The Ministry of Tourism and the Ministry of Digital Governance have created “mAiGreece”, the digital artificial intelligence assistant that will bring Greece closer to its visitors.
The application was presented by the Minister of Tourism, Olga Kefalogianni and the Minister of Digital Governance, Dimitris Papastergiou, and has been available since June 10, 2024; the user-friendly application aim is to function as a personalized travel “companion” for all visitors to the country, providing them with all the information they need to enjoy their stay in Greece.
Travelers will be able to chat with “mAiGreece” by sending their question in natural language, written or spoken. Thanks to geolocation technology (GPS), “mAiGreece” provides information based on the area in which the visitor is located. Users will be able to create a profile in “mAiGreece”, in which they will indicate the categories they are interested in, for example, art, beaches and others, in order to receive information according to their preferences. It will also include visual aids, which will facilitate the understanding of information about the country’s landmarks and destinations.
Specifically, “mAiGreece” integrates information on sightseeing tours, museums, archaeological sites, blue flag beaches, hospitals and health centers, police stations, embassies and consulates of foreign countries, together with the content of visitgreece.gr. In addition, it features an emergency function via the 112 key, which will send a message (SMS) to the operations center of the Ministry of Climate Crisis and Civil Protection with the geographic location of the sender.
“mAiGreece” supports 31 languages, including all 24 official EU languages, as well as Albanian, Chinese, Japanese, Turkish, Hebrew, Arabic and Korean. This ensures that visitors can easily navigate and explore Greece’s rich tourism product in their own language.
Visitors to Greece will receive a text message (SMS) on their cell phone with a link to the app when they enter the country. “mAiGreece” can be downloaded for free on mobile devices, such as smartphones and tablets, through the App Store and Play Store. The connection to the app will be made with the visitor’s Google, Apple or Facebook account.
The project has been carried out thanks to funding from the Recovery and Resilience Fund, aimed at supporting the country’s digital transformation. It is a contract of the Ministry of Digital Governance for cloud services supervised by Information Society S.A. The project has been executed by the Hellenic Telecommunications Organization S.A. (OTE), Accenture and UBITECH, while the technology provider is Microsoft with Azure Open AI technology.
“mAiGreece” was designed using cutting-edge technologies based on artificial intelligence and cloud computing models and implemented in accordance with the Microsoft Responsible AI Standard, ensuring, among other things, transparency, equality and respect for user privacy and personal data protection (GDPR).
Minister of Tourism Olga Kefalogianni, starting the presentation of the new innovative application “mAiGreece” stated: “The integration of advanced technologies, such as artificial intelligence, in the tourism business allows us to offer more personalized and useful services to travelers. The launch of the “mAiGreece” app is an important milestone in our efforts towards the overall improvement of the travelers’ experience in Greece. An important step towards improving the qualitative characteristics of Greek tourism, with the ultimate goal of creating a competitive, up-to-date and sustainable tourism product. Digital technology is transforming all aspects of travel: from booking transportation and accommodation, to the use of a multitude of digital applications that run through all stages of the travel experience. Our goal is to leverage all the tools that technology provides to ensure that every visitor has the most seamless and complete experience possible during their trip to Greece. And to further reinforce the sense of security and hospitality, which is already one of the main comparative advantages of Greek tourism.”
The Minister of Digital Governance, Dimitris Papastergiou, presenting the possibilities of the application, pointed out: “A few months after having introduced Artificial Intelligence in the Greek public sector for the first time, we come with a second Digital Assistant, the twin brother of ‘mAigov’, to strengthen a sector of particular importance for the economic prosperity of our country, tourism. The use of AI and the use of technological tools that bring us even closer to Europe have been set as a priority by the Prime Minister himself, Kyriakos Mitsotakis. At the Ministry of Digital Governance we work daily in this direction with every new project we design and implement, in order to make the everyday life of citizens and businesses easier. This time, to help all those who choose Greece for their vacations, we have designed and launched “mAiGreece”, which offers a special personalized experience to travelers during their stay in our country. Greece is rich in cultural sites, attractions, beautiful places and with “mAiGreece” we will help visitors to discover them and choose among them according to their personal preferences.
TAGS: INNOVATION | TOURISM
