Portugal's Algarve Explores XR and Digital Twins for High-Tech Tourism

Officials and hoteliers in Portugal's Algarve region are examining how extended reality (XR), virtual reality, artificial intelligence and digital twins could change the way hotels train staff, run properties and entertain guests.

The applications under discussion are practical rather than speculative. Virtual and extended reality can be used to train hotel employees in simulated situations, while immersive technology can also create new experiences for visitors. Digital twins — virtual replicas of physical spaces or systems — can model how a property operates.

The possibilities will be explored later this month when the Portugal XR Meetup comes to the Algarve for its fifth edition. Organizers plan discussions on innovation, digital transformation and data protection, closing with a panel on what XR could mean for tourism in the future.

Tourism-heavy regions have become test beds for immersive technology, which offers a way to add value without building new physical infrastructure. Data protection remains a live concern: immersive systems that capture guest behaviour generate sensitive data, and EU rules set strict limits on its use.