Transforming Communication Channels to the Co-Creation and Diffusion of Intangible Heritage in Smart Tourism Destination: Creation and Testing in Ceutí (Spain)

Abstract

Creating smart tourism destinations requires innovative solutions which cover the main pillars of sustainability as sociocultural, environmental, and economic aspects, in order to spread the cultural heritage of these tourist destinations to their visitors. One of the most demanded approaches by the new hyper-connected visitors is the expectation of plunging and becoming a short-term resident to receive a real experience during their visit. Therefore, the scope of this research covers the objective of designing an innovative communication channel between a visitor and a point of interest (POI), which in turn allows agile experiences to be built and provided and increases the dissemination of cultural heritage through new technologies, considering the real needs of the territories and the new digital visitors. In order to address these topics, this paper proposes an innovative and co-created progressive Web-App for visitors called Be Memories in order to spread the intangible heritage of a tourist destination, where the content is co-created by residents of the destination. The tool has been tested in Ceutí, a Spanish village with a high cultural value, which needs to be disseminated through new innovative tools. The trial was launched during local festivities of the village using an Internet of Things device, called a Smart Spot, to establish a communication channel between the visitor and POI.The results of the test were measured using Google Analytics, the reactions of Be Memories in social networks, and the acceptance of other cities and European committees. The results have concluded that Be Memories is able to enable a local experience via agile, fresh, and crowd-sourced content that people enjoy. This channel presents a complementary level of information with respect to official sources, documentaries, and local guide tours, at the same time enabling a mechanism to promote physical visits, walking tours, and cultural heritage via low-cost and sustainable infrastructure.The tool has been validated in Ceutí, with a highly cultural value, which requires new tools to spread their culture. To carry out the test of Be Memories, 15 Internet of Things (IoT) devices were deployed throughout the village. These devices are called Smart Spots. A Smart Spot generates an area called a smart point of interaction (Smart POI), which sends a notification (non-intrusive) with a URL through Bluetooth (nearby Google technology) and Wi-Fi (captive portal). This communication channel functions without the need to download a native application, facilitating the interaction by proximity [8]. The content of the pilot is composed of a progressive Web-App that offers a seed content (short video-interviews where the residents tell popular stories). The trial was launched during local festivities (6-19 August 2018).The structure of this article begins with the state-of-the-art, where the value of the pillars of sustainable tourism is presented. In addition, the concepts of a smart city and smart tourism destination are explained as the ...

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