Page 126 - Connecting cities and communities with the Sustainable Development Goals

United for Smart Sustainable Cities
Connecting cities and communities with the Sustainable Development Goals

1 Introduction

1.1 Background
On the face of it, Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 12 only seems to refer to ensuring sustainable
consumption and production patterns. However, delving into its associated targets, one realizes that the
concept of sustainable tourism to promote local culture and support sustainable development also forms an
integral part of this global goal.

The term “smart” has been affixed to several concepts including smart cities and smart buildings. In recent
years, information and communication technology (ICT) related tourism services and platforms have made
their way into the tourism sector and paved the way for easier travel in terms of the planning and
management of trips along with monitoring the local environment. This integration of ICT for tourism
purposes has led to the creation of “smart tourism”, which relies on human-computer interactions that aid
in decision making for tourists and information processing for smooth service delivery within the sector.

Globally, there have been efforts to drive the smart tourism agenda forward. Countries like China and South
Korea are heavily funding initiatives on building the technological infrastructure to support smart tourism. In
several European countries, the respective smart tourism initiatives evolved out of smart-city projects. As a
result of this, the idea of smart destinations (based on smart tourism) is gaining ground and popularity in the
global tourism landscape.

1.2 Challenge and response
While some smart tourism initiatives focus on driving innovation and competitiveness and developing smart
end-user applications that enrich tourism experiences for travellers, others focus on the transformative
power of ICTs in improving the economic potential and environmental conservation dimensions for the
tourism and hospitality sectors. Given the different approaches to the concept of smart tourism, there is no
universal or standardized definition for this term.
For a general concept of tourism, the United Nations World Tourism Organization has provided a definition.
This definition refers to tourism as a “cultural and economic phenomenon which entails the movement of
people to countries or places outside their usual environment for personal or business/professional
purposes”.

With the incorporation of ICTs into various tourism-related activities, smart tourism has been regarded as a
logical progression from traditional tourism concepts in keeping with the technological evolution. The smart
tourism technologies (STTs) implemented are able to collect and harness data from physical infrastructures
and portable devices to transform travel experiences by providing an effective feedback mechanism and
promoting destinations via different channels including social media.
The most commonly used STTs are smartphone applications and websites of travel agencies and destinations.
These STTs are able to assist with the planning process by providing relevant information on the destination
in an interactive manner and therefore help with the decision-making process. Armed with adequate
information on the culture, terrain and recreational activities at their desired destination, users will be able
make an informed decision which will allow for a better experience. Users can also estimate the overall travel
and sightseeing costs using STTs, which will reduce the chances of incurring unforeseen additional expenses
when at the destination.

One example of a successful online tourism portal is for the state of Kerala in India. The government of Kerala
struck gold with the launch of its tourism website, Kerala Tourism.org.

This official website has the largest database on Kerala, which contains detailed information on the places to
visit and highlights the cultural practices in each region. It also provides a list of centres for recreational
activities, hotels and restaurants which reduces the scope for fraud and improves security. This site boasts
of nearly 3 million visits per annum and has significantly boosted Kerala’s tourism. The number of tourists in

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