dTS | data-driven Tourism for Sustainabiliy

The dTS | data-driven Tourism for Sustainability project aims to promote sustainable and resilient regional tourism in Austria through the use of AI and agent-based modeling/simulation.

What is the goal of the project?

The dTS project focuses on the intelligent use of data for the future-oriented development of tourism regions from a digital sustainability perspective. The aim is to overcome ecological, economic, and social challenges in the field of regional tourism. The main objective of the project is to contribute to resilient and sustainable regional tourism in Austria through the combination of artificial intelligence (AI) and agent-based modeling/simulation, specifically using the example of visitor management.

… huh? … sorry… agent-based what?

Agent-based modeling/simulation is a method used to simulate complex systems by breaking these systems down into individual “agents.” An agent is an autonomous entity that makes independent decisions, similar to a human or other living being in the real world

In the dTS project, tourists are regarded as agents. Each of these agents (i.e. each tourist) has certain characteristics and rules of behavior. For example, agents might have preferences for certain sights, a preferred way of getting around or a certain reaction to crowds.

A simulation runs as follows:

1. creating agents: Many such tourist agents are created in the simulation, each with their own individual preferences and behavior patterns.
2. define the environment: These agents move around in a simulated environment that replicates a real tourist region, such as the city of Salzburg. This environment contains sights, streets, public transportation and other relevant elements.
3. interaction and decision-making: Agents interact with their environment and make decisions based on the rules assigned to them. For example, an agent might decide to avoid a crowded attraction and go to a less crowded attraction instead.
4. simulation of scenarios: The simulation makes it possible to run through various scenarios, such as the behavior of tourists on a busy day or the effects of a new traffic routing. This makes it possible to observe how the agents behave in these scenarios and what patterns emerge.
5. analyze the results: By analyzing the results of these simulations, valuable insights can be gained, such as the best ways to manage visitor flows and avoid congestion. This contributes to the development of strategies to make tourism more sustainable and efficient.

… and how exactly do you do that in this project?

In the dTS project, data from various sources is collected and analyzed in order to develop a deep understanding of the behavior and movements of tourists. This data comes from the Salzburg Card or parking garages, for example, and is then merged.

Then the data is used to train an artificial intelligence that can make predictions about the behavior of tourists. These predictions are used to carry out simulations in which various scenarios are played out. For example, it is possible to test how tourist flows change if certain measures are taken, such as directing visitors to less crowded attractions.

Who is in?

So what’s nexyo’s task in this project?

nexyo provides the technical infrastructure for data management. In concrete terms, this means that nexyo ensures that the collected data is processed effectively and securely. The platform that nexyo develops makes it possible for all participating organizations to make their data accessible to others. This also allows artificial intelligence to use this data and allows predictions and simulations to be made, which then serve as the basis for managing tourist flows. nexyo ensures that its system is not only technically efficient, but also fair and transparent, which means that all parties involved can determine who has received their data and under what conditions.

Is there any way I can find out more about this?

It’s best to listen to the podcast about the project. You can find it under this link (in German).