Capabilities needed to become a Smart Tourism Destination: Use Case: Helsinki and Berne
Eberhardt, Callista (2019)
Eberhardt, Callista
2019
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Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-201905037387
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-201905037387
Tiivistelmä
Technology is becoming more and more important in any aspect of life.
This also applies to the tourism sector. Therefore, many cities have started
to implement Smart City solutions. The Smart Tourism Destination (STD)
concept includes Smart City infrastructure (ICT, Leadership, Social and
Human Capital as well as Entrepreneurs and Innovation) and tourism
elements. This leads to the fact that an STD is built on Smart City
infrastructure and includes basic elements of tourism.
The framework Dimensions of the Smart Tourism Destination identifies the
smartness of a Tourism Destination. This leads to the purpose of this paper
which is to validate the model and to identify improvement areas in the
critical success factors. The cities Helsinki and Berne were chosen as they
are at a different development stage when it comes to Smart Tourism.
Helsinki has already successfully implemented a Smart City solution and
was awarded as the European Capital of Smart Tourism in 2019. Berne, on
the other hand, is still in the development phase. By interviewing two
experts from both cities eleven criteria, relevant to an STD, were
evaluated. As the Smart Tourism Concept is young, only limited literature
is available. The thesis used expert interview as a data collection method
to gain insights into the cities’ approaches. The interviews were analyzed
by coding, categorizing, and evaluating the responses.
The analysis has shown that functioning headquarters have to be in place
where all the processes are managed. Furthermore, stakeholder
engagement in the tourism eco-system is fundamental. Coming to the
dimensions of the model, it can be said that all the dimensions are
necessary to build an STD. However, the focus can vary based on the
culture of the city. Nonetheless, a balance between the dimensions is of
utmost importance.
This also applies to the tourism sector. Therefore, many cities have started
to implement Smart City solutions. The Smart Tourism Destination (STD)
concept includes Smart City infrastructure (ICT, Leadership, Social and
Human Capital as well as Entrepreneurs and Innovation) and tourism
elements. This leads to the fact that an STD is built on Smart City
infrastructure and includes basic elements of tourism.
The framework Dimensions of the Smart Tourism Destination identifies the
smartness of a Tourism Destination. This leads to the purpose of this paper
which is to validate the model and to identify improvement areas in the
critical success factors. The cities Helsinki and Berne were chosen as they
are at a different development stage when it comes to Smart Tourism.
Helsinki has already successfully implemented a Smart City solution and
was awarded as the European Capital of Smart Tourism in 2019. Berne, on
the other hand, is still in the development phase. By interviewing two
experts from both cities eleven criteria, relevant to an STD, were
evaluated. As the Smart Tourism Concept is young, only limited literature
is available. The thesis used expert interview as a data collection method
to gain insights into the cities’ approaches. The interviews were analyzed
by coding, categorizing, and evaluating the responses.
The analysis has shown that functioning headquarters have to be in place
where all the processes are managed. Furthermore, stakeholder
engagement in the tourism eco-system is fundamental. Coming to the
dimensions of the model, it can be said that all the dimensions are
necessary to build an STD. However, the focus can vary based on the
culture of the city. Nonetheless, a balance between the dimensions is of
utmost importance.