Leveraging AI to Reactivate 1‑800‑HELLO‑BC for 24/7 Visitor Support
I am writing to propose reactivating BC’s former tourism hotline, 1-800-HELLO-BC, and upgrading it with artificial-intelligence capabilities to provide round-the-clock service to visitors.
The article linked below, “Singapore Tourism Board and OpenAI sign MOU to prepare tourism sector for AI-driven future”, highlights how another leading destination is partnering with OpenAI to enhance visitor engagement. The same approach could help Destination BC keep our province at the forefront of sales, marketing, and product development.
Recommendation
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Re-establish 1-800-HELLO-BC as an AI-enabled voice and text directory that:
Offers automated, multilingual answers to common trip-planning questions.
Connects callers to Destination BC certified Visitor Information Centres (VIC).
Provides a seamless hand-off to a live travel counsellor at one of the VICs when more detailed assistance is required.
This initiative would:
Improve visitor satisfaction by giving travellers quick, accurate answers at any hour, while adding a texting option.
Free up frontline staff for higher-value interactions.
Showcase British Columbia as an innovative, tech-forward destination.
Thank you for considering this proposal. I look forward to your thoughts.