Destinations Struggle to Use Data to Manage Tourism Growth
Photo Credit: Many destinations want to create sustainable tourism plans but are still figuring out how to use data to do that. Pictured is a tour group in Lisbon, Portugal. Flickr / Dave Collier
Skift Take
Some destinations are still early to the party in harvesting data from residents and travelers on tourism trends and impacts. Many have plans with how to use the information they've gathered but how that information is shared with local politicians and residents is still a work in progress.
Many destinations want to keep up with their competitors and promote their respective plans to grow and better manage tourism as some cities' tourist infrastructure can't keep up with demand.
Using data is key to putting those plans in motion but too often that data – even when available – doesn't trickle down to local city and neighborhood decision makers.
That's the view of some tourism boards and researchers who spoke at the United Nations World Tourism Organization's (UNWTO) International Conference on Tourism Statistics last month in Manilla, the Philippines. Some of the discussions centered around creating a global framework for measuring tourism and how to use data to create sustainable growth plans.
The conference included delegates from 88 countries and was part of the United Nation's 2017 International Year of Sustainable Tourism For Development.
Many attendees were optimistic about Big Data's potential for managing tourism growth but were also concerned that
