On November 15 2023, the Slovenian Tourist Board (STB), together with the Strategic Innovation Partnership for Tourism (SRIPT), organized the IT Tour 2023, an event for connecting tourism industry stakeholders seeking development and creation of a new added value. It took place at the Perla Conference Centre in Nova Gorica.

Building on the success of last year's inaugural event, the IT Tour 2023 brought together diverse tourism stakeholders through a series of engaging discussions. By maintaining its interactive and platform-centric nature, it provided a unique opportunity for stakeholders to connect, share insights, and collectively shape the future of Slovenian tourism. This year's central theme, focusing on the applied aspect of artificial intelligence, reflected the organization's commitment to exploring the transformative potential of AI within the tourism sector.

EVENT TIMELINE

Morning Session

Opening Speeches:

  • MSc. Maja Pak, Director of the Slovenian Tourist Board
  • Dubravka Kalin, Director General of the Directorate for Tourism at the Ministry of the Economy, Tourism and Sport

  • MSc. Monika Lapanja, Director, Business Excellence Centre, SEB LU, Coordinator of SRIP Sustainable Tourism

Crafting Digital Colleagues to Transform Tourism

  • Aleš Pevc, Head of Technology Office, Technology Park Ljubljana

In the past ten months, tourism has undergone a transformative shift with the integration of artificial intelligence tools like ChatGPT, Midjourney, Stabledifusion, and more. These innovations have revolutionized marketing, content creation, product development, and customer care, offering new possibilities for optimization and automation. To unlock their full potential, understanding their core functionalities and seamlessly integrating them into business workflows is essential.

Aleš Pevc shared valuable insights on how these tools can boost productivity, enhance customer experiences, and potentially become your loyal digital colleagues, by automating guest communication, addressing FAQs, and forecasting trends in tourism.

Navigating the UI Implementation Journey - From the Initial Steps to Overcoming Challenges

In this discussion, the experts explored the when, where, and how of initiating UI implementation.

Participants:

  • Iztok Franko, Director, Diggintravel
  • Valerija Prevolšek, Director of Pristop Media and Junior Partner of the Pristop Group
  • Dunja Mladenić, Head of the Department for Artificial Intelligence at the Jožef Stefan Institute

  • Jaka Repanšek, President of the Slovenian Advertising Tribunal

Round-table discussion was moderated by Anže Tomić

Essentials for a Thriving Artificial Intelligence Implementation

  • Mitja Trampuž, President of the AI4SI initiative and Author of the Guide

Mitja Trampuž held a presentation of the Guide for Introducing Artificial Intelligence in Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises in Slovenia, which meticulously outlines the tangible steps to construct the supporting pillars of artificial intelligence, serving as the basis for a successful integration of AI within a company.

Highlighting Best Practices of UI Application in Tourism

  • Barbara Kelher, Mountaineering Association of Slovenia – Planning trips with maPZS
  • Klemen Furlan, Giro car share d.o.o. – AI digital guides
  • Martin Jezeršek, Jezeršek gostinstvo d.o.o. – AI for less food waste

  • Žiga Jaka Gobec, WNS d.o.o. – Revival of celebrities: the case of Noordung

Afternoon Session

AI Workshops: Navigating Work Dynamics in the Age of AI, Advanced Analytics, Tailoring Offer through Marketing & Personalization

Participants had a chance to visit three UI Islands, where they actively engaged in open and moderated conversations or workshops with two top experts on each topic.

Navigating Work Dynamics in the Age of AI:

  • Aleš Pevc, Head of the Technology Office, Technology Park Ljubljana

  • Marko Maučec, Co-founder of the Gamification Agency Escapebox d.o.o.

Advanced Analytics:

  • Iztok Franko, Director and Founder, Diggintravel

  • Dunja Mladenić, Head of the Department for Artificial Intelligence at the "Jožef Stefan" Institute

Tailoring Offer through Marketing & Personalization

  • Patricija Jukić, Head of Consulting Projects, Pristop Group

  • Andraž Štalec, Director and Co-founder, Red Orbit

Photogallery

Take a look at some photos from this year's event.

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AI Tools in Action: Practical Usage and Testing 

Throughout the event, participants had the opportunity to engage with various AI tools, supported by professionals: 

  • Exploring the application of GPT tools in tourism, including generating new ideas and offers for destinations, assistance in digital marketing, and utilization of various plugins. 
  • Hands-on experience with Midjourney/Dalle 3 for designing images or graphics and enhancing individual visuals. 
  • Interaction with 3D AI avatars - Herman Potočnik Nordung, offering a glimpse into the future through interactive exhibitions and museums. 

  • Engaging with 3D AI avatar - Ivan Cankar, focusing on storytelling and the design of cultural tourism experiences with the help of artificial intelligence.

DIGI-SI at the IT-Tour 

At the DIGI-SI European Digital Innovation Hub presentation table, participants gained insights into advanced digitalization services. They tested a virtual receptionist providing a preview of the future of hospitality and customer interactions. Additionally, alongside DIGI-SI agents, participants measured the digital maturity of their companies. 

DIGI-SI

 

The first IT-tour event: Towards the digital transformation of Slovenian tourism

Last year's IT-tour event took place on 16 November 2022 in Laško as a part of the Days of Slovenian Tourism (DST) in partnership with the Strategic Innovation Partnership for Tourism (SRIPT). The event, which brought together tourism stakeholders on the path of digital transformation, was an opportunity to gain new knowledge, exchange experiences and learn about successful solutions in Slovenian tourism. 18 examples of good practice in the field of digitalisation were presented.

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Event partner

The event is organised in partnership with the Strategic Innovation Partnership for Tourism (SRIPT).

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