Smart Tourism and Urban Sustainability

Dear Colleagues,

As Coca-Stefaniak and Seisdedos (2021) argued, smart tourism destinations are now at a strategic crossroads. The existing model, based on a narrow focus on information and communication technologies (ICTs), is inadequate for addressing complex, interconnected challenges such as overtourism, climate change and resident demands for livability. A new paradigm is urgently needed. This paradigm must reconcile smartness with sustainability, a relationship that requires careful integration (Coca-Stefaniak & Seisdedos, 2021). While some argue that a destination cannot be considered smart if it is not sustainable, research within the smart city framework clarifies that smartness does not automatically presuppose sustainability. Instead, studies conclude that sustainability is often insufficiently developed in smart projects and should be better integrated (Perles Ribes & Ivars Baidal, 2018).

There is, however, a growing global impetus for change. The smart city concept is increasingly recognized by cities worldwide as a means to optimize sustainable environments, with specific focus on reducing the environmental footprint of tourism and promoting sustainable tourism development (El Archi et al., 2023). For example, sustainable smart urban destinations must create areas that residents and tourists can positively experience together, a crucial objective for cities facing resident–tourist tensions (Romão et al., 2018). The goal is to foster destinations that are economically resilient, enhance the quality of life for residents and provide meaningful experiences for visitors.

For this Special Issue, we welcome papers that integrate the concepts of smartness and sustainability in urban tourism, whether related to policies, collaborative frameworks or any other related subject. We welcome submissions that explore how technology and artificial intelligence contribute to sustainable urban tourism. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Data-driven governance for urban tourism management;
• Digital technologies and the visitor experience in cities;
• Mobility, technology and low-carbon urban tourism;
• Social equity and digital rights in the smart tourism city;
• Smart solutions for overcrowding and overtourism;
• Sharing economies and their impact on the sustainability of urban tourism;
• Co-creation, personalization and community-based tourism in smart cities;
• Heritage preservation, tourism and smart urban environments;
• Stakeholder dynamics and public–private collaboration in smart tourism;
• Resilience, adaptation and the future of smart urban tourism.

Works cited:

• Coca-Stefaniak, J.A. & Seisdedos, G. (2021). Smart urban tourism destinations at a crossroads – being “smart” and urban and no longer enough. In A.M. Morrison & J.A. Coca-Stefaniak (Eds.), The Routledge Handbook of Tourism Cities (pp. 359-373). London: Routledge.
• El Archi, Y., Benbba, B., Nizamatdinova, Z., Issakov, Y., Vargáné, G.I., & Dávid, L.D. (2023). Systematic literature review analyzing smart tourism destinations in context of sustainable development: Current applications and future directions. Sustainability, 15, 5086.
• Perles Ribes, J.F. & Ivars Baidal, J. (2018). Smart sustainability: A new perspective in the sustainable tourism debate. Investigaciones Regionales – Journal of Regional Research, 42, 151-170.
• Romão, J., Kourtit, K., Neuts, B., & Nijkamp, P. (2018). The smart city as a common place for tourists and residents: A structural analysis of the determinants of urban attractiveness. Cities, 78, 67-75

Dr. Istvan Egresi
Prof. Dr. Stefan Dezsi
Guest Editors

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• smart tourism
• smart destinations
• smart cities
• sustainable development
• urban sustainability
• sustainable tourism