Smart Tourism: International Expertise in Strategic Solutions

Abstract

In the digital economy, travel planning and the purchase of travel services are no longer a priority for the tour operator. Strategic solutions that can be used by tourism regions in the digital age are one of the priorities in the information flow today. Transition to building a “smart” techno-ecosystem has already proved its effectiveness in the hotel sector: more than 66% of orders are carried out remotely thanks to partnerships responsible for providing payment services, price parity and coordination with the hotel room fund system. The concept of “smart tourism”, which dates back to the dawn of digital technology, has recently been expanded to include the digitalization of services and information, environmentally friendly and responsible treatment of the environment and cultural heritage, as well as the involvement of people of creative professions and accessibility of tourism facilities for all categories of users. In Russia, these trends are partly reflected in the state program and national project to create an “accessible environment” and “digital economy”, while in Europe the function of information and coordination center for managing the needs of future tourism has been taken over by the state authority. For improvement of management in tourism, and also preparation of the future personnel, the demand for formation of techno-ecosystem with the general information and coordination center accumulating bank of ideas on all four vectors of “clever tourism” is revealed. The present research is a systematization and review of new practices and technologies according to foreign publications for the purpose of application in tourist regions of Russia. The results of the research, intended for further tasks setting and business strategies formation, are summarized using SWOT analysis.