TravTalk Middle East Online Magazine
The Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Development Authority (SCTDA) unveiled four innovative projects designed to further boost the competitiveness of Sharjah’s tourism sector at the premier GITEX Technology Week 2019 at Dubai World Trade Centre. The ‘AI Tour Guide Chatbot,’ a 24×7 voice and text-based chatbot, has been developed to provide the latest information about Sharjah to tourists. The interactive tour guide chatbot, which is accessible via WhatsApp, a mobile App, SCTDA’s website and Facebook messenger, shares accurate details about the emirate’s top tourist destinations, must-do activities, world-class accommodations, leading restaurants, and much more.
The project is the result of SCTDA’s initiative to incorporate the latest technologies, including Artificial Intelligence (AI), into its tourism programmes to better highlight Sharjah’s renowned beauty and hospitality while enhancing visitor experience. The ‘AI Tour Guide Chatbot’ supports five languages, including Arabic, English, German, Chinese and Russian, and can recognise various Arabic accents.
The other projects are ‘Smart Hotel Licensing and Classification’ system, ‘Smart Vehicle Permit System’ and ‘Hotel Statistics System-Business Intelligence (HSS – BI) solution.’ HE Khalid Jasim Al Midfa, Chairman, SCTDA, says, “These latest projects reflect our commitment to introducing technology-driven ideas that will promote Sharjah as a world-class tourist destination with a wide range of leisure, cultural, and entertainment activities.”
