Measuring the progress of smart destinations: The use of indicators as a management tool

This paper aims at developing and applying an indicators system for smart tourism destinations in order to better understand the current situation of a set of destinations which are developing smart tourism policies. The indicators were developed by adapting existing indicators in tourism destination management and smart cities literature, creating a new system based on a smart destination theoretical model that establishes three interrelated levels in which smart destinations are grounded: strategic-relational, instrumental and applied levels. Within these levels, nine different dimensions to be measured were identified. The indicators were constructed in collaboration with a public organisation (INVAT.TUR) devoted to providing technical assistance to smart destinations and were pre-tested, readjusted and then applied to a set of destinations of the Region of Valencia (Spain). Obtained findings reveal an uneven performance of destinations in the different dimensions of the three levels. A notable performance is observed in indicators for connectivity and online marketing, while more efforts need to be done in accessibility and sustainability initiatives. However, disparities are evident between different indicators and destinations. These results are discussed and framed within the relevant literature on smart destinations while providing information for destination managers and policy makers to adapt and replicate these indicators in their own territories. This paper is a first attempt to develop and apply indicators to measure smart destinations progress in literature and therefore constitutes an important precedent for future studies.Work supported by the Spanish National R&D&I Plan financed by the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness under grant CSO2017-82592-R (“Analysis of planning processes applied to smart cities and tourist destinations. Balance and proposal of a new methodology: Smart Tourism Planning”)

Smart tourism destinations: ecosystems for tourism destination competitiveness

Purpose – Grounded in service-dominant (S-D) logic, the purpose of this paper is to explore the core components of smartness to present a framework for the development of the smart tourism destination. Design/methodology/approach – The paper explores the core components of smartness through case study analysis of well-established smart cities. Findings – The paper conceptualises smartness and argues ICT, leadership, innovation and social capital supported by human capital are core components of smartness. Although ICT is a critical enabler for smart tourism destinations, it is insufficient on its own to introduce smartness. The combination of hard and soft smartness components within a S-D logic ecosystem structure holds the potential for sustained competitive advantage and enhancement of quality of life of both residents and tourists in smart tourism destinations. Originality/value – The paper extends the application of S-D logic to the context of smart tourism destinations, specifically to examine the smartness concept as a means for competitiveness in tourism destinations

Towards a conceptualisation of smart tourists and their role within the smart destination scenario

‘Smart tourism’ and ‘smart destinations’ have been gaining attention as new frameworks within which to understand the impact the latest information and communication technologies (ICTs) have on the relationship between businesses, destinations and tourists. However, there is a crucial element of the smart tourism ecosystem that has been rather neglected in research hitherto: the tourists themselves. By acknowledging a shift in tourists’ behaviour due to the advent of disruptive factors, this paper conceptualises the recently emerged notion of ‘the smart tourist’. This new type of tourist is profiled through a description of their attitudes and behaviours, and their role within the smart destination scenario is depicted. By taking a consumer-centric perspective and framing the conceptualisation within the relevant theories, this paper contributes to the current body of knowledge on tourism in a highly technological context and facilitates bridging smart tourism theoretical foundations with empirical research. The observed transformation in tourists’ behaviour and its encapsulation in the smart tourist conceptualisation reveal critical managerial implications for both destination management organisations and businesses in the rapidly changing smart tourism ecosystem.Research carried out within the project ‘Analysis of planning processes applied to smart cities and smart tourism destinations. Balance and methodological proposal for tourist spaces: Smart Tourism Planning’ (CSO2017-82592-R) under the Spanish National R&D&I Plan and Grant no. BES-2015-073909, funded by the Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness

Travel habits of erasmus students: how can smart destinations attract them

Erasmus students, also considered Millennials, are heavy users of technology and have been traveling more over the years. As consequence of this growth, as well as from the use of technology in different industries, tourism has evolved into Smart Tourism, and with it, Smart Destinations were born. This paper defines Smart Tourism, the Erasmus program, and Millennials. Afterwards, a discussion that sheds light on their travel habits is done, with the purpose of finding out how Smart Destinations can attract them more easily. This is followed by recommendations the National Tourism Agency should do to allow it to happen

Future trends for smart tourism sestinations: case of Antalya

Uluslararası Turizmde Yeni Jenerasyonlar ve Yeni Trendler Kongresi (1. : 2018 : Sapanca, Türkiye)Smart Tourism Destinations (STD) concept has taken serious attention as a result of the developments in Smart Cities. Technology connects all organizations, entities, activities, and elements. Tourism is a multidimensional service system covering different actors and organizations. When a tourism destination gets smarter, the tourists’ needs and demands are expected to be fulfilled more efficiently to create a better tourist experience. This paper aims at examining the content of Future Trends for Smart Tourism Destinations considering Antalya as a caseNo sponso

Guiding principles for good governance of the smart destination

Smart tourism development has received tremendous attention worldwide, but relevant literature remains largely focused on the technological aspects of achieving the greater economic growth and efficiency through innovation, mobility, inclusion and environmental sustainability the smart paradigm promises. While well-being and experience enhancement are considered at the individual level of tourists and (sometimes) residents, guiding principles for achieving responsible smart tourism at the destination level are lacking. Addressing these concerns, this paper begins to explore justice and ethics principles that offer the potential to help facilitate good governance of sustainable smart destinations. By merging smart tourism goals with justice and ethics considerations the paper presents preliminary guidelines for theory building, public policy and development practice in the context of smart destinations governance, and future research in this area. Keywords: smart tourism; sustainable development; governance, ethics, justice, responsible touris

SMART TOURISM DESTINATIONS - A case study of Seoul, South Korea

The phenomenon of smart destinations is a recent concept in tourism that is still in the construction process. Smart destinations can be understood as places that have created an infrastructure where tourism offers value through personalized experiences using technology. The concept of smart destinations comes from that of smart cities, but it has its own characteristics and individualities. This study presents the characteristics of a smart destination - the city of Seoul, South Korea - as an example of a consolidated model. The research methodology used is exploratory, with a qualitative approach and a case study. The results have shown that Seoul fits the model of a smart destination because it presents key factors, such as: smart support infrastructure (smart systems, ICTs available for everyone to use), integrated governance, sustainability, innovative tourist attractions, and public policies that highlight and integrate technology for the use of both residents and tourists.

Systems approach to model smart tourism ecosystems

The tourism industry is inherently complex and a key player in sustainable development. This paper intends to discuss the path towards building a sustainable smart tourism ecosystem model by delving deep into the pivotal topics with interesting speculations on smart cities' perspectives that lay a broader foundation of smart tourism destinations. First, it discusses the interconnections and foundation of smart tourism ecosystems by proposing a general conceptual model describing traditional tourism transformation through ICTs. Second, by explicating each building block of smart tourism ecosystems and using systems methodology (systems thinking method and qualitative modeling in a frame of system dynamics) to break down the complex system of smart tourism's roles and components. Such methods are widely utilized in different fields of study to facilitate the decisionmaking process by furnishing a holistic view of the problem. For that matter, Causal Loop Diagramming (CLDs) was used as one of the powerful tools of systems thinking to depict smart tourism ecosystems. The proposed causal loop diagram considers sustainability as one of the main concerns and trying to shed some light on intricate networks of businesses, socioeconomic, and environmental subsystems in smart tourism destinations that are performing distinctively yet interdependent. This study is an ongoing process employing System Dynamics (SD) methodology for model testing and validation.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Sustainable forms of smart tourism

The improvement of technology makes smart devices and their applications in travel and tourism industry ever more popular and complex. Tourism require a variety of services and products. This diversity results in a multitude of smart applications and smart tourist systems designed to enhance visitor's experience and satisfaction while traveling. This article presents and briefly discusses the concept of smart tourism in the scientific literature and the way it can be applied for sustainable destinations. Some important difficulties and challenges of smart tourism are discussed