Smart Tourism and Smart Destinations

The concept of smart tourism has become a popular strategy to provide more enriching tourism experiences and to improve operational efficiency so as to increase destination competitiveness. In contrast to previous interpretations, the definition of “smartness” discussed in this entry centers on the creative components of travelers’ behaviors where it is argued that by integrating the concept of creative tourism and smart tourism, destination managers can more easily incorporate both supply- and demand-side functions within the tourism system, which then supports all elements of the destination experience.

Over the past few years the concept of smart tourism has become more popular. For example, many countries (e.g., Canada, China, Spain, South Korea, the Netherlands, and the United States) and cities (e.g., Amsterdam, Barcelona, Fort Lauderdale, and Vienna) ...