Op-Ed: George Karamanolis on Smart Cities

Creating “Smart Cities” is not just about introducing yet another platform. The concept of Smart Cities lies far from the “innovation for innovation’s sake” mentality. The core idea of the concept – both practical and socially conscious – is about combining innovation and technology in order to make livable, accessible cities and create a multi–media, immersive traveling experience for visitors and tourists.

We have a clear vision for Smart Cities and tourism in the era of big data and NFTs and we must ensure that there always be an ecosystem in which small local businesses and hospitality providers can flourish.

Technologies like blockchain and open data will truly radicalize the way we think of tourism in the near future. Just imagine an island – or any place of tourist interest in the mainland – using a blockchain network, which connects siteseeing venues, museums, restaurants, local produce providers, bars, etc. This could create vacation packages that provide a great number of experiences while ensuring that all options come from an authentic place and benefit the locals.

Moving forward, we have to keep our eyes open to even more of the possibilities that the tech world has to offer. With the development of the metaverse and NFTs shaking up the art world in recent years, we can only imagine what the future holds for digital tourism. Most museums already have a virtual tour option, and a lot of them are starting to invest in NFT giftshops, with the field of AI being one that’s expanding rapidly and offers limitless opportunities. We, as a company, pledge to always stand by local communities, reinforcing technologies that put people first.

Our company has supported over than 75 municipalities all over Greece follow greener, more inclusive practices, get in touch with cutting – edge civitech apps, in addition to building a better and faster communication environment with civilians. While it might be true that deploying all these changes was an easier task within the urban space, it has been truly the challenge of doing so in the rural areas of Greece – and especially the islands – that made us realize the project’s full potential.

Crowdpolicy & FintelioX Co-Founder & CTO/CIO, Hellenic Blockchain HuB Chairman
George Karamanolis

Read first: ‘Tourism is the “locomotive” of the Greek economy’ – Vassilis Kikilias | Thought leaders home