Smart Tourism Ecosystem perspective on the Tourism Experience: A conceptual approach

The smart tourism ecosystem concept, in addition to integrating various components, processes, and actions in the design of a place, advocates certain results through the convergence of technological resources, business environments, and value-inducing experiences. This conceptual paper should result in theoretical contributions regarding the specificity of the tourist experience within the framework of a smart tourism ecosystem, with a view to the competitiveness and sustainability of accommodation and destinations. From the perspective of a smart tourism ecosystem, the production and consumption of tourist value − which, hopefully, should be socially, culturally, environmentally, and economically sustainable −, is shared, and generate distinctive experiences, and the corresponding interactions are promoted by technology, through the collection, processing, and communication of data. The suggested approach has relevant implications at the management level, given the need to obtain differentiating factors, mediated by technology, with the incorporation of added value for the stakeholders.