Conceptualizing the Smart Tourism Mindset: Fostering Utopian Thinking in Smart Tourism Development

Abstract

The growing literature on smart tourism and the increasing number of smart tourism initiatives demonstrate that the idea of smart tourism is captivating and that its potential is great. However, its concrete implementation so far has lacked the transformative focus called for by smart development principles. This paper suggests that conceptualizing smart tourism development as a utopian endeavor that requires critiquing the status quo and collective imagining of better tourism and good destinations could help smart tourism efforts transcend their instrumental, short-term, and fragmented character. It further introduces the concept of the Smart Tourism Mindset to propose that, as a utopian enterprise, smart tourism needs to be guided by specific values and traits that permeate actors at all levels. The paper concludes by calling for a greater focus on identifying what these values and traits are and how to best establish and communicate the Smart Tourism Mindset.

Artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics in travel, hospitality and leisure

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With the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, it has become even clearer that tourism is highly dependent on technological solutions. The continuing crisis calls for institutional innovation to conceptualize resilient, agile, and flexible strategic initiatives and operations (Gretzel, 2021). Smart technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics, are creating an important driving force for travel, hospitality, and leisure (THL) during the pandemic and beyond, paving the way for new business models, new customer touchpoints, and new value (co-)creation opportunities.

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“…They warrant specific attention in the THL context, which not only represents an increasingly dominant and valued aspect of our lives but also a growing mix of industries with enormous economic and social impacts. Indeed, activities in the THL domain are increasingly reliant upon technologies that can understand, anticipate, and act upon human needs to improve the personal experience and wellbeing and heighten operational effectiveness (Gretzel, 2021). Intelligent services using AI enable predictions and accuracy of key tasks and allow individuals, organizations, and governance agencies to respond more flexibly to major situational changes.…”

La ciudad histórica como destino turístico inteligente. El caso de Segovia, ciudad patrimonio mundial

“…Las TIC y las plataformas digitales, a priori, brindan espacios digitales para mejorar la participación de las partes interesadas en la toma de decisiones (Amaranggana y Buhalis, 2013;Trunfio y Campana, 2019). Sin embargo, el discurso dominante sobre los DTIs y la comprensión del concepto aún se enfocan principalmente en la tecnología y su capacidad para asegurar el crecimiento económico (Gelter et al, 2022;Gretzel, 2021;Williams et al, 2020). Parecen necesarios, pues, enfoques críticos para el estudio de los procesos continuos de cambio, adaptación y transformación socio-técnicos que los destinos turísticos experimentan como consecuencia de la digitalización que desafía la estructura, la función y las prácticas de gestión (Gelter et al, 2022), siendo clave la perspectiva de los actores.…”

“…La colaboración entre actores es básica para generar un ecosistema de innovación abierta que favorezcan la inteligencia colectiva y la evolución hacia un "destino que aprende" (Boes et al, 2015;Ivars-Baidal y Vera Rebollo, 2019). No obstante, las opiniones recabadas en el trabajo de campo han puesto de manifiesto como la mayoría de los conceptos de desarrollo teórico de los DTIs no están diseñados y realizados junto a las empresas turísticas o los gestores de los destinos, lo que hace que el estatus de "inteligente" siga siendo limitado (Gelter et al, 2022;Gretzel, 2021).…”

Value co-creation in smart tourism destinations

“…Smart tourism is a concept that “ refers to initiatives and approaches, usually at the destination level, that aims at harnessing the unique capabilities of smart technologies to achieve specific development goals ” (Gretzel, 2021). There are several concepts used to describe smart tourism at the destination level: smart city and smart destination.…”