The Uffizi Galleries in Florence are one of the most-visited points of interest in the world. The extreme levels of tourism have a negative impact on visitors' experiences due to the long wait times, and therefore the galleries have developed a solution for smart ticket sales which significantly reduces overcrowding, both in queues for entry and inside the galleries. This initiative is largely based on the development of software featuring three algorithms to estimate the flow of visitors:

• A statistical algorithm, which uses analysis of historical data to predict visitor flows in the museum on the following day. Within the variables analysed by the algorithm are data such as weather forecasts, the time of day, whether it is high season or low season, average visit times, the number of groups visiting the museum, visitor profiles, temporary exhibitions and more.
• An optimisation algorithm, which makes calculations every 15 minutes to work out how to distribute entries without exceeding the museum's capacity.
• An adaptive algorithm, which reviews historic and real-time data over the course of the day to make adjustments based on the current situation. Visitors who go to the gallery to purchase a ticket from the ticket machine are assigned a visiting time during the day. This may be during a later point in the day, which, in addition to reducing queue lengths and wait times, promotes entry to other points of interest in the city and the sale of products and services in businesses in the area such as bars, restaurants and shops.

The smart ticket sales system was developed by IT experts from the University of L'Aquila, a public research university in the centre of Italy, which has been analysing visitor flows in the museum for two years.