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For X. Festival's last session we were joined by Tiago Relvão, from GTS Altitude, to explore how destinations can make use of data to be much more competitively positioned.

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Tiago started by explaining more about his background. He said that before working at GTS Altitude, he spent most of his career working for Amadeus in the areas of travel intelligence and advertising for travel destinations.

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He then explained that GTS Altitude is a travel intelligence provider and they work as an agency. They work with the best providers in terms of flight data, but also bring a hybrid approach to travel intelligence by combining sources of big data with traditional market research methodologies.

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He highlighted that they have been working with Tourism Australia, for whom they designed national visitor surveys and source market monitors, which are surveys that allow the destination to understand who their visitors are, what they do and where they go. All of this data allows them to appropriately target their messages through digital advertising.

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Tiago explained that GTS Altitude has a comprehensive model, by which they combine traditional market research with big data, as they believe that merely extracting data from sources isn't enough. He emphasised that data and market research are key for a destination's correct branding and messaging, and thus, success.

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In the day to day strategies of DMOs, how does data play a role?

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Tiago explained that data should be part of the discussion and the decision-making process but not the priority. He mentioned that travelling intelligence can be considerably expensive, and expressed his belief of travel intelligence having to be integrated with the strategy and objectives of the destination. Once the destination has a clear overview of everything mentioned, he explained that the objective should focus on establishing the KPIs that the destination wants to measure so that data can fill intelligence gaps that may exist.

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Tiago also highlighted the importance of having an intelligence framework. He explained that destinations should depart from a foundational strategy, which is key, and then define the execution methodology and strategy that they want to follow. Once this has been established, Tiago said that hypothesis can be created and then data can be brought into the picture to contrast them.

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What are destinations looking for in data?

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Tiago mentioned that destinations should use travel intelligence to create action plans and policies based on data that back these up. He also highlighted that having access to accurate data can help destinations have confident insights.

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How important is it to prioritise precision, accuracy and the selection of the right partners and data?

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Tiago started by explaining that destinations should start by considering the coverage and representativeness. The destination will then be able to establish the accuracy needed depending on the level of sophistication of the DMO, as the accuracy must be established during the data-gathering stage. Nonetheless, the biggest question destinations should ask themselves according to Tiago regards the representativeness of the data sources that they are buying.

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He expressed that, if for example a destination relies on Google Travel Insights, they must be aware of its limitations, are they won't be able to gather insights from regions where Google isn't present, such as China. Tiago explained that this could result in knowledge gaps if the appropriate data providers aren't chosen based on the representativeness for your specific market. He also mentioned that privacy regulations regarding data are also making it harder for organisations to target many groups, which is something they must be aware of to be successful, just as they need to be conscious of the value that the data they have bring, but also be aware of its gaps.

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Where is the opportunity for the industry to get a much better grasp of data?

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Tiago explained that there are many ways of looking at data, for example with dashboards, and stressed that the importance lies in interpreting and extracting conclusions from it. He highlighted that the best way in which DMOs can make use of data is by using it to support decision-making.

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What advice would you give to destinations working with limited resources and with less budget for data?

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Tiago recommended that they should collaborate, negotiate and build a foundation with other cities. He also expressed that smaller destinations should look at regional practices and position themselves in the macro picture. He closed his intervention with a final recommendation to change their priorities and investments if something is not working to see if travel intelligence can help them solve it.