Tourists in Guizhou province could soon have highly customized travel experiences as authorities in Guiyang signed a slew of deals to integrate big data into the tourism industry on Oct 27.
The deals were signed at a conference organized by the Guiyang government and involved well-known tourism e-commerce businesses such as Alitrip and Tuniu, and colleges, universities and institutions.
According to some of the agreements, Guiyang will team up with partners in the sphere of tourism products and online marketing.
An alliance was set up at the conference with the aim of focusing on the development and innovation of Guiyang’s big data industry. It is expected to become a comprehensive service platform covering the aspects of data, media and capital.
Guizhou province is the country’s first pilot zone to roll out projects to apply big data to various industries. Guiyang has been making a name for itself in the field of big data by issuing policies and strategies, and hosting a big data expo in 2015 and 2016.
The city spent more than 3 billion yuan ($484 million) on information infrastructure in 2015. Big data has been applied to help develop the economy, manage government affairs and improve people’s livelihood. The operation and management of scenic spots has also been tied in with big data.
During the conference, eight colleges and institutions, including Guizhou Normal University, were designated as training and study bases for the application of big data to tourism. The colleges are encouraged to cooperate with tourism authorities and companies to train talented individuals in big data.
Edited by Jacob Hooson
