How to Design a Smart Tourism Destination: The Case of Granada

Abstract

Despite the ever-increasing growth of tourism in Granada (Spain), its city council plans to boost this growth even more in 2021 by making improvements to the tourist experience. The city council entrusted a team led by Rocio Sainz to develop a smart city project called “e-Granada” aiming to enhance the tourist experience by implementing a series of solutions along the lines of technology, sustainability and accessibility. Although her team comprises experts from a wide variety of fields, it does not fully grasp the most useful technological platforms and services or the potential advantages and disadvantages of Smart Tourism Destinations (STDs) for businesses and consumers. This is due to the lack of knowledge of these types of projects in Spain as well as the characteristics of STDs. Based on secondary sources and on an empirical analysis carried out in Spain, the current case study offers students of political science, hospitality, business and tourism professionals the possibility (i) to acquire advanced knowledge on the definition and characteristics of STDs, (ii) achieve a deeper understanding of the most useful technological platforms and services to convert a city into a smarter tourism destination, and (iii) evaluate the potential pros and cons for businesses and consumers of a city evolving into an STD.