IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bas/econst/y2023i2p151-171.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Development of a Human-Centric Model for Assessment of Smart and Sustainable Tourism Destination

Author

Listed:
  • Genka Rafailova
  • Zlatka Todorova-Hamdan
  • Hristina Filipova

Abstract

The goal of this article is to present a methodology for assessing smart and sustainable destinations’ development. There are plenty of studies on the determination of concepts and models of smart destination and smart tourism. But to implement them, there is a need for initial knowledge of the status quo and opportunities for comparing best practices and similar destinations. The management of tourist destinations needs an instrumentarium for assessing the achievements and status in regard to the model of smart destinations. The focus should be on the use of strategic-oriented development in the course of the evolution of technology infrastructure, infostructure (Buhalis, 2020, Gretzel et al., 2015) and pool of knowledge and skills, as well as their interrelations with sustainability. This paper augments theory and practice with a methodology that can be used for the elaboration of a strategy for smart destination development based on sustainability and a human-centric approach. The presented methodology in the article includes a model of a smart, sustainable destination and is applied in the case study. The strategies and development of tree cities are researched.

Suggested Citation

  • Genka Rafailova & Zlatka Todorova-Hamdan & Hristina Filipova, 2023. "Development of a Human-Centric Model for Assessment of Smart and Sustainable Tourism Destination," Economic Studies journal, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences - Economic Research Institute, issue 2, pages 151-171.
    • Handle: RePEc:bas:econst:y:2023:i:2:p:151-171
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.iki.bas.bg/Journals/EconomicStudies/2023/2023-2/09_Genka-Rafailova.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Gretzel, Ulrike, 2018. "From smart destinations to smart tourism regions," INVESTIGACIONES REGIONALES - Journal of REGIONAL RESEARCH, Asociación Española de Ciencia Regional, issue 42, pages 171-184.
    2. Perles Ribes, José Francisco & Ivars Baidal , Josep, 2018. "Smart sustainability: a new perspective in the sustainable tourism debate," INVESTIGACIONES REGIONALES - Journal of REGIONAL RESEARCH, Asociación Española de Ciencia Regional, issue 42, pages 151-170.
    3. Tae-Hyoung Tommy Gim, 2018. "Tourist Satisfaction, Image, and Loyalty from an Interregional Perspective: An Analysis of Neighboring Areas with Distinct Characteristics," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(4), pages 1-18, April.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Francesc González-Reverté, 2019. "Building Sustainable Smart Destinations: An Approach Based on the Development of Spanish Smart Tourism Plans," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(23), pages 1-24, December.
    2. Joan Miquel Gomis-López & Francesc González-Reverté, 2020. "Smart Tourism Sustainability Narratives in Mature Beach Destinations. Contrasting the Collective Imaginary with Reality," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(12), pages 1-16, June.
    3. José María López-Sanz & Azucena Penelas-Leguía & Pablo Gutiérrez-Rodríguez & Pedro Cuesta-Valiño, 2021. "Sustainable Development and Consumer Behavior in Rural Tourism—The Importance of Image and Loyalty for Host Communities," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(9), pages 1-20, April.
    4. Yamilé Pérez Guilarte & Daniel Barreiro Quintáns, 2019. "Using Big Data to Measure Tourist Sustainability: Myth or Reality?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(20), pages 1-19, October.
    5. David Perrain & Philippe Jean-Pierre, 2019. "The smart destination strategy, a key factor for changes in vulnerable tourist destinations? [La stratégie de destination intelligente, facteur clé des mutations des destinations touristiques vulné," Post-Print hal-02144769, HAL.
    6. Carlo Amendola & Simone La Bella & Gian Piero Joime & Fabio Massimo Frattale Mascioli & Pietro Vito, 2022. "An Integrated Methodology Model for Smart Mobility System Applied to Sustainable Tourism," Administrative Sciences, MDPI, vol. 12(1), pages 1-14, March.
    7. Dejan Križaj & Miha Bratec & Peter Kopić & Tadej Rogelja, 2021. "A Technology-Based Innovation Adoption and Implementation Analysis of European Smart Tourism Projects: Towards a Smart Actionable Classification Model (SACM)," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(18), pages 1-19, September.
    8. Mihai F. Băcilă & Raluca Ciornea & Luiza M. Souca & Alexandra M. Drule, 2022. "Content Analysis on Sustainability Dimensions in DMOs’ Social Media Videos Advertising the World’s Most Visited Cities," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(19), pages 1-25, September.
    9. Adalberto Santos-Júnior & Fernando Almeida-García & Paulo Morgado & Luiz Mendes-Filho, 2020. "Residents’ Quality of Life in Smart Tourism Destinations: A Theoretical Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(20), pages 1-24, October.
    10. Mercedes Raquel García Revilla & Javier Perogil Burgos & Carmen Sarah Einsle & Olga Martinez Moure, 2022. "Proposal of New Strategies for Smart Tourism Destinations in the Challenging New Reality: A Commitment to the Technology–Sustainability Binomial," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(10), pages 1-15, May.
    11. Genka Rafailova & Antonio Hadzhikolev, 2020. "Assessment Of Smart Experience Of Tourists And Local Citizens In Tourist Destination," Anniversary Scientific Conference with International Participation TOURISM AND CONNECTIVITY 2020, University publishing house "Science and Economics", University of Economics - Varna, issue 1, pages 563-569, October.
    12. Yan Feng & Wen Cao & Geon-Cheol Shin & Yeujun Yoon, 2021. "The external effect of international tourism on brand equity development process of multinational firms (MNFs)," Journal of Brand Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 28(6), pages 578-595, November.
    13. Pam Lee & William Cannon Hunter & Namho Chung, 2020. "Smart Tourism City: Developments and Transformations," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(10), pages 1-15, May.
    14. Estela Marine-Roig, 2021. "Measuring Online Destination Image, Satisfaction, and Loyalty: Evidence from Barcelona Districts," Tourism and Hospitality, MDPI, vol. 2(1), pages 1-17, January.
    15. Biagi, Bianca & Brandano, Maria Giovanna & Ortega-Argiles, Raquel, 2021. "Smart specialisation and tourism: Understanding the priority choices in EU regions," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    16. Yuejiao Wang & Shiwei Shen & Marios Sotiriadis & Li Zhang, 2020. "Suggesting a Framework for Performance Evaluation of Tourist Attractions: A Balance Score Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(15), pages 1-22, August.
    17. Vitor Rodrigues & Celeste Eusébio & Zélia Breda, 2023. "Enhancing sustainable development through tourism digitalisation: a systematic literature review," Information Technology & Tourism, Springer, vol. 25(1), pages 13-45, March.
    18. Na Li & Ziyang Liu & Xi Zhang, 2022. "A Study on the Impact of Dynamic Visitor Demand on the Digital Transformation of Enterprises—Considerations Based on the Regional Innovation Environment and the Level of Big Data," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(1), pages 1-19, December.
    19. Milan Ćulić & Miroslav D. Vujičić & Časlav Kalinić & Milosav Dunjić & Uglješa Stankov & Sanja Kovačić & Đorđije A. Vasiljević & Željko Anđelković, 2021. "Rookie Tourism Destinations—The Effects of Attractiveness Factors on Destination Image and Revisit Intention with the Satisfaction Mediation Effect," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-16, May.
    20. Ballina, Francisco Javier De la Ballina, 2022. "Smart concept in rural tourism: a comparison between two phases (2016-2019)," Revista de Economia e Sociologia Rural (RESR), Sociedade Brasileira de Economia e Sociologia Rural, vol. 60(1), January.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • L83 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Services - - - Sports; Gambling; Restaurants; Recreation; Tourism
    • O20 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Development Planning and Policy - - - General
    • Q01 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - General - - - Sustainable Development
    • Z32 - Other Special Topics - - Tourism Economics - - - Tourism and Development

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bas:econst:y:2023:i:2:p:151-171. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Diana Dimitrova (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/ikbasbg.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.