Tourism industry has been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. Lockdowns across the world forced many countries to shut their tourist spots and hotels. As countries across the world are reopening their economies, they’re also trying to bring back tourists. Many are turning to wearable tech to help achieve their goals.
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Within travel and tourism, wearable tech is valuable for those companies that have consistent interaction with their customers including cruises, resort-style hotels and theme parks as they gain more insight into their travelers.
Singapore has used wearable tech to track returning residents during a 14-day quarantine. The government introduced a contact tracing app called TraceTogether. The app needs a wearable device as it would not depend on someone owning a smartphone.
The Singapore government also uses a digital check-in tool called SafeEntry to help with its contact tracing efforts. When the visitor enters a venue such as supermarkets and workplaces, the system utilizes QR codes or barcode scans to collect their personal data. The data then can be used to facilitate contact tracing should a person who visited a location test positive for COVID-19. SafeEntry is mandatory at certain locations and, to date, the country has deployed it at more than 16,000 sites across the island, reports ZDNet.
South Korea and Hong Kong have also given out wristbands that track the tourist’s movements to spot possible outbreaks and act quickly to stop further spread.
The U.S. is also pondering the use of wearables in the tourism industry. Tourist groups in Hawaii are considering using GPS to track movement of tourists within resort areas. Roger Dow, president and CEO of the U.S. Travel Association, said while it might worry some people to relinquish some privacy of movement, the economic relief would be immense.
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“It is difficult to mandate or monitor for compliance but consumers may be more willing to opt in if they clearly see the health and safety benefits to the contact tracing program and are confident that their data is being protected and used for the appropriate purpose,” Dow said.
“[That challenge] is one of the reasons PwC chose to focus exclusively on the enterprise.”
