Innovation

🏖 Visit California partners with Mindtrip to develop Visit California - Active Inspiration (VCA-AI), an AI-powered tool providing personalized travel recommendations. Data collected is co-owned by Visit California and Mindtrip, adhering to privacy laws like the California Consumer Privacy Act and EU's GDPR. The collaboration, launched at the start of the month, has already increased engagement on the Road Trips hub, enhancing visitor interactions with California travel content and destination choices.

💻 Digital transformation transcends mere process digitization; it rethinks business models, employs automation, leverages data, and enhances customer value. It's strategic, enduring, and crucial for competitiveness. Key components include training employees, streamlining processes, and adopting cutting-edge technologies like Cloud, AI, and IoT. Success hinges on setting clear goals, involving teams, testing, learning, adjusting, and tracking outcomes with KPIs. Challenges like organizational inertia, skills shortages, outdated technologies, and regulatory issues must be overcome. Celebrated examples are Netflix, LVMH, and Michelin, who have integrated digital strategies without losing their core DNA. Essential digital tools feature Cloud computing for agility, AI for predictive analytics and automation, and IoT for real-time information. ROI is measured by cost reduction, productivity gains, customer satisfaction, revenue growth, tool adoption rates, and project execution speed. Digital transformation is a marathon, requiring 12 to 36 months, and is a blend of technology, mindset, culture, and leadership. It's a vital, cross-departmental endeavor in today's fast-changing, interconnected market landscape.

📱 Digitalisation du point de vente: intégration de technologies digitales pour améliorer l'expérience client et la gestion interne, connectant le commerce physique aux canaux digitaux. Outils incluent bornes interactives, écrans tactiles, applications mobiles, systèmes de gestion automatisés, caisses connectées, RFID, et CRM. Bénéfices: expérience client fluide, meilleure gestion des stocks, stratégie omnicanale, analyse de comportement client, optimisation opérationnelle, amélioration des ventes, visibilité accrue, fidélisation renforcée, collecte de données. Exemples réussis: Sephora, Decathlon, Norauto, Zara, Les Mousquetaires, Leroy Merlin, Monoprix. Performance mesurée par taux d'utilisation des outils digitaux, temps moyen en magasin, taux de conversion, feedbacks clients, NPS, ventes croisées.

🏠 The Lac d’Annecy Tourism Office celebrated its 130th anniversary with a 7-minute immersive film, using AI to recolorize and animate 23 black and white photos and postcards of historical Annecy. The film features iconic locations such as the Pâquier esplanade, the old town, and the Duingt castle. Annecy's first tourism syndicate was established in February 1895, sharing space with firefighters, after the railway arrived in 1866, and when the city had 20,000 residents and 6 hotels.

🎮 Tourism New Zealand partners with eleven Maori tribes, Warner Bros, and Mojang Studios to make New Zealand the first tourist destination in Minecraft, coinciding with the Minecraft movie release. The Aotearoa New Zealand DLC in Minecraft allows players to explore six New Zealand territories. Over 218 million players have played Minecraft in the last 30 days, and 70 million are considering visiting New Zealand. Tourism New Zealand aims for $50 million in visitor spending for the year. Minecraft influences travelers similarly to cinema; New Zealand benefits from both with the Minecraft film featuring stars like Jason Momoa released on April 2, 2025.

💸 March 2025: Mews raises €68M to expand in North America. Hands In secures €1.1M for payment solutions. Pangea Aerospace obtains €23M for aerospace R&D. HolaCamp and GaiaRooms each raise €10M for digital transformation and connected accommodations. Ditto garners €68M for edge computing growth. In total, over €180M raised by six startups for travel industry innovation and expansion.

👤 Kimpton, a brand within the IHG Hotels & Resorts Luxury & Lifestyle portfolio, collaborates with Tiny Zaps, an innovative tattoo studio, to introduce "tattourism" to guests at select hotels. Starting in April, free and exclusive tattoo designs will be offered at pop-up events in five Kimpton hotels across the U.S. for guests 18+. The designs reflect the unique culture of each city, with monthly events running from April to June. Tattourism has evolved from a centuries-old tradition among sailors to a modern trend popular with Gen Z and Millennials, who prefer meaningful tattoos over physical souvenirs.

📡 Perplexity, an AI solutions provider, announced a partnership with TripAdvisor and Selfbook on March 25, 2025, aiming to enhance travel recommendations and bookings for users. CEO Aravind Srinivas revealed the collaboration could integrate promotions for Pro users. OpenAI previously revealed similar partnerships with TripAdvisor, Uber, and Priceline. Perplexity's ambition challenges traditional search engines, with potential impacts on the travel industry where OTAs dominate. Charentes Tourisme notes 82% of travelers prefer AI over search engines for local tourist information, while Amadeus reports OTAs as the top booking channel (47%), ahead of direct bookings (21%).

📣 Le marketing expérientiel est une stratégie centrée sur la création d'expériences client immersives et émotionnelles, visant à fidéliser sur le long terme. Il se distingue du marketing sensoriel, qui stimule les cinq sens pour influencer l'acte d'achat. Les marques utilisent ce levier pour créer un avantage concurrentiel, booster le trafic en point de vente, devenir virales sur internet, construire une identité de marque forte, générer du contenu pour les réseaux sociaux et améliorer la satisfaction client. Des marques telles que L'Occitane en Provence, IKEA et Chez Fred à Bouguenais mettent en œuvre des expériences client qui renforcent l'engagement et l'attachement. Guest Suite propose des outils pour collecter et analyser la satisfaction client dans plus de 10 000 points de vente.

🏠 limehome surpassed 10,000 contracted units across Europe, adding 1,000 new units in Q1 2025. The Munich-based company is expanding in key European markets, including recent investments in Barcelona, Madrid, Cologne, and Stuttgart. With its scalable business model and successful real estate conversion and development strategy, limehome has achieved this milestone in just six years, emphasizing profitability and long-term stable returns on serviced apartments.