STB, OpenAI ink MOU to drive advanced AI adoption across tourism sector

[SINGAPORE] The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) has inked a memorandum of understanding with ChatGPT-maker OpenAI to drive the adoption of advanced artificial intelligence (AI) across the city-state’s tourism sector.

Going beyond traditional AI systems, advanced AI can perform complex cognitive tasks and generate human-like responses – by using machine learning generative capabilities to do things like understand natural language, analyse data at scale and create personalised, context-dependent solutions.

The collaboration will prepare STB and Singapore’s tourism sector for an AI-driven future, and lay the groundwork for the sector to benefit from the latest AI advancements, the board said on Wednesday (Jul 23).

This aligns with STB’s Tourism 2040 road map – which prioritises developing a future-ready tourism sector – as it will prepare the sector for evolving technological advancements and transformative changes in the travel industry.

STB chief technology officer Jordan Tan said: “We see tremendous potential in this collaboration with OpenAI to drive innovation and agility in the tourism sector. By leveraging OpenAI’s capabilities, we envision AI as a key enabler in addressing productivity challenges and accelerating digital transformation across the sector.”

Speaking on the partnership, OpenAI’s managing director of international strategy, Oliver Jay, said the company would support STB in integrating its technology across multiple applications.

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Improving visitor experience

Under the tie-up, STB will adopt OpenAI’s technology, and explore potential use cases where advanced tools and robotics can be incorporated into tourism.

STB will evaluate the impact of such use cases, explore their scalability and potentially launch trials with relevant sector partners.

The statutory board will use OpenAI’s capabilities to enhance visitor experiences through greater personalisation and engagement, as well as improve organisational and industry productivity.

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This could involve working with tourism businesses, such as hotels and attractions, to provide tailored recommendations and multilingual assistance, STB said. It may also include delivering immersive storytelling initiatives that create memorable experiences.

“These initiatives will ultimately encourage repeat visits and (serve as) advocacy for Singapore,” STB said.

The use of advanced AI will help deepen insights, refine destination marketing and product strategies, and support industry stakeholders in creating responsive services, the board added.

OpenAI was founded in 2015 by a group including its chief executive officer Sam Altman and Elon Musk, the world’s richest person. Musk left the company in 2018.