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

Andrea Gomez-Oliva, Joanna Alvarado-Uribe, M. Parra-Meroño and Antonio J. Jara
Additional contact information
Andrea Gomez-Oliva: HOP Ubiquitous (HOPU), Luis Bunuel 6, 30562 Ceutí, Murcia, Spain
Joanna Alvarado-Uribe: Computer Science Department, School of Engineering and Sciences, Tecnologico de Monterrey, Carretera Lago de Guadalupe Km. 3.5, Col. Margarita Maza de Juarez, Atizapan de Zaragoza 52926, Estado de México, Mexico
Antonio J. Jara: Institute of Information Systems, University of Applied Sciences Western Switzerland (HES-SO), 3960 Sierre, Switzerland

Sustainability, 2019, vol. 11, issue 14, 1-30

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.

Keywords: smart tourism destination; point of interest; ICTs; co-creation; tourist guides; hyper-connected users; prosumers; residents; Internet of Things (IoT); sustainability (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (11)

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