Smart tourism experiences: conceptualisation, key dimensions and research agenda

Francisco Femenia-Serra () and Barbara Neuhofer ()
Additional contact information
Francisco Femenia-Serra: University of Alicante
Barbara Neuhofer: Salzburg University of Applied Sciences

INVESTIGACIONES REGIONALES - Journal of REGIONAL RESEARCH, 2018, issue 42, 129-150

Abstract: «Smart tourism» has gained momentum in research fostered by the revolution of the latest generation of information and communication technologies and has rapidly become a leading stream of literature. The concept has permeated governments and the business sphere and has been accompanied by the quest for developing smart devices, services and tourist destinations. However, experiences as the main focus of smartness development in tourism and destinations have received comparably little attention in the smart discourse. Smart destinations, as new ecosystems backed by concrete geographical contexts, facilitate the co-creation of a rich, technology-based, smart tourism experience (STE). Yet, a clear definition and examination of the dimensions of what constitutes a smart tourism experience is still to be developed. This paper aims to discuss the main core precedent constructs of STEs, namely: a) technology enhanced experiences and b) smart destinations, to underpin a holistic definition of a smart tourism experience. Based on an in-depth literature review, a novel conceptual model for this concept is developed and an agenda for further research is proposed drawing on the identified key themes and dimensions of this construct. By mapping out smart tourism experiences and providing real examples, this research contributes to the theoretical foundations of smart tourism and tourist experiences.

Keywords: smart tourism experience; tourist experience; smart tourism; smart destination; co-creation; research agenda; smart tourism destination (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: L83 O32 R10 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (15)

Downloads: (external link)
https://investigacionesregionales.org/article/smar ... and-research-agenda/ Full text (application/pdf)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ris:invreg:0386

Access Statistics for this article

INVESTIGACIONES REGIONALES - Journal of REGIONAL RESEARCH is currently edited by Vicente Royuela Mora

More articles in INVESTIGACIONES REGIONALES - Journal of REGIONAL RESEARCH from Asociación Española de Ciencia Regional C/ Viladomat, 321 entresuelo - 08029 Barcelona, Teléfono y Fax: + 34 933101112, E-mail: info@aecr.org, Web: www.aecr.org, Web Investigaciones Regionales: www.investigacionesregionales.org. Contact information at EDIRC.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by IIRR-JORR ().