The Tourism Management Department at School of Archaeology and Tourism at the University of Jordan organized a workshop today on the utilization of artificial intelligence (AI) technology and its applications in serving the tourism sector.
Dr. Ziad Al-Rawadieh, Dean of the School, stated that the workshop is part of a series of events organized by the School to enhance students' specialized skills, develop their capabilities, and keep them informed of the latest scientific, technical, and technological developments in the tourism sector.
Dr. Muna Al-Slaihat, Head of the Tourism Management Department, mentioned that the department aims to hold activities and events that contribute to the enhancement of students' scientific and professional knowledge in the fields of management, guidance, tourism development, and hospitality, in response to the developments and changes in this sector, with the aim of supplying the local and Arab markets with qualified personnel who meet their needs.
The workshop, which received significant enthusiasm from students who showed eagerness towards its contents, was conducted by trainer Diaa Al-Samhouri from Devorise Media & Business Solutions.
The workshop focused on ways and mechanisms to benefit from AI technologies, aiming to create a more interactive and targeted marketing approach to attract tourists and promote tourist destinations effectively.
Al-Samhouri pointed out that one of the benefits of AI technologies lies in the ability to analyze tourist data, booking patterns, travel preferences, and visitor demographics to forecast future tourism trends in Jordan and predict demand in different tourist areas.
He also mentioned that the uses of AI in tourism are diverse, including analyzing images and videos, especially those prepared using 360-degree technology for various tourist destinations in Jordan, identifying major landmarks, and automatically generating tags and descriptions, which enhances the ease of discovering required information about destinations and facilitates it. He emphasized that integrating AI and augmented reality technologies can create new experiences for potential tourists, confirming that highlighting the beauty and richness of tourist destinations in Jordan will undoubtedly increase the number of tourists.
Furthermore, he added that the ability to collect vast amounts of data, store it, and analyze it enables AI to perform tasks that reinforce customer attractiveness, in addition to improving the customization of services and recommendations provided to customers and ensuring rapid responsiveness. Travelers no longer need to visit travel agencies to book trips or search for accommodations; smart AI assistants and chatbots are becoming more common, and their compatibility with social media makes it easier for customers to access them.
Al-Samhouri concluded by highlighting that AI-powered chatbots can be deployed on tourism websites or social media platforms to provide timely assistance to potential visitors by answering inquiries, providing information about various tourist sites, assisting in trip planning, and offering language translation services.