Assistant Minister of Trade, Tourism, and Telecommunications Renata Pindžo has said that the process of tourism digitalisation in the upcoming period will be a key precondition for reaching the competitiveness and survival in the increasingly demanding international tourism market.
“Development of new technologies and digitalisation are changing and will change the face of tourism in the years before us. That has brought to the creation of numerous challenges the countries, destinations, and especially enterprises will have to respond to or the digital wave will wash them away from the market”, says she at the opening of the international scientific meeting on tourism in the era of digital transformation in Vrnjačka Banja.
At the same time, as Mrs Pindžo has added, opportunities will be created and we need to know how to use them.
She has assessed that digitalisation has significantly influenced the manner of travelling, promotion and research of new destinations, but also the very feeling people have about trips.
She has stressed that the economy of sharing and economy of experience greatly influence the creation of new business models in tourism.
She has added that the integration of mobile technologies in hotel business processes, ability of having an insight into business and adjustment to newly occurred conditions in real time, and digital interaction with guests will be of key importance for reaching competitiveness and survival in the more and more demanding international market of tourism.
Assistant Minister has stressed that Serbia has recognised the significance of this phenomenon and classified it in its development priorities as key foundations for future economic and social development.
“On the wings of this wave there is a chance for digitalisation of Serbian tourism to be used and which in these new conditions should make Serbia competitive, innovative, but interesting, attractive and authentic enough, ready to welcome new generations of digitalised tourists”, Mrs Pindžo concluded.
The basic goals of this scientific meeting, organised by the Faculty of Hotel Management and Tourism in Vrnjačka Banja, University of Kragujevac, is to exchange ideas and experiences among the participants from the country and abroad in order to reach the conclusions in terms of the future development of Serbian tourism.
The accent is on the influence of modern technologies on tourism and ability of its development in Serbia and other countries in the era of digital transformation due to the fact that the World Tourism Day in 2018 is celebrated under the slogan “Tourism and Digital Transformation”.
