Page 14 - Smart tourism: A path to more secure and resilient destinations

2 The smart tourism destination framework

2.1 The context for smart tourist destinations

In an increasingly globalized and competitive tourism marketplace, destinations develop innovative
strategies to create sustainable, creative and unforgettable experiences for tourists, improve the
quality of life (QoL) of the population, and earn competitive advantages such as strong positioning
over time. This is done through Destination Management/Marketing Organizations (DMO), where
private and public stakeholders engage in the management and promotion of tourism products and
the destination. It is important to note that in addition to public/private stakeholder engagement,
DMO can also have various governance structures including fully public or fully private (UNWTO,
2019). Thereby, the coordination and commitment of all stakeholders, the strategic vision, and the
implementation of innovative initiatives considering the changes in the market are essential to the
development of the destinations.

Information and communication technologies (ICTs) have completely modified the dynamics of
all industries – including tourism – in terms of processes, products and adaptation to clients’ new
demands. Destinations must ensure that their tourism models evolve to more sustainable and
innovative models, adopting technologies to make tourism activity a positive contributor to the
quality of life of residents and to protect nature and culture. Destinations must become more
sustainable and, during and post COVID-19 times, safer and more resilient, and to do so they will
need technology.

Thus, the Smart Tourist Destinations framework is key to building the “tourism of the future”: a new
sense of tourism that is sustainable and safe, inclusive and resilient, celebrates local cultures and
identities, provides economic and social benefits, helps preserve the environment, and uses ICTs
and renewable technologies at the core of tourist destination planning.

2.2 From smart cities to smart tourist destinations

The domain of smart cities has been explored in the international arena by the International
Telecommunication Union (ITU), which serves as the United Nations specialized agency for
information and communication technologies (ICTs) and as an international standards developing
organization (SDO). Following the analysis of more than 100 definitions relating to smart city
terminology, ITU, together with UNECE, developed the following definition for smart sustainable
cities (SSC):

“A smart sustainable city is an innovative city that uses information and communication technologies
(ICTs) and other means to improve quality of life, efficiency of urban operation and services, and
competitiveness, while ensuring that it meets the needs of present and future generations with
respect to economic, social, environmental as well as cultural aspects”.

4 Smart tourism: A path to more secure and resilient destinations