The 4th Operations Day of the European Waterpark Association focused entirely on digitalisation and artificial intelligence in the waterpark industry. Fifty guests from Luxembourg, Austria, Switzerland and Germany gathered in Strassen (Luxembourg) on 8 October at the invitation of our President Jutta Kleiber. After a get-together at Les Thermes, participants enjoyed a comprehensive programme of practical presentations by top speakers. At the end of Operations Day, one thing was clear: the use of artificial intelligence is already a real game changer in the waterpark and leisure industry, and development has only just begun.
The spectrum of applications already developed ranges from the digital customer journey and AI-based guest communication with bots and avatars, to support in the onboarding process for new employees and the implementation of dynamic pricing concepts to control guest flows, following the example of hotels and airlines, to the combination of water attractions with their extension into virtual worlds of experience. It is now technically possible to supplement the real pool landscape with an artificially generated underwater world in a 360-degree projection. Swimming with dolphins and diving with whale sharks can thus be simulated in an incredibly realistic atmosphere. AI-supported systems also provide valuable assistance with supervision at the poolside.
The conclusion after an enormously informative day of presentations and networking: new AI tools are already influencing swimming pool operations in an enormously complex and diverse way and, when used correctly, they relieve the burden on employees and enrich the experience for guests visiting a leisure pool or thermal spa.
A big thank you to all the speakers and to the teams at Les Thermes and the Centre Culturel Paul Barblé for their wonderful hospitality, and to Nico Pundel, President of CNI Les Thermes Strassen-Bertrange and Mayor of the municipality of Strassen, who took the opportunity to welcome the international visitors to his municipality.
