Some of those possibilities will be explored in Albufeira later this month, when the Portugal XR Meetup comes to the Algarve for its fifth edition.

The free event will take place at the Ananea Castelo Suites Hotel Algarve on 29 October, from 4.30pm to 7pm.

Immersive technologies

This year’s theme is “Immersive Technologies for Hospitality and Tourism”, bringing together people working in tourism, research and technology to look at how some of the latest digital tools could actually be used in hotels and tourism businesses.

The technologies under discussion include extended reality (XR), virtual reality (VR), artificial intelligence and digital twins.

While some of those terms may sound futuristic, the applications being considered are fairly practical.

Virtual and extended reality can be used to train hotel employees in simulated situations; for example, immersive technology can also create new experiences for visitors.

Digital twins, which create virtual representations of real places or systems, can help businesses understand and manage their operations without having to experiment with the physical property itself.

Business operations

The afternoon will include examples of how the technology can be used for staff training, visitor experiences and improving day-to-day business operations.

There will also be discussions around innovation, digital transformation and data protection, before the event concludes with a panel looking at what XR could mean for tourism in the future.

Speakers include Antónia Correia of KIPT CoLAB and Hélder Martins of the Algarve hotel association AHETA, alongside Luis Bravo Martins of GAIN Advisors, João Rodrigues of Cyango, Miguel Fernandes of Dengun Group, Ignacio Correia of Super Cognit and Luis Matoso of New Hotels. Sandra Pires will also take part.

The event is being organised in partnership by KIPT CoLAB and AHETA as part of the cross tech project.

With tourism at the heart of the Algarve economy, the idea is not simply to showcase new gadgets. Organisers want tourism businesses to see where the technology might be genuinely useful and to bring companies, researchers and technology providers together.

Attendance is free, although advance registration is required.

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