Matthew effect AND building giants with feet of clay!

We love to CREATE and use AI! We are not afraid that it becomes conscious!  BUT…We have to be sure that we protect ourselves of two important setbacks.
First, The Matthew effect. We talked about Matthew effect here “The Matthew Effect refers to a pattern in which those who begin with advantage accumulate more advantage over time and those who begin with disadvantage become more disadvantaged over time (Dannefer, 1987; O’Rand, 1996). The result is ever-widening differences between the advantaged and disadvantaged.”
AI is an excellent example! The ones able to create their own models using their own data and supervised by their own people, will have an abundance. The others will create a dependency!
Do you want to be more specific?
Students with a solid framework will take the most of AI (BOTH creating and using it!)
Students with a weak framework…. They will lose even it!
Tourism Destinations/Enterprises with a solid management of the members of the chain of value will increase the effectiveness of their operations and processes inside THEIR chain of value.
Tourism Destinations/Enterprises without a solid management...they will just create another dependency! Like the one that they already have with big Touroperators, big infomediaries (OTAs, CRS...), big low cost aerolines (which they pay in order that they bring Tourists!!).
Nowadays, everybody talks about MCP (Model Control Protocol). MCP allowing different departments and enterprises to work as a single and intelligent system. It sounds very #Touristologistly to me! 
After the presentation of OpenAI practicing a little bit of Syndication mixing their AI with webservices from other companies and looking to become the leader of the attention ecosystem OR, as WE love to say to become a S3, as a way to control the chain of value the other setback appears! 

THIS AI It is a good example of a giant with feet of clay! For two powerful reasons:
First, the high investment and cost (both in money and environment issues) of creating it. Which make profitability and sustainability difficult to achieve.
Second, the relatively high percentage of wrong answers. You can ask it to Air Canada “AI promising discounts that weren’t applicable to a specific Tourists”
You can ask it to McDonald's where AI “adding erroneous items like butter packets or multiplying how many items were ordered.”
Recently, you can ask it to Deloitte and Touche  THIS AI “technically it is not lying, it simply doesn’t know what is real and what is not.”  “might have made some up…fictitious references…federal curt judgments”
Can you TRUST it for Travel Management?
Is AI an important technology for the future of our beloved sector? Of course, as it is Blockchain and Virtual_Augmented reality! They are the three technologies mixed in heaven to help us to provide opportunities to our Tourists, members of their community around the world, local enterprises and inhabitants!
BUT, we have to improve AI, we have to develop our models using our own data! Creating our own models verified by our own people and provided in a way that we can negotiate! 
At the end of the day, AI providers will be another member of the Chain of Value and we love to control/manage it, in order to increase the profitability and sustainability of OUR Tourism destinations/enterprises!
We prefer to build OUR giants based on international communities of Tourists then, to use AI to provide scalability in the customization of OUR Servuction processes.
We prefer to put PEOPLE (Tourists, inhabitants and Touristologists) as a powerful base!
We are Touristologists!!!  

Cybersecurity and IOT…. IOT? Internet Of Tourists!!!

This summer I have been reading, talking, getting my hands dirty on code with an old friend of my intellectual world….
You know, Touristologists! The world where WE love to mix together Touristology and new technologies!
I was reviewing the fundamental principles of Cybersecurity. 
How to “create” logs, stream them, analyze in Real_Time, react to some potential threats…
As always, enjoy reviewing fundamentals Touristologists! Otherwise, they will get rusty.  
By the way, it is very interesting to see how frameworks change and other still the same. 
Touristology’s principles is an excellent example of the last one (First specialized, then generic, Always two hands Business Model and Technological Scheme, GROUPS creation, International Routes, Hybrid Experiences….)! BUT…on the other hand, when WE began this OUR blog 15 years ago to get rusty it was a bad situation. Nowadays…WE love Rust and Cybersecurity also loves it!!!
Remember, Touristologists!!! Learn and adapt if it it’s necessary!!!
We can visualize and implement improvements in Cybersecurity’s principles using Artificial Intelligence and Stream Processing!
We can visualize and implement Cybersecurity in OUR beloved sector!!!
When is more important to provide Cybersecurity that when you are Travelling?
If the Tourists act as a sensor in movement detecting opportunities for their international community and providing solutions to local enterprises as we review here, we also have to be sure that security is provided! Cybersecurity for the Tourists, for the local enterprises and for the members of their international community around the world!

Keep learning!
Keep improving!!
keep dreaming in building the future of our beloved sector!!!

How to make miracles really happening in any Tourism Destination!

This summer I have been enjoying this podcast that awaken my intellectual curiosity! I love the music, the anchor (Enric Calpena), the guests… 

After listening THIS podcast, I wrote in Twitter (Sorry, Elon). The tweet is in Catalan, my beautiful mother tonge! It is a summarize of what I want to share with you in this post!

 They were talking about how was possible that Catalonia were one of the first to, successfully, adapt the industrialization of Europe in 1750-1850. Was it a miracle?
It seems that the key was the existence of small and medium size enterprises (SME) with knowledge of exportation and with presence and authority in local government
Can we apply, the same ideas TODAY in any Tourism Destination?
Touristologists of the world! Listen to your inner Touristology's voice!!!
The time has come to change the way you create, communicate and commercialize your tourism products or, at least, to reorganize the way you spend your budget…
Spend less on mass-media ads, saying that you are the best, less on tradeshows, less on … and more on Touristology! More on your people, the most important tourism resource in any destination!!!
We have to help to build an ecosystem of SME focused on International Specialized Segments which motivation to travel have to strongly related to the local enterprises and/or culture that we want to improve and preserve!
We have to be sure that these SME provide support and opportunities from the beginning to the end of the trip! This will be the source of new revenue streams like International Routes AND  Hybrid Experiences. 

We have to be sure, that these SME will be members and will have authority inside the government, instead of waiting that somebody, without real experience in Travel Management provide a new rule, a new tourism tax, a new red tape, a new “paper” about if a foreign infomediary is good for the local economy…
If you believe that local enterprises focused on Generic Tourism providing services to Tourists already here can build a sustainable and profitable #TourismDestination…well you can keep dreaming copyologists!
Meanwhile, consider that you are done a great job and...

Leaves your place to the future of Touristology!

Today 15 years ago…

Today 15 years ago... I began this OUR blog!

I said then and, Touristologistly, I repeat, today!

This is NOT my blog. It is the blog of the ones who fell in love with Touristology!!!

The ones that, strongly, believe that to travel can improve Tourists’ life (personal and professional) meanwhile improving the richness of Tourism destinations and take care of their culture and identity!

The ones able to visualize and implement how new technologies can improve the Operations and Processes of Tourism Enterprises!

The ones knowing how to make Tourism provide synergies with other sectors of the economy!

The ones that, proudly, claim that they are the best minds in the best sector ever!

Enjoy your Science!

Enjoy YOUR blog!!!

 

Be proud of being a Touristologists!!!

Is it bad to be a copyologist? No, it is just easier. I love to do easy /simple things when it is enough and the results are positive BUT what happens when the easy path increases the DARK SIDE of Tourism (OverTourism) and reduce the beautiful one (More profit for local enterprises, Higher salaries for Local Touristologists, Higher taxes’ revenues for Local Public services)...
- But Jordi...I just do what other people do!
That’s right! That is my point! You are a copyologist NOT a Touristologist.
As you don’t have a deep knowledge of OUR Science you do what everybody do!
Maslow, our favorite Psychologist, love to explain this with this sentence 
“If the only tool you have is a hammer every problem looks like a nail!”
You need a Touristologists to manage Tourism Destinations/Enterprises! Otherwise, copyologists will use their hammer…

We, as a Touristologists, love to highlight the potential benefits of Tourism for local economies! Of course, the Tourists is here now. BUT… the important thing is that He/She has contacts AROUND the world! 
The Tourists can seduce members of their international community to appear (Physically or Virtually, #Metaverse, Remember? ) in a local company with a low occupancy NOW (#YieldManagement, Remember?). Specially, if He/She is a member of a #SpecializedSegment!!!
The Tourists can provide Marketing Research about how to communicate and commercialize product/services from other sectors of the economy (Tourism providing synergies, remember?)
Even further, The Tourists can help us to communicate and commercialize becoming a product manager of them! 

The Tourists can be part of our enterprise in order to provide a better Servuction (#Travel2Earn, Remember?)
Somebody, has to define these Specialized Segments of Tourists
Somebody, has to create, communicate and commercialize our services to them!
Somebody has to proof to them that travelling, they can improve their personal/professional life!
Somebody has to build a chain of value able to provide solutions to potential problems and opportunities FROM the beginning to the END of the trip!!!
Somebody has to proof that Tourism is NOT something that just happens! 
Somebody has to create International Routes able to improve the management of Tourists’ flow in the most convenient way to THEM and to US!!!
Somebody? #Touristologists!!! 

The best minds in the best sector ever!!!

Holidays? We don’t take it!!!

Enjoy your Holidays, Touristologists!!! 
BUT…
Remember…

 

WE don’t take holidays, WE just travel around and abroad in order to know other markets, make international contacts, plan future business… AND use OUR frameworks! Otherwise, they will get rusty (well…if you love Rust) as I do, maybe it could be a boon and not a bane!!!) 
We love to find new Segments (new ways that through a trip the Tourists improve its personal/professional life). 
We love to find new members of the chain of value (YES! Different Segments, different chains of value!!!).
We love to find new synergies between OUR specialized Tourists and local enterprises related to their trip OR the Tourist’s motivation to travel! 
We love to say to simple minds, always saying that we have to diversify from Tourism that they have to increase the knowledge about our beloved Science (The Science of Travel!!!). They have to learn how to choose specialized Tourism and improve the revenues, wages and profits of ALL our economy!
We love to improve OUR COMPETENCES!!!
Competences to create the new disruptive Start-Up that will become a Scale-Up! In a new company OR inside an existing one (Entrepreneurship & Intrapreneurship). 
Do that, thinking that the world is OUR office!
Do that forgetting about if you need knowledge and skills relate to Arts or Sciences.
Remember, one of OUR favorite attitudes… Whatever it takes!!!
AND when things get a little bit complicated (THAT THEY WILL BE!!!)…We don’t get problems…we have challenges!
WE LOVE TOURISTOLOGY!!!

 

Adapt…Change… BUT keep your Touristology’s principles!!!

When I added Neovim to my developer toolbox, I installed nvim-tree. I was looking for something similar to the development environment I was used to. 

 

Then, one day I learn about oil.nvim allowing you to explore and edit your filesystem in a buffer! I never look back to tree again!!! 

Nowadays, I use Neovim and still use others IDE.

Adapting to new technologies is quite similar to managing Tourism Enterprises/Destinations. It is very important to keep your mind open! AND remember that Strategies and Tactics that work in one environment doesn’t work in others.
What work with one technology could not work with another one!
What works with Generic/Mass Tourism, it doesn’t work with Specialized ones!
We can go deeper (We love to go deeper, remember?) 
What works for a specialized segment could not work for another one OR what work for this group inside one specialized segment can’t work for another group even if they are of the same segment!!!
Using THIS long tail in this way…use this kind of Pro-Am to create groups, to offer this kind of extra services from competitors/collaborators with Yield Management problems.

It was, so easy, for a segment of motorcycle enthusiast  to find the key value to seduce them to appear in our hotel! Above everything else, they want a place where they can park their motorbikes with the possibility to fix any mechanical problems. Forget about special food and beverage, special activities… the key add value… take care of the motorbike!
It was easy, to seduce one of the members to create a group and communicate and commercialize to them to appear in a day that we have a low occupancy (Yield Management, remember???) Forget about discounts and/or increasing your presence in generic central reservations systems, OTA or social networking sites… We are wave managers we always look for new waves (you can call them waves; you can call them segments!!!)
If you want to seduce women to travel alone as gutsywomentravel successfully is doing, it is a little bit difficult to find how to add value BUT if you go deeper and focus on mother and daughter trips then, it is very clear…Anything that improve their relationship!!!
Luckily, Touristology’s principles still work!
Generic/ Mass Tourism focus on price
Specialized Tourism focus on value!
Different kind of Tourists…Different chain of value
First specialized THEN, generic!!!!
Touristologists! Adapt…Change…BUT keep following OUR Touristology’s principles!
It could be interesting to have Tourists from an external provider!!! BUT remember!!! Be sure, that most of the Tourists that you have are seduced by your own people!!!