Small- and medium-sized tourism enterprises and smart tourism: Tourism Agenda 2030 perspective article

Abstract

Purpose: By highlighting the important role of information and communications technologies (ICTs) in readdressing the competitive balance between tourism small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and larger firms, this paper serves as a call to action to governments, regional tourism organisations and other policy-level stakeholders to facilitate more rapid diffusion of the developing smart tourism concept, helping to support tourism agenda 2030 and multiple UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. Design/methodology/approach: Reviewing the literature on ICT use in tourism, this paper builds a case for deploying smart tourism to enhance the competitiveness of SMEs. Findings: Without a collaborative approach, tourism SMEs are unlikely to use emerging technologies effectively to compete against larger peers and online platforms. By adopting a smart tourism approach, network effects between stakeholders can trump scale, allowing SMEs to compete more effectively and destinations to promote inclusivity and sustainable economic growth. Originality/value: Highlighting the pivotal role that ICTs in general and Smart Tourism in particular can play in addressing the competitive imbalance between SMEs and larger players, this paper serves as a call for action for governments’ regional tourism organisations and other policy-level stakeholders to hasten their adoption of smart tourism principles as a means of supporting tourism agenda 2030 and furthering the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.