Innovation in Destination 2019-20

EVWAY   Lombardia, Italy  https://evway.net/en/ Evway is a platform or App that supports EV-Drivers with the intent to map all the charging stations in Italy and in Europe, with information related to where people can charge electronic vehicles according to their needs thanks to filters.  EV-Driver can activate and pay the charge on over 100.000 plugs in the whole Europe with just the evway App or KeyFob.   The App provides two different maps: one dedicated to cars and one for e-bikes and e-scooters.  It also maps the points of interest near the stations: for examples, facilities that have a charging station are indicated with special markers for their product catogory, so that can be easily identified on the map. Evway turns your charging stop into a positive experience that brings to the discovery of the territory: the evway map  in fact shows you the points of interest near the charging station you are u...

Swissôtel The Stamford Turns on the Lights with New Room Management System “ AccorHotels’ iconic Swissôtel The Stamford is the first hotel to showcase Interact Hospitality from Signify, which became the new company name of Philips Lighting as of a few months ago. The hotel, which is located in Singapore and ranks as one of the largest in South-East Asia, will reportedly have the new hotel room management system fully installed in each of its 1,261 guest rooms by the time the hotel completes its renovation at the end of this year.” 1. What is new? For whom is it new? How new is it? This new system allows guests to alter lighting, temperature and make room service requests at the touch of a button. Furthermore, it helps the hotel staff as it shows them whether a room is occupied, it provides information to improve the guest experience and allows them to respond quicker to guest requests. The main advantage of this system is that it optimizes operations and save energ...

Kaunertal Glacier now 100% barrier-free 1. What is new? For whom is it new? How new is it? The Kaunertal Glacier in Tyrol is now 100% barrier-free. In the beginning of December they opened a new cable car, which has a wide double rope guide that makes it particularly windproof. The innovation however is a monobob lane which was implemented in the cable car station building. It is considered to be a world novelty – monoskiers will no longer have to take off their skiis, but will be able to push their way to the gondola via their own access and their own "slide surface" on the ground. They can thus use the lift without assistance. 2. What type of innovation? It is a technological innovation, which we think can also be considered as a process innovation as it changes the way mono skiers ski. 3. What can you find about the background of the innovation? Who was the innovator? Story of the invention? How has it been generated? The innovation was develo...

  What is new?  It is a product/process innovation. Aerochk. This is the name of a security check escalator created in order to reduce waiting at airports. It is powered by artificial intelligence and face scanning which leads passengers to their departure gate.  For whom is it new?  Both, market and company.  How new is it? Radical. This innovation is a completely new way to check in, pass security and process through immigration at the airport. What type of Innovation?  We would say that it is an innovation of processes.  What can you find about the background of the innovation? The innovators wanted to reduce waiting time and delays during security check and check in which led to many missed flights. Therefore they created an escalator in order to save time and to provide more comfort to the customers.  The innovation now can not only be used at airports, but also at ports, bus and rail stations whi...

Wyndham Grand “Reconnected” Link :  https://lodgingmagazine.com/digital-detox-hotels-and-travel-companies-give-guests-space-to-unplug/ The story:  The brand kicked off the initiative early in 2018 by piloting a special package at five hotels for families with young children that included analog essentials for making memories: a flashlight, an Instax Polaroid camera, a shadow-puppet book, materials to build blanket forts and a timed lockbox for parents to stow their phones during family time. However picture taking with phones is now not possible this can be done with the Instax instant camera which allows the pictures to be printed in real time. As a further incentive, families get a 5% discount on the Best Available Rate. Upon arrival ever family receives an adventure backpack ( 1 per child with a max of 2 per family; additional backpacks will be available for purchase) for days filled with fun. After their stay, families have the opportunity to continue their phone-...

The first Mars Inspired Village on Earth will open in the not so distant future The story:  The self-sustaining network of biomes by Interstellar Lab will be called EBIOS, short for Experimental Bio-regenerative Station. The  terrestrial village will consist of a network of self-sustaining biomes designed to produce and recycle water, food, and energy for 100 people within the “closed loop environment.” Interstellar Lab has worked closely with NASA to create EBIOS, which when finished will include a number of space-settlement technologies to research how future generations could inhabit Mars, including plant growth systems, 3-D printing technologies, and tools for analyzing human behavior in a closed environment. T he futuristic facility will be open for half of each year to anyone who wants to take part in experiencing what future settlement on other planets might look like.  Each space-influenced station will feature a science center for astronaut ...

Apps that transform the Travel Industry 1) Splittr The Story: When you frequently travel as a group, sometimes you want to split costs among each other or keep track of who’s up to pay next. Splittr lets you break up costs between people and add expenses while on your trip, so you know who’s turn it is to pay. It supports multiple currencies or mix currencies, which is great if you’re taking a client in another country out to dinner. It works offline and there is not registration needed. Also, it lets you print PDF reports, which are particularly useful for submitting expenses to your company.  Dimension of Innovation: What is new? For whom is it new? How new is it? It is new for the company.  Travellers, family members, friends and colleagues can use it - so there is a wide range of applications. It is an incremental innovation, as similar payment options exist. What type of innovation? Process Innovation and Innovation in Transactions, as it chan...

Amazon tourism technology: The (re) conquest of travel industry The story:  After the bitter failure of its Amazon Destinations hotel reservation platform in 2015, Amazon is changing the course and is moving towards the development of tourism technology solutions such as AI.  Its technological advances appeal to several major travel companies, who see great potential for online booking. Skyscanner or YES.sncf include voice search and reservation functionality at Amazon Echo.   Global player Amazon wants to invest in the development of technology solutions and expands it strategic  partnerships with leading online travel agencies to strengthen its footprint in the tourism industry. As the most powerful brand in the world, Amazon wants to be successful in the tourism industry by covering everything from data storage (such as alexa in hotel rooms) to the payment system (Amazon Pay is now used by the OTA Lastminute.com which has 40 million users monthly in the UK, F...

"VENTO D'ITALIA"  Turin, Italy  "Vento d'Italia" is a new social realized with the intent to speak to chinese tourists and to promote the city of Turin through the WeChat platform. It  is proposed as the digital solution to welcome Chinese tourists and promote the destination Italy in China through their communication channel, the social network WeChat, a real digital ecosystem used from 1 billion active users that allows them to search for information, communicate with their contacts, share messages and photos, choose what to buy and pay directly.  Through the scanning of a QR code Chinese tourists can access to Vento d'Italia platform and connect in a digital environment designed for them – with an adequate storytelling of the main places of interest that takes into account the social and communicative differences - and accessible from their devices .   They will be able to discover the thousand and more reasons to spend a stay in Turin and ...

"GOURMETFLEISCH" -  DINNER IN THE SKY  Dusseldorf, Germany  https://skydinner.gourmetfleisch.de/ Gourmetfleisch - Dinner in the sky is a high level culinary "experience" that takes place in occasion of the "Dusseldorf Gourmet Festival". The best German chef prepare meat dishes of the highest quality and t he peculiarity and innovation of this experience is that dinner is served 50 meters high. Guests will enjoy dinner on a "carousel" (a platform lifted by a crane) with their feet "dangling" while enjoying a 360° view of Dusseldorf.  As we can see on the website, people have the possibility to enjoy 25 different flights depending on the time. There are 25 seats per flight with a total of 550 guests per day.  Innovation Analisys I think this innovation is radical because such restaurants didn't exist before. It's creating new niche markets and new experiences for locals and tourists. Above all, it ...