Reflexiones sobre la percepción de los destinos turísticos inteligentes españoles por parte de los actores turísticos

El objetivo de este trabajo es debatir el concepto de TI a partir de la percepción que diferentes agentes del sector turístico tienen de él y ver hasta qué punto hay acuerdo o desacuerdo en la definición del propio concepto, su influencia sobre la mejora competitiva de los destinos y las tendencias de futuro. En definitiva, se trata de analizar el potencial, pero también de entender los riesgos y los retos principales que la incorporación del TI puede producir sobre los destinos actuales. El procedimiento de trabajo pasa por preguntar a diferentes expertos del sector turístico y del mundo académico en torno a diferentes ámbitos temáticos sobre el TI y las DTI: la definición del concepto y la previsión de su evolución en un futuro inmediato, las características y componentes de un sistema de DTI, el papel de los componentes tecnológicos en una DTI, la vinculación del TI con la sostenibilidad, los límites y riesgos al despliegue del TI y los determinantes y condicionamientos que tienen los destinos para el desarrollo de estrategias de TI. La información recogida se ha obtenido a partir de la opinión de una treintena de expertos, con el fin de recoger diferentes puntos de vista a través del método Delphi: los especialistas académicos (pertenecientes a universidades nacionales e internacionales), los afectados ( a partir del caso de estudio de los municipios turísticos de la provincia de Barcelona) y los facilitadores (empresas y organismos implicados en el uso de las tecnologías para fomentar el TI).The aim of this paper is to debate the IT concept from the perception different agents of the tourism sector have about it and to see to what extent there is agreement or disagreement in the definition of the concept itself, its influence on the competitive improvement of destinations and future trends. In short, it intends to analyze the potential, but also to understand the risks and main challenges that the incorporation of IT can cause over current destinations. The work procedure involves asking experts in the tourism sector and in the academic world about the different thematic areas on IT and ITD: the definition of the concept and the welfare of its evolution in the immediate future, the characteristics and components of an ITD system, the role of the technological components in an ITD, the linking of IT with sustainability, the limits and risks of IT display, and the determinants and conditionings that destinations have for the development of IT strategies. The collected information has been obtained from the opinion of around thirty experts, with the purpose of gathering different points of view through the Delphi method: the academic specialists (belonging to national and international universities), those affected (from the case of study of the tourist municipalities of the province of Barcelona) and the facilitators (companies and organizations involved in the use of technologies to promote IT)

Reflexiones sobre la percepción de los Destinos Turísticos Inteligentes españoles por parte de los actores turísticos

The aim of this paper is to debate the IT concept from the perception different agents of the tourism sector have about it and to see to what extent there is agreement or disagreement in the definition of the concept itself, its influence on the competitive improvement of destinations and future trends. In short, it intends to analyze the potential, but also to understand the risks and main challenges that the incorporation of IT can cause over current destinations. The work procedure involves asking experts in the tourism sector and in the academic world about the different thematic areas on IT and ITD: the definition of the concept and the welfare of its evolution in the immediate future, the characteristics and components of an ITD system, the role of the technological components in an ITD, the linking of IT with sustainability, the limits and risks of IT display, and the determinants and conditionings that destinations have for the development of IT strategies. The collected information has been obtained from the opinion of around thirty experts, with the purpose of gathering different points of view through the Delphi method: the academic specialists (belonging to national and international universities), those affected (from the case of study of the tourist municipalities of the province of Barcelona) and the facilitators (companies and organizations involved in the use of technologies to promote IT)

Reflexiones sobre la percepción de los Destinos Turísticos Inteligentes españoles por parte de los actores turísticos

The aim of this paper is to debate the IT concept from the perception different agents of the tourism sector have about it and to see to what extent there is agreement or disagreement in the definition of the concept itself, its influence on the competitive improvement of destinations and future trends. In short, it intends to analyze the potential, but also to understand the risks and main challenges that the incorporation of IT can cause over current destinations. The work procedure involves asking experts in the tourism sector and in the academic world about the different thematic areas on IT and ITD: the definition of the concept and the welfare of its evolution in the immediate future, the characteristics and components of an ITD system, the role of the technological components in an ITD, the linking of IT with sustainability, the limits and risks of IT display, and the determinants and conditionings that destinations have for the development of IT strategies. The collected information has been obtained from the opinion of around thirty experts, with the purpose of gathering different points of view through the Delphi method: the academic specialists (belonging to national and international universities), those affected (from the case of study of the tourist municipalities of the province of Barcelona) and the facilitators (companies and organizations involved in the use of technologies to promote IT).El objetivo de este trabajo es debatir el concepto de TI a partir de la percepción que diferentes agentes del sector turístico tienen de él y ver hasta qué punto hay acuerdo o desacuerdo en la definición del propio concepto, su influencia sobre la mejora competitiva de los destinos y las tendencias de futuro. En definitiva, se trata de analizar el potencial, pero también de entender los riesgos y los retos principales que la incorporación del TI puede producir sobre los destinos actuales. El procedimiento de trabajo pasa por preguntar a diferentes expertos del sector turístico y del mundo académico en torno a diferentes ámbitos temáticos sobre el TI y las DTI: la definición del concepto y la previsión de su evolución en un futuro inmediato, las características y componentes de un sistema de DTI, el papel de los componentes tecnológicos en una DTI, la vinculación del TI con la sostenibilidad, los límites y riesgos al despliegue del TI y los determinantes y condicionamientos que tienen los destinos para el desarrollo de estrategias de TI. La información recogida se lha obtenido a partir de la opinión de una treintena de expertos, con el fin de recoger diferentes puntos de vista a través del método Delphi: los especialistas académicos (pertenecientes a universidades nacionales e internacionales), los afectados ( a partir del caso de estudio de los municipios turísticos de la provincia de Barcelona) y los facilitadores (empresas y organismos implicados en el uso de las tecnologías para fomentar el TI)

Intermediació turística, febrer 2019

Recurs d'aprenentatge de la Universitat Oberta de Catalunya. Material publicat amb llicència Creative Commons passats 6 semestres des de la data de publicació.Recurso de aprendizaje de la Universitat Oberta de Catalunya. Material publicado con licencia Creative Commons pasados 6 semestres desde la fecha de publicación.Learning resource of the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya. Material published under a Creative Commons license after 6 semesters from the date of publication

Smart Tourism Sustainability Narratives in Mature Beach Destinations. Contrasting the Collective Imaginary with Reality

This article contributes to the analysis of the relationship between urban renewal processes and sustainable development in mature beach destinations and the adoption of smart tourism. It takes as its case study Spanish destinations taking part in publicly-funded projects and plans designed to convert them into so-called “smart destinations” (SD). Its chief goals are to identify, through the Delphi technique, the smart tourism narrative behind the drive for creating SD, as well as to see how good a fit this is with the strategic positionings of mature destinations seeking to halt their decline or take on a new lease of life by introducing sustainability measures. Based on a review of the existing literature, we perform a critical analysis of this narrative to expose the contradictions arising when it is applied as a tool for urban renewal based on the implementation of sustainability strategies. The results aid with progress in two directions. Firstly, the article contributes new conceptual elements on the role of SD in the urban transformation of tourist destinations as a response to the challenges of global competitiveness. The second contribution, which is applied in nature and based on the study of a variety of Spanish tourist destinations, analyzes the impact the application of smart tourism-based technological solutions may have upon sustainability. Specifically, it examines the actions of different mass tourism beach destinations and discusses their actual ability to foster renewal in the field of tourism and offer solutions for overcoming urban sustainability problems. Lastly, it offers some recommendations for mature beach destination managers interested in implementing smart tourism projects based on sustainability criteria

Smart tourism sustainability narratives in mature beach destinations. Contrasting the collective imaginary with reality

This article contributes to the analysis of the relationship between urban renewal processes and sustainable development in mature beach destinations and the adoption of smart tourism. It takes as its case study Spanish destinations taking part in publicly-funded projects and plans designed to convert them into so-called ¿smart destinations¿ (SD). Its chief goals are to identify, through the Delphi technique, the smart tourism narrative behind the drive for creating SD, as well as to see how good a fit this is with the strategic positionings of mature destinations seeking to halt their decline or take on a new lease of life by introducing sustainability measures. Based on a review of the existing literature, we perform a critical analysis of this narrative to expose the contradictions arising when it is applied as a tool for urban renewal based on the implementation of sustainability strategies. The results aid with progress in two directions. Firstly, the article contributes new conceptual elements on the role of SD in the urban transformation of tourist destinations as a response to the challenges of global competitiveness. The second contribution, which is applied in nature and based on the study of a variety of Spanish tourist destinations, analyzes the impact the application of smart tourism-based technological solutions may have upon sustainability. Specifically, it examines the actions of different mass tourism beach destinations and discusses their actual ability to foster renewal in the field of tourism and offer solutions for overcoming urban sustainability problems. Lastly, it offers some recommendations for mature beach destination managers interested in implementing smart tourism projects based on sustainability criteria

The value of sustainability as a factor of differentiation in tourism intermediation processes: an analysis of the catalan smes

Research on sustainability in the tourism sector has been focused in recent years on large accommodation companies. Although diverse studies analyse the impact of sustainability in large tour-operators, this topic has not been sufficiently analysed in the case of small and medium-sized agencies, which are an important part of this sector's structure. Through a sample of nearly 120 companies, this study demonstrates the importance of economic motivations but also personal and legitimizing drivers to conform three different intermediaries' profiles whose sustainable behaviour differs.La investigación sobre la sostenibilidad en el sector turístico se ha centrado en los últimos años en las grandes empresas de alojamiento. Aunque existen trabajos que analizan el impacto de la implementación de la sostenibilidad en los touroperadores, no se ha analizado suficientemente a las pequeñas y medianas agencias de viaje, que constituyen una parte importante de la estructura del sector. A través de una muestra cercana a las 120 empresas, el estudio demuestra la importancia de las motivaciones económicas pero también de los factores personales y la legitimización como motivos para configurar diferentes perfiles de agencias cuyo comportamiento sostenible difiere

The value of sustainability as a factor of differentiation in tourism intermediation processes: an analysis of the catalan smes

Research on sustainability in the tourism sector has been focused in recent years on large accommodation companies. Although diverse studies analyse the impact of sustainability in large tour-operators, this topic has not been sufficiently analysed in the case of small and medium-sized agencies, which are an important part of this sector's structure. Through a sample of nearly 120 companies, this study demonstrates the importance of economic motivations but also personal and legitimizing drivers to conform three different intermediaries' profiles whose sustainable behaviour differs.La investigación sobre la sostenibilidad en el sector turístico se ha centrado en los últimos años en las grandes empresas de alojamiento. Aunque existen trabajos que analizan el impacto de la implementación de la sostenibilidad en los touroperadores, no se ha analizado suficientemente a las pequeñas y medianas agencias de viaje, que constituyen una parte importante de la estructura del sector. A través de una muestra cercana a las 120 empresas, el estudio demuestra la importancia de las motivaciones económicas pero también de los factores personales y la legitimización como motivos para configurar diferentes perfiles de agencias cuyo comportamiento sostenible difiere

Tourists' risk perception and the use of mobile devices in beach tourism destinations

The perceived risk of tourists' use of smartphones is a key issue in shaping the tourist experience in terms of sustainability, as it can affect the behaviour of tourists and influence their satisfaction with that experience. However, little empirical research exists on the relationship between tourists' risk perception and the perceived value of mobile device usage. This paper measures the association between tourists' perceived risk of mobile device usage and several variables that demonstrate the perceived usefulness of mobile devices: utility, hedonic value and future intention of use. A survey on tourists' use of smartphones was conducted in 2016 and, by means of a cluster analysis, four groups of tourists were identified with significant differences in their perception of the risk and use value of smartphones. Differences between tourists suggest that a single digital tourist profile does not exist and that tourism destinations and smart tourism DMOs (destination marketing organisations) should include risk perception in their management agenda. This will allow them to achieve a better understanding of tourist behaviour and to adapt the commercialisation of tourism products and services to a wide range of tourism needs. In addition, four regression models were applied to measure the association between the risk and perceived usefulness of mobile devices. On the one hand, dependence on mobile devices was associated positively with the perceived usefulness of mobile devices. On the other hand, the tourists surveyed saw privacy risk as having a major negative impact on the tourist experience, although it did not affect their perceived utility value and future use of mobile devices. Smart tourism destination managers should bear in mind that privacy risk issues related to the use of mobile devices must be integrated into an ethical perspective when marketing a destination

Tourists’ Risk Perception and the Use of Mobile Devices in Beach Tourism Destinations

The perceived risk of tourists’ use of smartphones is a key issue in shaping the tourist experience in terms of sustainability, as it can affect the behaviour of tourists and influence their satisfaction with that experience. However, little empirical research exists on the relationship between tourists’ risk perception and the perceived value of mobile device usage. This paper measures the association between tourists’ perceived risk of mobile device usage and several variables that demonstrate the perceived usefulness of mobile devices: utility, hedonic value and future intention of use. A survey on tourists’ use of smartphones was conducted in 2016 and, by means of a cluster analysis, four groups of tourists were identified with significant differences in their perception of the risk and use value of smartphones. Differences between tourists suggest that a single digital tourist profile does not exist and that tourism destinations and smart tourism DMOs (destination marketing organisations) should include risk perception in their management agenda. This will allow them to achieve a better understanding of tourist behaviour and to adapt the commercialisation of tourism products and services to a wide range of tourism needs. In addition, four regression models were applied to measure the association between the risk and perceived usefulness of mobile devices. On the one hand, dependence on mobile devices was associated positively with the perceived usefulness of mobile devices. On the other hand, the tourists surveyed saw privacy risk as having a major negative impact on the tourist experience, although it did not affect their perceived utility value and future use of mobile devices. Smart tourism destination managers should bear in mind that privacy risk issues related to the use of mobile devices must be integrated into an ethical perspective when marketing a destination