UNWTO, ADB partner to promote use of data for tourism recovery

Data can play a role in speedy recovery post-pandemic, says report
2021-12-24
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/ New Delhi
UNWTO, ADB partner to promote use of data for tourism recovery

Tourists enjoying ice skating in Calgary, Canada (IO Photos)

The United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) and Asian Development Bank (ADB) partnered and launched a joint report on the use of big data for better planning of tourism and management. The report features various examples across the Asia-Pacific region depicting the examples of the use of big data for enhancing business.
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A report jointly prepared by the UNWTO and ADB to deal with post-pandemic recovery of global tourism and hospitality industry highlights the importance of big data and data analysis and their use to enhance the recovery of the tourism industry. The report, Big Data for Better Tourism Policy, Management, and Sustainable Recovery from COVID-19, stresses that big data can play in recovery and the measurement of economic, social, and environmental dimensions of tourism.

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the tourism industry all over the world has suffered greatly. In 2020, international arrivals plunged by 73 pc, and the tourism body expects the drop to be in the range of 70-75 pc in 2021, compared to 2019 levels. The report suggests that data and market intelligence are critical to empowering destinations, business and tourism workers to be better prepared in a rapidly changing landscape.

The pandemic also accelerated the shift of consumers towards digitalisation. It further highlights the need for relevant and reliable data and intelligence to manage tourism. The report also aims to assist both government and private sectors as they are searching for complement official statistics with big data to better understand the behavioural changes of consumers.

This will help them create targeted products, segments and source markets. Big data will also be a key for supporting seamless travel through the implementation of safety protocol, biosecurity technologies, and digital health certificates to enable the safe reopening of borders and the easing of travel restrictions.

While the use of big data sounds very practical but implementing results from big data and moving forward with digitisation will present some challenges to both the government and private players. Some problems which relate to digitisation for the betterment of the industry will be privacy, skills gaps, data reliability, inadequate governance and infrastructure, digital divide, accessibility barriers.

These challenges make it clear that there is a need for comprehensive agenda to light the way for the effective use of big data and data analysis for assisting the improvement and recovery of the sector. Together, UNWTO and ADB aim to ensure proper measurement, monitoring and management systems and frameworks, thereby ensuring harmonised, comparable and reliable data and indicators.

 

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