Digital Tourism

Author: tneast

Generative AI and its Impacts on Tourism

20/02/2025 / / 0 Comments

Continuing my rather unorthodox theme to this blog, I wanted to discuss the impacts of Generative AI on the tourism industry. As previously mentioned the topic of tourism, especially in British Columbia is one I have a lot of experience and knowledge in, and as such I wanted to bring that background in to this course in as many ways as possible in order to create a more interesting blog. For this week’s topic there is one particular angle I would like to approach when discussing the problems that can arise when using AI. That being how the production of materials can be used to mislead or otherwise misrepresent a given location

Before we begin, I would also like to address that while I will try to approach this topic as neutrally as possible, I have a rather strong pre-existing bias against generative AI for artistic and practical reasons that I will not get in to at this time, and may colour how I represent or discuss it despite my efforts. Additionally as a disclaimer, for the sake of example there will be one instance of an AI generated photo in this post. This image was acquired using a simple google search and was not generated for by me or for the purposes of this post.

Above: Two photos found via a google image search for “Vancouver Skyline”. Can you spot which one was generated by AI?

When discussing generative AI, the topic of AI art and image generation tends to be at the forefront. And I wanted to highlight something that has become increasingly common as a result. AI generated images in google searches. While in general I would argue prior to this the average google image search was never the best representation of a given location if one was to be looking for a place to visit, or researching that city they heard about on TV. However recent advancements in AI and the proliferation of online publishing of these images has seen a rapidly growing number of such images presenting especially idealized depictions of popular destinations.

Above I presented two images side by side of the Vancouver Skyline as presented by googling that exact phrase and asked readers to guess which was generated by AI. To anyone familiar enough with common quirks of AI images, or the skyline of Vancouver, British Columbia, the correct answer (that being the 2nd image) may have been obvious. But to one unversed in these topics, it is extremely easy to be misled.

Screenshot of Google Maps showing the rough area where the actual photo would have been taken

One such complication is the tendency for AI generated images to incorporate elements from multiple depictions of a location with little regard for the material reality. There are 3 key “landmarks” in the AI generated photo which commonly appear in photos of Vancouver but which cannot all appear in a single photo due to simple geography. These are the skyline of Downtown Vancouver itself, the sailboats moored off Stanley Park, and the North Shore Mountains. And you’ll notice in the real image, only the former two are visible. To put it simply, in order to get a photo with both the moored sailboats, and the Vancouver skyline in frame, a photographer must be facing at least partly south and thus having no way to get the mountains to the north in frame. And yet in the AI depiction, all three of these are clearly visible when this is simply an impossible perspective

While ultimately the misplacement of landmarks in what is effectively a composite of thousands of existing photos of a location does not reflect poorly on a location, the potential to mislead prospective visitors is present. Not only that, but the prevalence of these images in simple searches that are likely to be seen by those looking up a location for the first time creates difficulty in creating accurate expectations for potential visitors. While to some it may be easy to spot these images at a glance, to those of us that work in the tourism industry, we cannot expect all our customers and clients to have the same skills and tools we have to spot these misleading or inaccurate depictions. The prevalence of AI generated material in search engine results creates an unnecessary burden on the user to discern fact from reality

Works Cited

iStock Vancouver Skyline at Sunset by bluejayphoto: https://www.istockphoto.com/photo/vancouver-skyline-at-sunset-gm178388915-20368906
Vecteezy Vancouver Skyline AI by iftikharalam: https://www.vecteezy.com/photo/35758746-ai-generated-beautiful-cityscape-of-vancouver-at-sunset-british-columbia-canada-beautiful-view-of-downtown-vancouver-skyline-british-columbia-canada-ai-generated

Introducing Digital Literacy in the Context of the Tourism Industry

02/02/2025 / / 0 Comments

To begin my blog I would like to first explore the specific relationship between digital literacy and the tourism industry. While I am a full time student I also have a background in the industry as the “Information Guy” at Bella Coola Valley Tourism. In this role I primarily served as the face of the tourism industry in the community of Bella Coola during the peak season directing visitors in person, over the phone, and by email to the services they were looking for. And of all the things I learned in my 5 seasons in this position, the most important is that it is difficult if not impossible to travel in the modern day without some level of digital literacy. This blog post as a part of a course on digital literacy will then explore some of the skills needed to navigate the digital landscape of the tourism industry

Categories of Digital Competence from the European Framework for Digital Competence

According to the European Framework for Digital Competence there are five broad categories of skills that one can have and engage with in a digital context. Of particular relevance to us here are the categories of Information and Data Literacy, as well as Communication and Collaboration.

Landing Page for BC Ferries which provides ferry transport on the Coast of British Columbia and is a popular choice for adventure tourism in the province

This first category deals in gathering and applying information housed in a digital space. This is the first and likely for many most daunting barrier to tourism in the modern day. With the decline of travel agencies and other organizations that do the proverbial heavy lifting for you, the expectation in the modern industry is that the individual will find the necessary information and book accordingly. This includes everything from searching to navigating potentially untrustworthy sources, to engaging with reviews, and even the booking process itself While great effort has gone in to making this process as straight forward as possible with flashy landing pages that direct users to booking and information from the moment they arrive at your website, this only goes so far when prospective visitors lack knowledge on the use of search engines or following ad links. Additionally when less experienced or confident users are able to find their way to these pages it is common for them to be intimidated by complex multi-step booking processes, with many drop down menus, checkboxes, and text fields overwhelming these users. By developing these skills so that users are more capable and confident in gathering information for themselves, as well as improving confidence in filling forms and following instructions, education in this specific field of digital literacy improves individuals abilities to explore and broaden their understanding of the world.

Moreover communication skills serve as an important backup in the event the above breaks down. Try as we might websites do not always work right and sometimes the human touch is needed to point you in the right direction. That’s where people like me came in. Many tour companies, accommodations, and communities have services in place to provide assistance when needed to those who may for any reason be struggling to navigate or use the digital tools so common in the industry today. However the quality of information and services these humans are able to provide relies heavily on the ability for those we serve to be able to communicate their needs. While this is not a skill exclusively applicable to the world of the internet, effective communication is a must when interacting with any other human being and fostering these skills early is exceptionally valuable to the one’s ability to navigate the digital world especially when customer service is involved.

Contact information listed on bellacoola.ca listing links to their social media, as well as main, phone, and email contacts for inquiries and information

Finally we must ask ourselves, if this is so important to the industry, how do we ensure that potential visitors have these skills. And the answer is quite simply education. While the difficulties I have highlighted are predominantly from older tourists who may be used to another era of globetrotting, we also cannot simply expect young people to have absorb these necessary skills. The BC Post Secondary Digital Literacy Framework lays out some guidelines and expectations for skills students should be versed in by certain points in their educational career. And these are not exceptionally advanced skills either. Skills like keyword searches which I highlighted the importance of earlier are recommended to be taught between Kindergarten and Grade 2, with supplementary skills in refining these searches from Grades 3 to 5. Moreover communication and online citizenship is recommended to be taught in various formes all the way from Kindergarten to Grade 12. These are skills that have been deemed valuable to our core education in the modern world. By fostering these skills educators are able to prepare students for a variety of situations from simple browsing to job applications, and yes even the fun filled and adventurous world of tourism

Works Cited

  • Bella Coola Valley Tourism: https://bellacoola.ca/
  • BC Ferries: https://www.bcferries.com/
  • European Framework for Digital Competence: https://unevoc.unesco.org/up/2023_05_16_DigComp.pdf
  • BC Digital Literacy Framework: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/education/kindergarten-to-grade-12/teach/teaching-tools/digital-literacy-framework.pdf

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