IFITT is hosting a workshop at the London World Travel Market to discuss the “Technology Enabled Tourism Experience Economy”.

The experience economy has become an increasingly important concept in modern society as well as in business. Today, consumers increasingly strive for experiences gained by the consumption of products/services. Tourism as a traditionally service-dominated industry has always been on the forefront of the experience economy. For tourism businesses, designing, staging and delivering meaningful, unique and memorable consumer experiences has become an imperative.

At the same time, recent dynamic technological advancements have provided opportunities for adding value to already high-level quality tourism products and services. Businesses in the cruise, aviation, or hospitality sectors, as well as a number of destination management organisations, have successfully implemented information and communication technologies in order to enhance the experiences provided for their customers. For example, VisitBritain have developed a range of social media applications to interact with visitors. Hospitality providers have developed multimedia platforms to directly engage with customers during the various stages of their stay.

The role of technology in staging tourism experiences represents a cutting-edge concept in experiential tourism marketing. Participants in this workshop will: 

• Understand the importance of technological solutions for customer experiences;
   
• Learn how recent technological developments can enhance tourism and hospitality products and services;
   
• And find out from leading experts in the field about current best practices and future opportunities of technology-enhanced tourism experiences.