Technologies to support cultural tourism for Latin Latium

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to show the validity of the advanced technologies of computer science and propose the outline of a technological infrastructure to promote, develop, and exploit cultural tourism, taking the territory of Latin Latium as a local system.

Design/methodology/approach

Semantic web technologies offering intelligent integration of information about the region and heritage of Latin Latium are used. The information includes all kinds of cultural heritage, from bibliographic items to industrial assets, or prehistoric excavations in this region. A cultural heritage ontology has to be designed, constructed, fed, and exploited in order to achieve this aim. A methodology for the ontology population and exploitation for other regions of Italy or even outside Italy is proposed. The network of skills and knowledge thus created, provides features of interest for other types of users, such as experts, scholars, and students, in addition to acting on the cultural tourism market.

Findings

Currently in the prototype phase, the information technology infrastructure is an added value for cultural tourism information, since it has an ontology on resources pertaining to cultural assets. This makes it possible to develop applications with specific functions for the tourist, such as the construction of “cultural paths” and the production of cultural information in addition to the global positioning system path points. The application integrated within a web site (www.laziolatino.it/) will also be used with mobile devices as 3G cell phones and handsets.

Research limitations/implications

This is a research in progress and the intention is to validate this idea in the near future through rigorous research initiatives.

Originality/value

The proposed outline of the infrastructure is a first step towards developing platforms and products whose spread will make it possible to turn to account and promote those territorial areas that, although at the margins of tourism circuits, have a strong cultural identity.

Citation

Bordoni, L. (2011), "Technologies to support cultural tourism for Latin Latium", Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Technology, Vol. 2 No. 2, pp. 96-104. https://doi.org/10.1108/17579881111154218