Tourism has a significant impact on New Zealand's economy, contributing ~$30 billion (annually) and supporting ~12% of the people employed in the country. However, much of tourism in New Zealand is seasonal, and tourists typically visit the same iconic spots. Many tourists participate in "drive through" tourism, spending their money in supermarkets and petrol stations rather than in local businesses. Others use tours arranged by large, foreign companies, again resulting in fewer local benefits. The current nature of tourism in New Zealand is thus increasing overcrowding of popular spots, infrastructural stress, environmental degradation and safety concerns. This leads to a lowered visitor experience and even to local resentment, and has the potential to negatively impact New Zealand's image as a clean, green, and safe tourist destination.
To promote sustainable tourism in New Zealand, we must balance the environmental, social and economic components of the industry. We must provide a positive experience not only for the tourists but also for the local people and businesses in the areas these tourists visit, supporting beneficial cultural exchange between visitors and locals. Towards these long-term objectives, this project will create a software prototype for an "Experience Planner" that will provide personalized suggestions for tourists visiting New Zealand. Unlike existing travel or route planners, the experience planner will consider real-time feedback (e.g., weather and number of visitors at downstream locations in a planned route) and ratings of attractions, activities and operators, in conjunction with the preferences and constraints of tourists (e.g., an interest in Maori culture and natural scenery). The options provided to the tourists will also be updated in real-time to promote the exploration of relevant local sites and encourage interaction with local people and businesses. Furthermore, the planner can help alleviate infrastructural stress, promote well regarded operators, create opportunities for new cultural experiences and provide tourists with an authentic and memorable New Zealand experience, all of which will generate positive publicity for tourism in New Zealand.
Undergraduate
Expected project outcomes include:
1. Design of the experience planner's framework and the underlying algorithms.
2. Software implementation and results of experimental evaluation.
3. A paper describing the framework, algorithms and experimental results.
Prerequisites:
1. Interest in (and/or passion for) tourism, and local culture in New Zealand.
2. Proficiency in object-oriented programming.
3. Proficiency in probability, statistics, calculus and linear algebra.
Some knowledge in artificial intelligence and/or machine learning will be useful but not essential.
Lab allocations have not been finalised