New technological solutions are necessary in every area of life. Also in tourism. This is why Krakow, a city visited by a few or even by a few dozen million tourists, is one of the best places to implement them. The mission of Krakow5020 is to create the image of the city as the best place for tourists. To facilitate communication in the capital city of Małopolska for them, we are starting to test an electronic translator in cooperation with Vasco. Devices will be used to serve foreigners visiting the outlets of the InfoKrakow Municipal Tourist Information Network, during events taking place in the ICE Krakow Congress Centre and in selected hotels.
670 thousand tourists from abroad visited the city in 2021. Most of them came from Great Britain (15.9%), Germany (14.7%), France (13.5%) and the Netherlands (10.9%). ‘Our role is to take care of every tourist regardless of whether they come for a day for business reasons or for a longer stay to see historical monuments and take advantage of attractions on offer. We are committed to facilitating communication that builds mutual trust and encourages repeat visits. About 15% of our city’s population live from tourism and tourism-related services, but all the inhabitants of Krakow benefit from tourism’, Izabela Błaszczyk, President of Krakow5020, says.
Direct communication with foreign tourists can be made easier thanks to the innovations emerging in the city. Krakow5020 has just established the cooperation with Vasco Electronics, a producer of electronic translators. ‘We care about partnerships that can benefit the city. Electronic translators are a technological trend we want to support from the very beginning. In the case of this cooperation, we are not only committed to the promotion of an innovative solution but also use our infrastructure for a pilot program involving product testing’, Paula Fanderowska, Vice-President for Marketing in Krakow5020 and ICE Krakow, explains.
Translators will be used by employees of the ICE Krakow Congress Centre during the execution of international events, by employees of InfoKrakow outlets serving tourist queries and in Krakow hotels associated with the Krakow Network initiative.
‘The main goal of the established cooperation is to test devices in various situations and places. I am happy that we can support the development of Krakow, the city where our company has been established and has its main office. Tourism is one of the pillars of the city’s development and we believe that electronic smart translators will help significantly’, Maciej Góralski, the President of Vasco Electronics, adds. Vasco Translator V4 is a smart translator, an electronic device that translates and understands 108 languages. The translator has free and unlimited access to the Internet.
One of the arguments in favour of testing this kind of innovation in the city is the digitisation of visitor relationship management. This is one of the objectives recommended in the Krakow sustainable tourism policy for 2021-2028.
