Malaga is a municipality in Spain that has a population of 578, 460 people according to 2020 statistics. The city is the capital of the Spanish province of Malaga in the autonomous community of Andalusia. The city is the country’s 6th most populous city. The city is ranked among the top tourist destinations globally due to its rich tourist attraction sites. The sites range from historic spots like Alcazaba – an Arabic fortress that is one of the largest in Andalusia. The city has lots of mansions and fortresses from pre-historic sites and its attractions are rich in cultural diversity therefore attracting millions of tourists to the city and earning the country, valuable income in the form of money and exchange from foreign and local tourists. Some of the culturally diverse and historic attractions include a castle with a Roman theatre and an old town whose streets offer a magical experience for tourists walking through them.
Therefore, to tailor their tourist experience and give recommendations, the city’s municipality has opted to use technology, especially artificial intelligence to rate tourist experiences at each tourist site and target tourists effectively to attract more tourists and keep the city among Europe’s top tourist destinations. It is pertinent to mention that the city receives about 12 million visitors annually, passing through Spain’s 4th busiest airport.
The technology implement by the city uses smart cameras that are strategically located around the city’s tourist locations and a node that receives all the digital footage from the locations. The node runs complex AI software applications that leverage facial detection, recognition and analysis techniques to determine the level of the tourists happiness by using their countenance. The software then tracks the tourists at different locations to determine at which spots they were the happiest. Information gathered from this operation is then used to advise new tourists about the spots they might like to visit.
Apart from AI technology, the city leverages a wide array of other technologies to bolster its tourism experience and make it easier for visitors to navigate through the city. The city’s streets are completely mapped out by technology to offer a virtual experience based on a real-world location and direct users using any digital maps service to find their way in the city. In the year 2020, Malaga was the winner of Europe’s Capitals of Smart Tourism.
With the city’s numerous museums, beaches, streets and botanical gardens, residents and visitors can enjoy nature walks and bird watching among other experiences. The city is therefore incorporating concepts of sustainability, innovation and culture into their strategic plans that are powered by technology.
The smart experience has however, gathered criticism by some residents and visitors who claim that they deserve privacy and don’t like being tracked around the city. In response, the city’s municipality has commented that no private data is stored on its node and that the system is purely for rating experiences, after which images and videos are deleted.
