A Platform for the Promotion of Energy Efficiency and Monitoring in Hotel Units

Tourists today are more likely to be concerned with the environment and greener lifestyle choices. In this context, a green flagship of some hotels can be an important selection criteria at the time of selecting one. In the near future, buildings should become nearly zero energy, consuming as low as possible and producing almost all the energy they need, using renewable energy sources. To achieve this goal, hotel buildings need to pass through a transformation process that will make them more efficient. In this process, a decision support platform would be important to help hoteliers monitor their energy consumption, identify which points are consuming more than expected, decide which investments are more cost effective and manage their equipment in an optimum way. This chapter describes the challenges involved in developing such a platform, covering several research and development fields, including Internet of Things networks, ICT, Smart Grids, Renewable Energy, Energy efficiency, as well as algorithms for machine learning and optimization.

Perspectives of the Adoption of Cloud Computing in the Tourism Sector

This chapter aims to expose the current situation of the adoption of cloud computing in companies in general and in enterprises of the tourism sector in particular. For this, a review of the literature has been carried out to establish the conceptual framework of technology and of the new economic model that underlies its adoption. Cloud computing is one of the technologies less known to many organizations and especially users, as it is a new technology based on the Internet, through which information is stored on servers, is provided as a service and on clients' demand. Therefore, the main theories of adoption that have been used to explain the different adoption models are presented, as well as, the different solutions that are being used in the tourist industry.

Applying an Augmented Reality Tool to the Camino de Santiago in Portugal

This chapter focuses on an Interactive Guide of the Portuguese Way of St. James (Camino de Santiago) created by using an Augmented Reality application. This application was developed specifically for the section of the Portuguese Route to Santiago that crosses the municipality of Barcelos (Northwest of Portugal). The Guide has the geo-information needed for the Pilgrim, in the passage by the municipality of Barcelos to Santiago, and can be accessed through a smartphone. The pilgrim will have at his or her disposal a set of interactive geo-information about Barcelos. At the level of interactivity with the user, each of these points of interest in the Guide will be signaled by a portrait done by a painter from Barcelos (monuments) and universal graphic icons (other geo-information).

Augmented Reality

Technological advances have had an impact on many industries as well as the tourism industry. Augmented reality applications, one of the emerging new technologies in recent years, have also started to be used in our daily lives. Augmented Reality (AR) is a technology that allows its users to see the real world together with an additional virtual world that is added in real time to the same field of view. The augmented reality applications contribute to the enrichment of tourists' tourism experiences, especially during their visit and result in augmented satisfaction levels. Furthermore, it is one of the effective tools that can be used against the wear and tear of cultural heritage sites caused by overcrowding. In this chapter, the application fields of the augmented reality in the field of tourism have been discussed under the subtitles. As a result of our study, recommendations for the development of AR applications both for the literature and real-life application have been presented.

Information Mycological Systems and Traditional Ecological Knowledge

Wild edible fungi are non-timber forest products that have great relevance for forest communities in central Mexico. Texcaltitlán is a rural community known for its traditional ecological knowledge on the use and identification of wild edible mushrooms. The aim of this work is to link Geographic Information Systems and Traditional Ecological Knowledge, in order to generate Mycological Information Systems. This is a qualitative, quantitative and exploratory research, which seeks to determine the usefulness of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to systematize and locate mycological resources for use as a tourist attraction. The results show the existence of a wide variety of edible mushrooms in the region, along with a wide mycological traditional knowledge. Both aspects reflect the existence of unique natural and cultural features that can be the basis to build a unique tourism product in central Mexico. It is concluded that GIS are useful tools to build a multifunctional vision of mushrooms.

Gastronomy in Cultural Tourism

Cultural tourism consumers seek advice and recommendations from others before making buying decisions. The mobile instant messaging (MIM) boom could create a channel not only for social communication but also for information about cultural tourism and specifically the choice of restaurant. In this research we study which channels are most used by consumers when asking for gastronomic recommendations and, in particular, the factors behind the use of MIM as the preferred channels when obtaining tourist information. For this, an online survey was carried out with a sample of 393 individuals in Spain and descriptive statistical techniques were applied to the processing and analysis of the data. The results obtained show that: (1) its use is determined by its instantaneousness and permanent availability; and (2) people use it due to a lack of knowledge about the area.

“España Verde”

This study aims at measuring the image of the tourism brand “España Verde” by using the social media platform Facebook. The ever-increasing competition within the tourism industry makes it vital for destinations to address their target group by tailored marketing measures. Furthermore social media channels are changing the interaction between Destination Management Organizations (DMOs) and customers. With the aim of exploring España Verde's image, a three components approach—cognitive, affective and conative was applied. Related to the measurement of the cognitive component, the study also focuses on España Verde's touristic potential ranging from a rich and diverse culture as well as a unique natural heritage to a suitable infrastructure for touristic purposes. Although the supply side seems to fit the target group's desires when choosing a vacation destination, the exploratory results reveal that there is currently only little awareness for España Verde on the German market.

Should Festival Be Smarter?

The trend of information and communication technologies (ICT) employment to enhance transactions and to deliver better experience to visitors of mass events has been growing increasingly popular over the years. The emergence of “smart tourism” agenda which highlights new, more sustainable ways of business management, experience enhancement and destination management also creates new opportunities for ICT employment in mass event. Thus, this chapter discusses existing ICT holding potential for smart approach employment on mass events. An additional case of Exit festival was used as an exploratory evidence to support the main idea of the chapter. Based on comprehensive literary review and additional information on visitors' familiarity with ICT gained from the Exit festival, recommendations for mass event managers are presented.

Architecture, Tourism, and Technological Innovation in the Jesuit Mission of São Miguel, Brazil

The contemporaneity demands a better relation between the object and the subject. In this article, it is expected to understand how has been developed this bond of Jesuit architecture and its understanding by the visitor. In this way, it is searched to explore the touristic technological means in Missões Guaraníticas. It questions the use of technology to a better extent of dissemination of local and cultural legacy - existing architecture. The methodology presents an exploratory research of technological platforms of information. It is noticed that its use increases tourism, favoring the culture and history of the region, besides promoting accessibility, reducing the social and physical barriers. The technology helps to preserve and disseminate the historical importance of the site. New information media has influenced and has increased the tourism, stimulating the local trade, and also it encourages the preservation of historical heritage. The approach of historical study of the region / country has great potential for increasing interest in historical architecture and culture.

A Framework Supported by Modeling and Virtual/Augmented Reality for the Preservation and Dynamization of Archeological-Historical Sites

This chapter presents an approach for the preservation and exploration of the archaeological-historical information using the most modern methods of Building Information Modelling (BIM) together with virtual and augmented reality adapted to archaeology. It was made a survey of the archaeological site using an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and laser scan to obtain accurate information of existing structures which is stored in a BIM model. By using BIM methodologies, all existing information is organized in one place, shared and preserved for future memory. This 3D model is used to virtually reconstruct the Milreu archeological site, bringing this ancient Roman villa to life again, and supports the virtual reality platform and augmented reality tourism application for mobile devices, used for the promotion of the archaeological site, in an innovative way, in order to ensure a high degree of satisfaction to regular visitors and attract new public, looking for the visits to the archaeological-historical site to become a memorable experience.