourism service providers and how do they change the behaviour of tourists? These are just some of the themes that will be discussed in Lapland Tourism Parliament at Olostunturi, Muonio, 6th-7th October 2016.
“Nowadays travellers want to receive their travel plans and bookings through mobile devices, require fluent travel chains, react to tips they encounter along the way and share their experiences through the social media”, says Satu Luiro, Senior Advisor Tourism from the Regional Council of Lapland, who coordinates the Tourism Parliament.
Digital availability and accessibility must be developed in order to effectively address travellers’ demands. With this in mind, the Tourism Parliament presents the Digi Aurora process that seeks to integrate tourism and transport services into a whole that better serves individual international travellers.
Commissioned by the Committee for the Future of the Finnish Parliament, Futurist Risto Linturi has published a report on radical technologies that will also change tourism considerably. Digitalness opens up new opportunities for tourism products and marketing through augmented reality, for instance. This can mean enlivening a hiking tour with virtual bears or arranging feeder transport using robotic vehicles.
The Visit Arctic Europe project addresses travellers’ needs by offering a cross-border arctic tourism experience. The project combines the tourism offering of Lapland, Northern Sweden and Northern Norway and seeks to solve challenges related to feeder traffic. Professor Jukka Laitamäki will give a speech on what the VAE region looks like from the American perspective.
How will the traditional tourism business adapt to the sharing economy?
The sharing and platform economy have already changed tourism, of which the most well-known examples are Uber and Airbnb. Shared rules and legislation are lagging behind the change. The traditional tourism business tries to adapt or become involved in the change, but how can this be done? This question will be dealt with in a panel discussion in the Tourism Parliament, with experts such as Professor Alian Decrop and Sami Hämäläinen from the Finnish Hospitality Association MARA.
The Lapland Tourism Parliament is arranged by the Regional Council of Lapland, the Finnish Lapland Tourist Board ry LME and the Lapland Institute for Tourism Research and Education MTI. The seminar is an open, free event that will be arranged in Lapland Hotel Olos 6th-7th October 2016. The programme and registration instructions are available at: http://www.lappi.fi/lapinliitto/lapin-matkailuparlamentti-2016
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Media representatives are warmly welcome to the event.
Further information:
Satu Luiro, Senior Advisor Tourism, Regional Council of Lapland
satu.luiro@lapinliitto.fi, tel. +358 400 124 029
Liisa Mäenpää, Executive Director, Finnish Lapland Tourist Board ry
liisa.maenpää@lme.fi, tel. +358 40 822 6061