Val.Smart
Travelling smart in the Valdichiana Senese with the support of artificial intelligence
The first project by the Strada with a specific focus on the potential of artificial intelligence for tourism is called Valdichiana Smart Trip: Unveiling Cultural Gems with AI — acronym: Val.Smart. The idea was developed within the framework of the CHANGES Project, a cascade funding call financed by the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR).
Val.Smart aims to enhance and promote the cultural offer of the Valdichiana Senese in an innovative way, encouraging sustainable tourist enjoyment of the local heritage.
From an operational point of view, the core of the initiative is the development of an artificial intelligence — AI — based solution capable of offering personalised visitor experiences, adapting to the needs and motivations of individual travellers, couples and families. The intelligent chatbot is now available on the Valdichiana Senese destination portal, valdichianaliving.it, managed by the Strada. By browsing the “Tours and Trips” section of the website, users can interact with Valdichiana Living’s “Travel Stylist”, the chatbot that collects key information from potential guests. The data collected are then assessed by the operators of the incoming travel agency Valdichiana Living, who send out a hyper-personalised travel proposal, in accordance with the “human in the loop” principle.
The ultimate aim of the project is to renew the tourist and cultural offer of the Valdichiana Senese and enhance it through an integrated, easily accessible and tailor-made tool containing the relevant information for a culture-oriented trip to the Valdichiana Senese.
Using a bottom-up approach, local tourism and cultural supply-chain operators were actively involved in designing a new sustainable tourism offer. The new tourism and cultural products created within the framework of the project are available and ready to be booked through the official destination website.
