New research paper Boes, K., Buhalis, D., Inversini, A., 2016, Smarttourism destinations: ecosystems for tourism destination competitiveness”,International Journal of Tourism Cities, Vol. 2(2), pp.108 – 124 http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/IJTC-12-2015-0032
Abstract Grounded in service-dominant (S-D) logic, the purpose of this paper is to explore the core components of smartness to present a framework for the development of the smart tourism destination. The paper explores the core components of smartness through case study analysis of well-established smart cities. The paper conceptualises smartness and argues ICT, leadership, innovation and social capital supported by human capital are core components of smartness. Although ICT is a critical enabler for smart tourism destinations, it is insufficient on its own to introduce smartness. The combination of hard and soft smartness components within a S-D logic ecosystem structure holds the potential for sustained competitive advantage and enhancement of quality of life of both residents and tourists in smart tourism destinations. Originality/value – The paper extends the application of S-D logic to the context of smart tourism destinations, specifically to examine the smartness concept as a means for competitiveness in tourism destinations.
Keywords ICT, Tourism competitiveness, Smart city, Smart tourism destination Paper type Research paper