The potential for smart tourism has been further tapped during the COVID-19 epidemic, thanks to the help of new infrastructure and technologies related to 5G and AI.

The Yuntai Moutain scenic area in Henan province. (Photo/People’s Daily Online)

Under the impact of the pneumonia outbreak, tourist attractions and online travel agents have employed the Internet to allow consumers to tour scenic spots.

Since February, Fliggy, Alibaba Group's online travel service provider, has put on over 15,000 live broadcasts of tourist destinations in more than 30 countries and regions, attracting over 40 million viewers.

A range of online travel products, from VR scenery and live broadcasts to lectures and specialty sales, aim to bring consumers a unique experience, which Huang Yuzhou, vice president at Fliggy, believes will be the main goal for travel product companies in the future.

Smart tourism, including online trips, is playing a major role in the transformation of the industry. A document released by the State Council of China in 2019 stressed the importance of building smart tourism and integrating modern technologies into the industry.

The Yuntai Moutain scenic area in central China's Henan province has taken the lead in building a smart system that involves voice service robots, map-assisted smart tours, and self-service ticket vending machines, which proved helpful during the peak of the pandemic.

The online travel agency Ctrip recently released the first cloud platform related to scenic spots, providing solutions for purchasing tickets, entering destinations, touring and consumer services.

The agency has also allowed consumers to make reservations before heading to the scenic spots. The service has been used for more than 18,000 tourist destinations at home and abroad.

Yu Xiaojiang, vice president of Ctrip, believes that the online reservation system and smarter tourism are important parts of new infrastructure construction in the industry.

China’s new infrastructure projects require the tourism industry to combine with advanced technologies to provide better services and experiences for travelers, said Jin Zhun, Secretary General of the Tourism Research Center of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.