Today, 3 June, the Minister for Tourism, Ms. Olga Kefalogianni, and the Minister for Digital Governance, Mr. Dimitris Papastergiou, presented to the accredited journalists of the Ministries the new digital application for Greek tourists “mAiGreece” at the “Onassis Foundation” auditorium of the National Gallery. “MAiGreece” is a Digital Assistant which, by use of Artificial Intelligence, will serve as a personalized travel “companion” for all visitors to the country. It aims to provide them with all the information they need to enjoy their stay in Greece.
This is an easy-to-use application, which will start to be used for productive purposes on 10 June 2024. Travelers will be able to chat with “mAiGreece” by submitting their question in natural language, by means of textual or voice service. “mAiGreece” will provide information depending on the area where visitors are located using geo-tracking technology (GPS). Users will be able to create a profile in “mAiGreece”, in which they will indicate the categories they are interested in, for example arts, beaches and others, in order to receive information according to their preferences. It will also include visual aids, which will help understand information about the country’s iconic attractions and destinations.
More specifically, “mAiGreece” incorporates information on attractions, museums, archaeological sites, blue flag beaches, hospitals and health centres, police stations, embassies and consulates of foreign countries, as well as the content of visitgreece.gr. In addition, it will have an emergency function via a 112 key, which will send a message (SMS) to the operations centre of the Ministry of Climate Change and Civil Protection containing the geographical location of the sender.
MAiGreece supports 31 languages, including the 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’ rich tourist product in their own language.
Please note that mobile phone network providers have been asked to send to visitors, when they enter the country, a message (SMS) on their mobile phones containing a link to the application. “MAiGreece” will be available for free for mobile devices such as mobile phones and tablets via the App Store and Play Store. Visitors can connect to the application through their Google, Apple or Facebook accounts.
Please note that the competent bodies, in order to implement the project, have utilized resources funded from the Recovery and Resilience Fund, which are intended to enhance the digital transformation of the country. They relate to an agreement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for cloud services, monitored by “Information Society” (IS SMSA).
The project was implemented by OTE, Accenture and UBITECH, while the technology provider is Microsoft using Azure Open AI technology.
“MAiGreece” was designed using state-of-the-art technologies based on artificial intelligence and cloud computing models and was implemented in accordance with the Microsoft Responsible AI Standard, ensuring, inter alia, transparency, equality and respect for the privacy of users and protection of personal data (GDPR).
When starting the presentation of the new innovative application“mAiGreece”, the Minister for Tourism, Olga Kefalogianni, stated: “The integration of advanced technologies, such as artificial intelligence, into the tourism business enables us to provide more personalized and useful services to travellers. The launch of the “mAiGreece” application is an important milestone in our effort to enhance the overall travel experience in Greece. It is an important step towards strengthening the quality characteristics of Greek tourism, with the ultimate goal of creating a competitive, modern and sustainable tourism product enhancing travel experience in Greece. Digital technology transforms every aspect of the trip: From booking and accommodation, to the use of various digital applications at every stage of the travel experience. So our goal is to utilize all tools provided to us by technology, to ensure that every visitor will enjoy, to the greatest possible extent, an uninterrupted and complete experience during his trip to Greece. In addition, we seek to further strengthen the sense of security and hospitality, which is already one of the main comparative advantages of Greek tourism. The development of this application is part of a broader strategy of the Government on digital transformation, especially in the field of tourism”.
When presenting the functionalities of the application, the Minister for Digital Governance, Dimitris Papastergiou, stressed: “A few months after we first introduced Artificial Intelligence (AI) to the Greek State, we are presenting a second Digital Assistant, the twin sister of “mAigov”, to strengthen tourism which is, undoubtedly, a particularly important sector for the economic prosperity of our country. The utilization of AI and the use of technological tools, that bring us even closer to the achievement of European standards, have been set as a priority by the Prime Minister himself, Kyriakos Mitsotakis. By constantly planning and implementing new project, we, at the Ministry of Digital Governance, work every day in this direction in order to make the daily life of citizens and businesses friendlier. This time, aiming to help all those who choose Greece for their holidays, we designed and implemented “mAiGreece”, offering a unique personalized experience to travellers during their stay in our country. Greece is rich in cultural sites, attractions and beautiful places; so, “mAiGreece” will help visitors to discover and choose among them based on their personal preferences. At the same time, we provide visitors with useful information about daily life in Greece, such as health services. From 10 June, all visitors, including Greek travellers, will have, completely free of charge, access to a detailed personal digital travel guide, for more Greece, more emotions and more Greek experiences. Once again, we prove that the new digital Greece can be bright and perceived as a producer of innovation and not only as a consumer of technological applications”.
