Macau (MNA) – The Macau Government Tourism Office (MGTO) has revealed that on top of three projects being implemented locally as part of a smart tourism plan, the use of robotics is included. An example of this is a service robot [pictured above], which can speak Mandarin, Cantonese and English and is part of the first part of the plan which will be implemented in the second quarter of 2018, namely, a “tourism information exchange platform.” The robot can answer basic queries such as the best visitor spots as well as the give directions. In addition, an online chatbot, also fluent in the same three languages will also be implemented in order to provide more information to visitors, including directions, places to eat, inclusive of all the eateries listed in the Michelin Guide in Macau. Maria Helena Senna Fernandes, the director of MGTO, also told media that under the partnership with Alibaba Cloud, the tourism bureau will also work on an application for visitor insights and smart application that will measure visitor flows. “For visitor insights, the application can look up different pieces of information such as weather conditions, crowds and so on,” explained director of MGTO Ricky Hoi. The smart application for visitor flows will help ease congestion in crowded tourist areas and provide information to visitors to better plan their stay. These three projects will be implemented in early 2019. In the Master Plan which was delivered in 2017, MGTO has mapped out several development strategies under the Five Year Development Plan (2016-2020) of Macau, inclusive of co-operation on smart tourism projects inked with Alibaba Cloud. Alibaba Cloud provides technology such as cloud computing and big data, according to Zhu Jintong, a senior expert on machine intelligence from Alibaba Cloud.
China’s Macau unveiled plans to introduce smart tourism services in a bid to improve visitors’ experience. According to MGTO, the first phase will involve a tourism information exchange platform using a service robot that can answer simple questions or offer directions in Mandarin, Cantonese or English. A chatbot will be launched to provide more detailed information, while a smart application for visitor flows and insights will help ease congestion and monitor environmental data, such as weather or crowds.