ITSC 2016 Closure

Dear all,

Thank you so much for the participation in the International Tourism Students Conference 2016! It was truly an amazing experience that everyone was able to share not only their vision on the new tourism tendencies, but also a piece of their unique culture.

It was an honour for us to meet so many interesting, intelligent and ambitious people who wanted to share their point of view on the topic of Smart Tourism Destinations and did an excellent job to do so. Thank you for your enthusiasm and positive energy!

We hope you enjoyed the Conference and will be looking forward to share much more experience with you in the future!

Greetings,

ITSC Organizational Team

Conference Opening 20.04.2016

Conference Schedule

Travel Trends for 2016

Smart cities in Africa – time to get back to basics and begin the journey where it actually starts

Author: Cynthia Gordon for MG Africa

Rather than focus on stuff like the ‘Internet of Things’ and sleek ultra-modern urban design, we should focus on more practical areas.

Mobile connectivity is transforming communities and empowering people with access to life changing apps and technologies. With 70% of the world’s population currently having access to 3G networks and 4G coverage growing at an even more explosive rate, the potential for us to interact and engage with each other has never been higher.

This rapid change has ushered in a fresh debate around “Smart Cities”, focusing on the kinds of connectivity that will unify the entire ecosystem and improve how we live; where sensors and smartphones can track how we use materials in order to ensure we use them more effectively; where renewable energies are generated locally to avoid recourse to inefficient power supply grids; or where data will help to decrease traffic, emissions and time wasted in congestion zones. The power of connectivity allows us to integrate these technologies at all levels, enabling people to enjoy better lives.

For people in Africa, this high-tech version of a Smart City risks over-simplification. We admire the sentiment and ambition behind it but a far more complex and fundamental process is underway.

When I took part in a debate on this subject at the Mobile World Congress 2016, I began by saying that in order to build Smart Cities we need to get back to basics first. The key planning principle must be a bottom-up approach.

 

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Top 10 Places To Travel in 2016 – Best Travel Destinations List

Source: GazetteReview

Albania

You won’t find Albania on the top of many tourist destination lists.  The crowds tend to flock to Greece or beautiful Croatia, but the tiny country of Albania offers unique adventures of its own.  In Albania, you’ll
experience a mix of cultures and customs. Explore the fascinating history behind the ancient Greek city of Butrint, a UNESCO World Heritage site.  Hit the beach and have a drink of Korca beer as you gaze out at the Ionian Sea. Travel through breathtaking mountain vistas, discover ruins from the Ottoman Empire, and explore this underrated gem before the tour groups start to arrive.

Colombia

While concerns over the Zika virus are warranted, Colombia presents a safe and unforgettable South American travel experience.  Tourism is heating up in the country as more travellers are drawn to its enchanting people, vibrant culture, and colorful history.  Start your journey in beautiful Cartagena and explore Colombia’s rich coffee growing traditions.  Next, visit dizzying Medellin for the best food in the region, and finish off with time of relaxation on the glittering white shores of the southern Caribbean.

Cuba

In an exciting move for warmer relations, tensions between Cuba and the United States have greatlysubsided over the last two years. International travellers have adored the island country, its people, and its music for several decades.  Investors are planning for Cuba’s bright tourism future by fuelling capital into tourism infrastructure.  Cuba promises something for every traveller, from its rich culture and history to the world-class beach resorts dotting the coastlines of Varadero or Punta Cana.  Enjoy a cocktail in the shade, ride in a 1950s taxi convertible, and learn about the dramatic revolution that swept the country many years ago.

China and UK team up in Smart City development

Autor: Ma Chi for ChinaDaily

Ivory Wells (R), Global Partnerships Manager of Future Cities Catapult, shakes hands with Li Tie (L), director of China Center for Urban Development after the two sides signed a memorandum of understanding at the China Smart City Innovation Conference held in Jinan, East China’s Shandong province on March 24, 2016. 

The Sino-UK cooperation in building smart cities is expected to gain steam when Future Cities Catapult (FCC), one of the UK’s leading platforms for urban innovation, signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with China.

Hopefully the signing is going to be a fruitful cooperation between China and UK on smart city. We will use the partnership to make it easier for both British and Chinese enterprises to invest in and get involved in the smart city market in their respective country,” said Ivory Wells, the global partnerships manager at FCC.

The FCC signed the MOU with the country’s leading agency in urban development, China Center for Urban Development, at China Smart City Innovation Conference on Thursday.

“The UK was the first country in the world to industrialize and de-industrialize, and then move on to the knowledge economy. We have plenty of experiences across all disciplines and that’s what we can share with China,” said Sir Michael Bear, UK Special Envoy for Sustainable Urbanization to China and former mayor of the City of London.

The Sino-UK cooperation in smart city began two years ago when Bristol built a partnership with Guangzhou. Last year, Manchester tied a relationship with Wuhan. The two partnerships aim to share UK’s expertise and experiences in building smart cities with China, according to John K Davies from UK Trade and Investment.

“The UK has been involved in smart city for many years. I think one of the differences that occurred in the last few years is that city and citizens are put at the front and center, and businesses are now responding rather than trying to drive the board,” said Davies.

His opinion was echoed by Li Tie, the director of China Center for Urban Development.

“One of the significant changes in building new smart city in China is that the old government-driven development model should be changed into user-oriented and market-driven one,” said Li.

With its fast urbanization drive, the smart city market is huge in China, according to analysts’ estimates. Authorities have released guidelines for accelerating the building of smart cities, which includes an intelligent transportation system. The cumulative investment is likely to break 2 trillion yuan ($309 billion) by 2025, fueled by massive State-sponsored urbanization projects, analysts estimated.

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What Will The Future Bring?

 

A $50 Million Plan to Get Cities Thinking About Driverless Cars

Author: Eric Jaffe for CityLab

Given all the advances being made in driverless cars, America’s cities have been startlingly slow to incorporate the technology into their plans. A recent analysis found that, as of mid-2013, just one of the 25 largest U.S. metropolitan planning organizations bothered to mention autonomous vehicles in its long-term outlook—that single nod coming in a brief sidebar. But dangle up to $50 million out there for a futuristic transport vision and it’s amazing how quickly things change.

The U.S. Department of Transportation did just that in December when it announced the Smart City Challenge, an urban innovation contest that asked midsized metros to draw up ideas for improving safety and mobility with driverless cars, intelligent infrastructure, street sensors, and the like. Since then 78 cities have applied, with DOT set to narrow the field to five finalists this Saturday at South by Southwest. The winner will be named in June.

“I think there was pent-up energy at the city level for a chance to define the future,” Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx tells CityLab. “That’s what we’re giving these cities.”

Foxx says the goal of the challenge is to produce not just conceptual outlines but “real models” at work in an urban environment. To that end, DOT will announce a new contest partnership today with the infrastructure software giant Autodesk. As they refine their proposals, the finalists will get access to (and training on) Infraworks 360, a “building information modeling” platform that uses 3-D visualizations and real-world data to plan major engineering projects.

“Their system is able to create 20 different versions of the same thing and help you figure out which of those versions makes the most sense,” says Foxx. “What they bring is … the capability to design a concept on a computer and to actually see how well it works. To scope it, to figure out what inputs you need, to figure out what changes you need to make before you spend a lot of money putting something on the ground.”

Infraworks has been used for a number of major civil infrastructure projects, including Denver International Airport’s new hotel and transit hub. Washington, D.C., recently used the program to model how energy retrofits or green roofs could help the city meet its sustainability targets. Theo Agelopoulos of Autodesk says Infraworks is particularly handy in selling complicated projects to the public—producing vivid designs and hard figures that simplify the discussion.

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New forum seeks to unite 100 cities in standards to drive smart city innovation

Source: Teena Maddox for TechRepublic

TM Forum has formed a collaboration of seven cities to push creation of smart cities through open data sharing and standardization. The goal is to have more than 100 cities participating.

The Smart City Forum is a newly launched collaboration of TM Forum members that consists of seven cities working to help drive the creation of smart cities worldwide.

The initial cities with members in the new forum’s leadership are: Los Angeles; Lisbon, Portugal; Dublin, Ireland; Vancouver; Atlanta; Bristol, U.K.; and Toronto. Eventually the forum plans to include members from more than 100 smart cities and governments around the world. TM Forum is an organization with 950 member companies that work to bring about global standards to the telecommunications business and it’s broadening to include the Internet of Things (IoT), smart health, smart climate and smart cities.

“We’ve formed a leadership team with seven cities,” said Carl Piva, vice president of strategic programs at TM Forum. “Academia is invited to be part of that. And other ecosystem partners that deliver solutions into the smart city domain. It will all be driven by the needs and requirements of these cities.”

Standardization is key to smart city success

Esmeralda Swartz, vice president of marketing enterprise and cloud for Ericsson, is a member of TM Forum. She said the various innovations all center around the recognition that there needs to be standardization to drive interoperability among the IoT components of a smart city.

“This is based on the notion that anything that can be connected will be connected, but it’s not all going to come from one supplier. The interaction and interoperational ability between, for instance, manufacturers and software providers and the ability to drive that interoperability is important. From the context of TM forum, it’s how do we help our members understand what the issues are concerning this, and how do we as an industry drive forward to drive these solutions to the marketplace because one single vendor won’t have it all.”

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