smart and innovative tourism development

UN Tourism | Bringing the world closer

• All Regions
• 16 Oct 2018

Creating Smart Cities for Innovative Tourism Experiences

share this content

• Share this article on facebook
• Share this article on twitter
• Share this article on linkedin

PR No. : PR18076

Madrid, Spain, 16 October 2018 - The UNWTO Conference on City Breaks: Creating Innovative Tourism Experiences (15-16 October 2018) concluded today in Valladolid, Spain, with a call for cities to become smart tourism destinations, where tourism governance and the digital economy mesh together to offer travellers diverse and authentic experiences.

“We must understand the evolution of tourists towards greater sustainability and inclusiveness, using new technological tools,” said Jaime Cabal, Deputy Secretary-General of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO). “Creativity and innovation are needed when designing the experiences they are increasingly demanding.” 

The Councillor for Culture and Tourism of Valladolid, Ana Maria Redondo, echoed this call, adding: “We need a better understanding of the fundamentals behind the current demand for city break experiences. Smart destination tools are our means to obtain this knowledge.”

The Deputy Director-General for Tourism Development and Sustainability of the Ministry of Tourism of Spain, Ruben Lopez Pulido, suggested that cities and all destinations change their models of tourism development to respond not only the most demanding tourists, but also to the rise of the digital and knowledge economy. “Being a smart destination is not just a label, but a process towards the comprehensive transformation of destinations, while always aiming at the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals,” he said.

Speakers at the conference included Dieter Hardt-Stremayr, President of European Cities Marketing and CEO of the Graz Tourism Office in Austria, who described what he considered key challenges for the growth of city breaks: transportation issues, seasonality, and the dispersion of tourism demand within a city and over time. “Our main challenge is to attract visitors to come right at this moment. To overcome it destination managers should focus on parts of the tourism offer that are ‘temporary’,” he concluded.

The main conclusions of the conference referred to urban tourism governance models. Participants highlighted that, with the growth of high-speed, low-cost transportation links that provide more and more visitors with access to city breaks, city destinations must respond by prioritizing investments that benefit residents and tourists alike.

They also concluded that with the technological advances that allow the creation of smart destinations, destination management organizations must shift their focus from only promoting the experiences available for tourists in cities, to managing urban tourism in all its complexity. For their part, tourism policy makers should use smart destination tools to study the impact of tourism on the profitability and sustainability of a city, and place the destination at the centre of policy changes. These conclusions will be taken into account in the UNWTO work plan on urban tourism.

The Conference was organized by the UNWTO in collaboration with the City Council of Valladolid and the marketing agency MADISON, an Affiliate Member of the UNWTO. Other speakers included representatives from Madrid Destino, San Sebastián Turismo & Convention Bureau, Ljubljana Tourist Board, Turin Convention Bureau, Lisbon Tourism Observatory, Municipality of Alba lulia (Romania), Google, TripAdvisor, Basque Culinary Center, World Heritage Cities of Spain, AMFHORT, European Historical Association of Thermal Cities, Innova Tax Free, Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum, Thinking Heads, Segittur, Civitatis, Authenticitys and Amadeus, as well as journalists Xavier Canalis of Hosteltur and Paco Nadal of El Viajero (El País newspaper).

Useful links:

Conference website and programme

UNWTO report: 'Overtourism'? Understanding and managing urban tourism growth beyond perceptions’

UNWTO urban tourism website

UNWTO Communications Department

Tel: (+34) 91 567 8100 / Fax: +34 91 567 8218 /  [email protected]

Follow us on  Facebook ,  Twitter ,  Instagram ,  YouTube ,  LinkedIn  and  Flickr .

Related Content

Kingdom of Morocco Wins High-Level Vote To Host Next Wo...

Tourism has ‘Life-Changing Potential’ - World Tourism O...

The World Tourism Organization and Globalia launch the ...

World Tourism Organization General Assembly Opens With ...

To read this content please select one of the options below:

Please note you do not have access to teaching notes, smart tourism: issues, challenges and opportunities.

The Emerald Handbook of ICT in Tourism and Hospitality

ISBN : 978-1-83982-689-4 , eISBN : 978-1-83982-688-7

Publication date: 30 November 2020

Rapid development of IT and communication technologies resulted in the “Smart” concept, which of late has become quite popular. The smart concept signifies the integration of organizational networks and smart features that enrich the ecosystem, facilitate daily activities for all stakeholders, and for automatization. Smart concept was discussed as a complicated technological infrastructure in urban areas intended to promote economic, social and environmental welfare. The latest technological developments gave rise to the concepts of smart planet, smart city and smart destination that have become important in recent years. Technological innovations have had a big influence on the development of the tourism industry. Smart concept is conceptualized as smart tourism for tourism sector. Smart Tourism generally has a positive effect on the rapid change of information and technology and on the tourism sector, tourism activities and increase in customer satisfaction. In this chapter, the concept of Smart and its smart technologies are explained and information about its reflections on the tourism sector and smart tourism destinations are discussed.

• Opportunities

Akdu, U. (2020), "Smart Tourism: Issues, Challenges and Opportunities", Hassan, A. and Sharma, A. (Ed.) The Emerald Handbook of ICT in Tourism and Hospitality , Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 291-308. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-83982-688-720201018

Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2021 Emerald Publishing Limited

We’re listening — tell us what you think

Something didn’t work….

Report bugs here

All feedback is valuable

Please share your general feedback

Join us on our journey

Platform update page.

Visit emeraldpublishing.com/platformupdate to discover the latest news and updates

Questions & More Information

Answers to the most commonly asked questions here

Smart Tourism: The Future of the Sector is Technological

What is smart tourism, smart cities and tourism, artificial intelligence and tourism, smart tourism and 5g, examples of smart tourism, smart tourism applications.

Smart cities are booming and are positioned as the perfect option for future processes of massive urbanization and sustainable models that companies and government agencies are currently pursuing.

This new paradigm offers the tourism sector a wide range of business opportunities and new ways of creating value to its offer. We tell you what it consists of, what the role of technology will be, and its future forecasts.

Smart tourism is defined as the dynamic connection of human experiences with smart technologies. It is closely linked to the development of Smart Cities and goes hand in hand with improvements in technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, IoT , Big Data, or 5G.

The goal of smart tourism is to improve the efficiency of resource management, maximize competitiveness and enhance sustainability through the use of innovative technologies. Therefore, more and more destinations are joining this modernization of their operations, from payment methods to various interactive activities.

The Smart Cities boom is impacting many industries, and one of them is tourism, which is increasingly moving towards a smart destination model.

As I said above, the development of smart tourism goes hand in hand with the growth of Smart Cities. These cities aim to improve the quality of life of their inhabitants, in addition to creating more sustainable places. Therefore, smart tourism also follows these initiatives through richer and more environmentally friendly experiences.

Due to the importance of tourism as a strategic economic activity in many countries, this new way of traveling through cities is emerging. Some key points for the consolidation of smart tourism in a smart city are:

• State-of-the-art infrastructure guarantees sustainable development and promotes equitable accessibility.
• Access to free wifi in the street and public places.
• Electric mobility as an alternative to traditional transport.
• Promotion of more sustainable tourism.
• Real-time information such as traffic flow or incidents in public transport.
• Cultural and interactive activities.

Artificial Intelligence has numerous applications in the tourism sector, both from the consumer and business perspective. In the first case, it helps users find the most relevant information more quickly, gives them greater mobility, improves their decision-making and provides them with a better tourism experience.

For entrepreneurs, AI helps to manage resources, especially in promotion and productivity, and also to create a more sustainable model. Some of the most common examples are:

• Recommendation systems and personalization techniques: AI makes available to users the alternatives that suit them best, with personalized suggestions for each case and reducing the infinite number of options that do not always fit. Thanks to the information made available to companies, they can build precise profiles and tailor their experiences to each case.
• Conversational systems such as chatbots and voice assistants: These systems employ technologies such as NLP and speech recognition and are very useful because users can access them at any time through a closer experience that mimics the human one. In addition, with the use of chatbots, company workers no longer have to waste time on these types of tasks and can dedicate themselves to other more important ones.
• Forecasting tools: using historical and contextual data, future estimates are made to make better decisions. In the tourism sector, it is used to understand the tourist demand of each period and place, in order to develop marketing strategies, financial management, and allocation of human resources, detect scams or support the management of facilities.
• Translation applications: one of the bases of tourism is contact with different cultures and languages. However, it is also one of the biggest barriers for tourists when choosing a destination and avoiding sources of discomfort. Machine translation makes it easier for users to navigate each destination, allowing them to explore and participate in all kinds of activities.

Thanks to the development of 5G networks, new applications based on faster communication between devices will emerge.

When applied to tourism, we are referring to solutions that can be used by travel companies or cities to attract visitors through a more attractive experience.

Changes in this sector will focus on greater personalization of services, better access to information and content, quality entertainment, and optimized operations.

On the other hand, a fast internet connection can be a key factor in whether or not a guest returns to accommodation, especially when it is a business trip. 5G solves these problems, in addition to contributing to the implementation of smart features such as lights and thermostats that are controlled from a mobile device.

It is also a fundamental technology for the proper functioning of other technologies such as augmented reality. Many museums have already included experiences with tablets or glasses that gamify the traditional experience or live tours.

In fact, it will be a fundamental factor in airports, as this technology will be very present in passenger management or aircraft maintenance. Even solutions in which artificial intelligence plays a leading role, such as assisted vision, will also enter the market.

There are more and more examples of smart tourism destinations that we can find anywhere in the world. In fact, initiatives such as the European Capital of Smart Tourism have emerged, which aims to raise awareness of smart tourism tools, measures and projects implemented in cities in four categories: sustainability, digitization and cultural heritage, accessibility, and creativity.

We have compiled some of the most striking cases, but there are many more:

• El Hierro , in Spain, has become the first smart island in the world to achieve energy self-sufficiency, in addition to reducing its pollution levels thanks to the generation of electricity from garbage, or the replacement of brick with volcanic stone in the construction sector.
• Tequila , in the Mexican state of Jalisco, offers free wifi in its historic center, has an app containing information on products and services in the area, and has a data system that informs travelers in real time about traffic and commercial activities.
• The Swedish city of Gothenburg has implemented measures to ensure the well-being of future generations. It has published a smart map that encourages citizen participation to exchange, share or rent in the city. It also has a 3D model to conduct public consultations, anticipate the impact of future development and make improved decisions. On the other hand, 60% of its district heating is based on waste or recycled heat, making it one of the most sustainable European capitals.
• Malaga is the Spanish city that stands out most in terms of accessibility. It has installed LED street lighting and has created numerous kilometers of bicycle lanes, along with several rental stations. It has also installed smart irrigation systems in parks and gardens to save water and has implemented a plan to reduce air pollution, control pollen levels, and reduce noise.
• Ljubljana , the capital of Slovenia, has placed special emphasis on sustainability, and 20% of its territory is made up of protected natural areas, with a focus on converting degraded sites into public spaces. It has also promoted the purchase of local products in hotels and restaurants, in addition to creating a tourism website with a wide variety of content and applications focused on responsible tourism.
• Helsinki , the capital of Finland, has designed an intelligent public transport system that has received high praise. An “Uber boat” system is now being considered and driverless buses are being tested. In addition, multilingual workers can be found stationed at the city’s main attractions, offering assistance to visitors. It has also put a focus on electric transport and aims to become carbon neutral by 2035.
• Copenhagen , the Danish capital, has made great strides in digitalization. It has launched a visitor service, where tourists can see everything the city has to offer through moving billboards, robotics or virtual reality.
• Singapore is another example of digitalization, as it has implemented solutions that encourage the development of innovative communities. There, tourists have apps that inform them about crime rates in each specific area and receive notifications about missing persons and emergency institutions or information based on their geopositioning.

Smart tourism plays a crucial role in the development of smart cities, as its initiatives to attract tourists can cause a significant increase in people and vehicles. This affects traffic, in its congestion or in the difficulty of finding parking. This is why tourism and cities must work hand in hand to remedy these problems and provide a better experience for tourists and residents.

Dubai is another city that wanted to create an improved model for its inhabitants and offer a unique experience to its visitors. Therefore, it commissioned us to develop a project aimed at developing a totally innovative digital experience for the city.

We created a tool with which to manage high-resolution panoramic photos and videos, providing an automated processing and uploading system, in order to be available for viewing on a web application. You can discover all the details of Dubai 360 here.

On the other hand, with a special focus on sustainability, we created a solution for Trasmediterránea that reinforces passenger security, guarantees identity control, and increases the company’s environmental commitment by eliminating the need to print more than 5 million tickets per year.

We are specialists in creating innovative developments that transform the tourism sector towards a digitalized and interactive model. If you want to know how do not hesitate to contact us!

Related News

Digital Twins and the future of logistics

Warehouses are shifting towards automated models where technology can be of great help in filling production gaps. We explain the keys to how the digital twins are playing such a big part.

Auto Digital Twins: deployment of Digital Twins in Industry

We present a project whose objective is to accelerate the digitisation and modernisation of corporate infrastructures and to continue advancing in the Industry 4.0 paradigm.

Configuration Panel

• Smart City Consulting
• Smart City Toolbox
• Tender Premium Service
• Tender Premium Free Trial
• Network Info
• Registration
• Smart City Blog
• Focus Topic: ESG
• Smart City Events
• Smart City Podcast
• Publications
• Company & Team
• Clients & Partners
• Toolbox Features
• Tender Premium Pricing
• Smart City Newsletter

Smart Tourism - Innovation and Reinvention for an Industry in Crisis

As 2019 drew to a close, the travel and tourism industry had reasons to celebrate. The World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), IBTM Events, and the UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) all announced the good news. But then the Covid-19 pandemic dealt a serious blow to the tourism sector.

Based on WTTC data, the industry supported 330 million jobs worldwide in 2019 while generating 10.3 percent of global GDP . The UNWTO said " 1.5 billion international tourist arrivals were recorded in 2019," representing a 4 percent annual increase and the tenth consecutive year of growth. Similar growth was predicted for 2020 - "confirming tourism as a leading and resilient economic sector." The UNWTO Confidence Index revealed that 47 percent of participants believed tourism would perform even better in the new year. IBTM World 2019 - the leading global conference for the meetings, incentives, conferences, and events sector - reported a 3 percent increase in attendees  and more than 74,000 in-person business meetings at its annual event in Barcelona.

The sense of optimism for travel, tourism, and events was short-lived. Within a few months, the pandemic crisis dealt a severe blow to this high-flying industry when countries closed their borders and locked down their economies in the fight against the Coronavirus.

How can the industry recover from the damage caused by the Covid-19 crisis? What is the role of smart tourism innovation in industry recovery and reinvention? These are complex questions confronting travel and tourism companies, event planners, destination marketing organizations, convention bureaus - and smart city leaders. In this article, we cover the extent of the damage, ideas for recovery and reinvention, and implications for smart cities.

Estimating the d amage - Smart tourism as a chance

McKinsey, citing UNWTO data, says the pandemic caused "an unprecedented crisis for the travel and tourism industry. International tourist arrivals are projected to plunge by 60 to 80 percent in 2020, and tourism spending is not likely to return to pre-crisis levels until 2024 ."

Bloomberg says "the flight paralysis underscores how deep and lasting the pandemic’s damage is proving to be. The number of international flights to the U.S., Australia and Japan has fallen more than 80 percent from a year ago, while flights to China are down by more than 94 percent."

The pandemic emergency caused disruption of business and tech conferences, including the cancellation of the Mobile World Congress (MWC) and Light + Building (the global trade fair for smart lighting and building technologies). Google's Cloud Next event shifted to online only and IBM's Developer Conference repositioned to live stream. So far, the cancellation of major business and tech events has caused more than $1 billion in economic losses .

Smart destinations and smart tourism - the future is digital

A well-regarded research paper on smart tourism destinations introduced the six 'As of successful destinations :

• Attractions - amusement parks, museums, architecture, theaters, shopping centers
• Accessibility - transport infrastructure, public transit services, and measures for people with mobility limitations and disabilities
• Amenities - accommodation, gastronomy, and leisure pursuits
• Available packages - service bundles by intermediaries to increase awareness of a destination's uniqueness
• Activities -  all activities which attract tourists to the destination
• Ancillary services - postal services, banks, healthcare (and other services not primarily aimed at the tourist market)

In the wake of the pandemic crisis, does the industry need Assurance as a seventh A ? Assurance that travel and tourism providers and destinations adhere to accepted health practices and safety standards.

Other research asserts that smart tourism is the application of technology and innovation to " facilitate the tourist’s experience through a digital platform ," - and all businesses linked to the six As should be linked to the digital infrastructure. Smart tourism in this context is perceived as multiple layers of online services acting as enablers of smart destinations.

David Peacock, Senior Advisor, Future Tourism Group, says “ digital excellence and sustainability are key to successful destinations ." In deciding how smart destinations should allocate scarce recovery resources, Peacock advises "building intentional networks beyond traditional players, aligning with citizen and civic priorities, increasing the digital skill and sophistication of all stakeholders across the destination and improving the digital footprint as a whole."

How does smart tourism help in crisis recovery? Think innovation!

As one of the world's most popular tourist destinations, Paris plans " to invent the future of tourism and be the capital of tourist innovation ." The city's Welcome City Lab (created by Paris&Co with support from the City of Paris) is a program designed to "stimulate innovation in the tourist sector, including the world's first incubator dedicated to this sector." Laurent Queige, Director of Welcome City Lab believes innovation is the best option in responding to the pandemic crisis. However, he is concerned that "innovation is no longer a priority" for many companies in the industry. "At many of Europe´s travel tech hubs, innovation partnerships and projects have been effectively paused by the crisis," says Queige, and this could lead to "a serious loss of agility, ideas, solutions and the competitive dynamics which can help us overcome the crisis."

Welcome City Lab's innovation platform offers tourism start-ups and entrepreneurs an enabling portfolio of services, including co-working and meeting space, a test platform, and an incubator. "Since its creation, the incubator has already enabled more than 100 startups , through its incubation program, to successfully enter the world's leading tourism market with a 90 percent success rate. These startups have generated more than 650 jobs and raised more than €150 million."

In another innovation initiative, the UNWTO issued a Healing Solutions for Tourism Challenge calling on startup firms and entrepreneurs to submit solutions "to mitigate Covid-19 impacts on tourism through health, economic and destination management solutions." This challenge - considered as a step toward sustainable tourism recovery in the pandemic crisis - requested solutions in social initiatives, new and existing technologies, innovative processes, and governance structures. In response to the challenge, the UNWTO received more than 1,000 applications from innovators in 100+ countries. Prior to the pandemic, market researchers predicted the global online travel market would reach almost $818 billion by 2020 - driven by the demand for mobile travel apps and websites. Tourists in a post-pandemic world will still have an appetite for innovative mobile apps which add value to the travel experience. Prateek Saxena, the co-founder of Appinventiv, says "most big players in the travel industry have a mobile presence today, and if not they plan to go mobile - a trend that is directly fueling the increasing demand for mobile travel app development ." Augmented reality (AR) apps - from companies such as Appinventiv, SeaMonster, and Skignz - are among the promising innovations for tourists. Mobile AR travel apps "quickly engage customers with interactivity and render an immersive user experience," says Saxena. "AR overlays digital components over real ones to deliver a rich and visually appealing experience."

In cities that rely on tourism and events, technology investments and destination quality are often so interrelated that smart tourism becomes part of smart city planning—offering opportunities for new solutions that benefit tourists and local residents. Innovation-centric leaders can learn from examples of solutions such as Smart CityCards (Vienna), MyStreetBook (Madrid), and CabTab (Amsterdam).

In the business events sector, the crisis-driven transition to webinars, live streaming, and virtual summits demonstrate the power of digital to serve as an alternative to travel and in-person events. While experts predict in-person events will recover, " getting back to normal will take time , and events will look very different in the interim." More organizations will discover opportunities to deliver hybrid events involving a fusion of the traditional conference venue, small satellite events, and virtual participation.

While large business and tech events may recover in the future, " virtual counterparts will likely exist down the road," says the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Julius Solaris, the founder of EventMB and editor of Event Manager Blog, says "we have been the first in the industry to strongly advocate the pivot to virtual " for business events. "While some were still trying to save the unsavable, we forecasted that virtual would be the only viable way to keep business going," adds Solaris. Finding a path forward - through coordination, innovation practices, safety protocols, and services reinvention

Coordination between industry and government is essential.

A potential barrier for smart cities in implementing smart tourism solutions derives from industry fragmentation and competitive intensity which evolved after mass tourism business models gained a foothold. This fragmentation constricts the flexibility (and willingness) of industry stakeholders to coordinate and work with the government to create new solutions. A McKinsey report says “reopening tourism-related businesses and managing their recovery in a way that is safe, attractive for tourists, and economically viable will require coordination at a level not seen before . The public sector may be best placed to oversee this process."

The industry needs to adopt best practices in smart tourism innovation.

The European Capital of Smart Tourism is a new initiative - launched “to strengthen tourism-generated innovative development in EU cities and their surroundings, increase their attractiveness as well as strengthen economic growth and job creation.” This initiative, with heightened importance in 2020, is designed to foster awareness of smart tourism technologies and establish a framework for the exchange of innovative practices in 38 EU cities. To facilitate knowledge sharing and cooperation, the European Commission sponsored the publication of a Compendium of Best Practices in accessibility, sustainability, digitalization, cultural heritage, and creativity.

Tourism recovery requires health safety assurance through global protocols.

The WTTC is cooperating with its members and with government leaders, associations, and health experts to develop pandemic recovery protocols and action plans - intended as living documents based partly on guidelines from the World Health Organization and U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The WTTC announced a plan to publish protocols for at least eleven travel and tourism categories . WTTC's goal is to provide public and private sectors with tools and practices for travel safety and build trust in health and safety measures.

The WTTC also created a Safe Travels Stamp "to recognize destination authorities and companies which have implemented health and hygiene protocols aligned with WTTC’s Global Safe Travels Protocols."

Beyond health safety measures, the crisis offers opportunities for reinvention.

“Be human and genuine and personalize the experience ." That is the advice from McKinsey in a report that says unique, personalized services represented a significant pre-crisis trend. "Boutique hotels, for instance, were the fastest-growing hotel segment in the United States, with supply increasing 10.6 percent between 2018 and 2019, compared with an overall hotel supply growth of 2.0 percent." McKinsey says the industry can learn from its past and "take inspiration from a time when airline travel was exciting and new, and travel companies went out of their way to solve for traveler needs."

Players throughout the industry should identify how the pandemic crisis disrupts business models and success factors - and drives the demand for reinvention. McKinsey believes those who succeed in a post-pandemic world will "work with travelers and employees to co-create distinctive solutions in a rapid and agile manner."

Implications for smart cities - smart solutions can help

While a smart destination enables an experience, smart tourism enables a smart destination. For smart cities - with destinations and tourism in crisis mode - this is a time to make the leap to recovery and reinvention through actions such as:

• Collaborating with the private sector and with other cities - to exchange innovation practices and co-create distinctive tourism services.
• Accelerating the adoption of entrepreneurial solutions in health and hygiene innovation - including contactless ticketing, reception, and kiosks; contact tracing apps; ultraviolet lighting to sanitize interior surfaces; and wearable devices for virus detection.
• Fast-tracking the implementation of high standards in health safety (e.g., through the adoption of WTTC protocols) - for tourist destinations and business and tech events.
• Advancing the use of interactive signage augmented reality, and navigation tools - to help tourists find attractions and local services and enable cities to manage tourist flows and congestion.
• Facilitating innovative digital and virtual solutions for event facilities and services - to enhance the experience and value of hybrid and online events.

In parallel with actions to recover and reinvent, smart cities should take steps to build trust with a diverse audience of tourists and business travelers - and with local companies, event planners, and residents. Building sustainable trust with the target audience requires that city leaders and industry stakeholders communicate clearly (with consistent messages in multiple channels), clarify recovery measures (to reduce uncertainties and avoid misinformation), and raise awareness of smart tourism.

Explore hundreds of smart tourism and smart city solutions

Join the global smart city network and community to discover hundreds of solutions and to connect with thousands of smart city experts and enthusiasts to share knowledge and explore collaboration opportunities.

RELATED ARTICLES

What is smart tourism and why is it so BIG?

Disclaimer: Some posts on Tourism Teacher may contain affiliate links. If you appreciate this content, you can show your support by making a purchase through these links or by buying me a coffee . Thank you for your support!

Smart tourism is big business in the travel and tourism industry, but why is it so big and what does smart tourism actually do? Read on to learn more…

What is smart tourism?

A definition of smart tourism, types of smart tourism, smart tourism accessibility options, smart tourism sustainability initiatives, smart tourism information sharing, smart tourism research and management tools, smart tourist experiences, smart tourism: conclusion.

Smart tourism is defined according to the technological capabilities of a particular destination, attraction or the tourist themselves. Many destinations are now modernising to include increased use of smart technology in their operations ranging from payment methods to interactive activities.

The ultimate aim of smart tourism is to improve the efficiency of resource management, maximise competitiveness and to enhance sustainability through the use of technological innovations and practices. It is often associated with e-tourism as this will involve the use of technology.

One destination that is leading the way with their smart tourism industry is China, whereby tourists can use their phones to do simple tasks such as pay for taxis, order meals, check queue times and read information on the destination or attraction that they are visiting through a supplied QR code.

‘Smart’ has become somewhat of a buzzword in recent years.

In essence, for something to be ‘smart’ it needs to have complex technological capabilities in order to allow for the exploitation of a range of information that is then used to inform product development and operation. Whilst the average tourist may not be aware of what goes on behind the scenes, there is likely a lot of work that goes on to ensure maximum productivity and competitiveness.

Whilst the concept of ‘smart’ isn’t directly correlated with technology, in today’s world they are inevitably intertwined. In order to be ‘smart’, destinations, attractions and other tourism industry stakeholders will utilise a variety of technological innovations and practices (these are outlined shortly). As such, the use of technology is at the heart of the concept of smart tourism.

There hasn’t been a great deal of research into smart tourism to date. Most studies in the area focus instead on ‘smart cities’ or ‘smart destinations’.

Gretzel et al (2015) advocate that the notion of smart tourism is, in fact, a complex one, and that succinctly defining the term smart tourism is a difficult endeavour.

The The European Capital of Smart Tourism , define a smart destination as:

‘A destination facilitating access to tourism and hospitality products, services, spaces and experiences through ICT-based tools. It is a healthy social and cultural environment, which can be found through a focus on the city´s social and human capital. It also implements innovative, intelligent solutions and fosters the development of entrepreneurial businesses and their interconnectedness.’

To further elaborate, Buhalis and Amaranggana explain that:

‘Smart Tourism Destinations take advantage of: (1) Technology embedded environments; (2) Responsive processes at micro and macro levels (3) End-user devices in multiple touch-points; and (4) Engaged stakeholders that use the platform dynamically as a neural system.’

Taking into account the available literature at the time of writing, I have provided my own definition of smart tourism below.

‘Smart tourism is the act of tourism agents utilising innovative technologies and practices to enhance resource management and sustainability, whilst increasing the businesses overall competitiveness’.

resource management, maximise competitiveness and to enhance sustainability through the use of technological innovations and practices.

At the heart of smart tourism is technology, that much is clear. But the key is how this technology is used to make the tourism agent (destination management organisation , tourist attraction, hotel, restaurant etc) operate more effectively.

Below you will find five of the most common methods of implementing smart tourism.

Ways to implement smart tourism

Smart tourism can be implemented in any number of different ways, providing it achieves the outcomes of enhanced resource management, sustainability and competitiveness. There are five main ways to do this, although this list is, of course, not exhaustive. These five methods include; smart accessibility options, smart sustainability initiatives, smart information sharing, smart research and management tools and smart tourist experiences.

In order to a tourism agent to identify as smart tourism initiative, they must demonstrate that they are accessible to all, both in a physical and a digital sense. This means that everyone has access to the tourism provider, regardless of age, gender, religion, race, sexuality or disability.

A smart tourism attraction or destination should have a well development transport infrastructure that enables all types of people to travel (i.e. there is wheelchair access and lifts for parents with prams etc). This should also include reasonably priced transport options, which will usually be public transport.

At the attraction or destination itself, there should be opportunities for everybody to access all areas. This may include lifts and ramps for disabled people.

Smart tourism accessibility also includes language communications. This is something that I have personally grappled with a lot since moving to China . Many Chinese attractions do not provide information for non-Chinese speaking tourists. Others provide translation for only some selected information (this works both ways too- I have translated museum scripts to find that the English version provides comprehensive details, but the Chinese version omits certain facts or remarks).

There are some great examples of smart tourism accessibility implemented around the world. I personally like the wheelchair accessibility that is promoted in Malaga and the personal city helpers scheme in Helsinki .

Sustainable tourism is at the forefront of many tourism agent’s plans and operations nowadays, and for good reason. As I explained in my post ‘ Sustainable tourism explained ‘, such practices not only help to provide a good image for the organisation, but also help to combat the negative social , environmental and economic impacts of tourism.

An important arm of smart tourism is the sustainability sector. Tourism agents which operate successful smart tourism initiatives should have a considerable focus on sustainability; reducing their carbon footprint, adopting environmentally friendly approaches and taking into account the host communities and their needs.

There are many ways that organisations can use mart technology to improve their sustainability practices.

Helsinki demonstrated their commitment to sustainable tourism during their Sustainable Flow Festival and Estonia have their Green Key initiative. At a more local level, there are many eco hotels and resorts around the world as well as socially beneficial tourism forms such as volunteer tourism .

Of course, having sustainable practices alone doesn’t qualify a tourism agent as a smart tourism provider. These practices need to be underpinned by technologies, such as the use of solar panel lighting for example, that enable said practices to be achieved.

One of the key advancements enabling smart tourism to occur in recent years is the growth of information sharing platforms. The digitalisation of modern day society has opened up a wealth of opportunities for tourism providers to share information to a wide range of tourist types .

The growth of social media, QR codes and mini-programmes has provided tourism agents with opportunities that were not previously available.

Tourism organisations can now use these new opportunities to provide information prior, during and after the tourists’ visit. They can also utilise more efficient promotional methods and marketing on these online platforms.

Complex algorithms, cookies and other digital monitoring methods can help organisations to be more and more in tune with their consumers or potential consumers. This allows them to develop more suitable and targeted products.

Organisations have been capitalising on the new possibilities of smart tourism information sharing by adopting electronic means of sharing information, for example in a museum or exhibit, encouraging the use of particular social media hashtags and geotagging and developing custom made apps.

Whilst many organisations around the world have turned to smart tourism information sharing practices, China is leading the way in this domain. Chinese tourism attractions are abundant with QR codes and their social media sharing platform, WeChat, enables tourism providers to develop their own mini-programmes- kind of like apps, but less extensive and without the need to download anything.

Nowadays there are many methods of obtaining and monitoring information. Organisations now have a wealth of data at their fingertips.

Adopting smart tourism research and management tools, such as designing a custom-made tourism flow monitor or developing a tailor-made CRM programme, can dramatically improve business outcomes.

A good example of a destination that has implemented smart tourism research and management tools in this way is Malaga, where they have introduced a parking app to help travellers park more effectively and reduce congestion.

Perhaps the most obvious type of smart tourism (for the tourist at least), is the smart tourist experience.

Destinations, attractions and other tourism providers are now adopting innovative technological approaches to develop and enhance the tourism experience that they offer. This ranges from augmented reality applications to gaming and virtual reality. This article on the top 20 augmented reality travel apps show a few examples of how this works in practice.

In the UK, The Hub Hotel from Premier Inn has made augmented reality compatible with the wall maps in the hotel rooms. When these maps are viewed through a smart device the wall maps present additional information about some of the local places of interest.

On my recent trip to Qiandao Lake in China, I saw a virtual reality hot air ballon. Here tourists would wear a mask which would make them feel like they would be lifted to a height inside the hot air ballon, where they could appreciate the lake view around them. In reality, their feet would never leave the ground!

Is smart tourism the future of tourism? I would say so, yes. There are some brilliant examples of smart tourism initiatives around the world and countries like China are leading the way. Despite the evident growth in smart tourism, however, there is a dearth of information on the subject, most notably in the academic field.

Personally, I am excited to see the developments in the tourism industry in this regard over the coming years! What do you think?

Liked this article? Click to share!

Sustainability-oriented Innovation in Smart Tourism pp 1–13 Cite as

Sustainability-Oriented Innovation in Smart Destinations: An Integrative Perspective

• Cecilia Pasquinelli   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-4924-9398 4 &
• Mariapina Trunfio   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-3049-0149 4  
• First Online: 25 June 2023

133 Accesses

Part of the book series: Tourism on the Verge ((TV))

This chapter builds on the multifaceted concept of sustainability and calls for a deeper and critical analysis of smart technologies’ roles alongside sustainable destination development, which represents a field of largely underdeveloped inquiry. The research cross-fertilises existing theoretical domains of innovation, smart technologies, and sustainable tourism, shedding light on the research gaps and building novel research routes that are relevant to academics, practitioners, and policymakers. The “tech-clash” in the contemporary global scenario represents the starting point for this book, which aims to cast a critical light on the consolidated views of disruptive technological exploitation, laying the foundation stones of the academic debate on sustainable-oriented innovation in smart tourism destinations. Sustainability-oriented innovation combines research on technology- and social-driven innovations in tourism destinations and the sustainable destination agenda, providing an integrative understanding of the nexus between smartness and sustainability within destinations. The book engages theoretically and empirically with the research question of how and to what extent smart technologies-drive tourism innovation focused on an integrative perspective of sustainability-oriented innovation. Building on a critical analysis of modalities, challenges, opportunities, and pitfalls of technology deployment, the book investigates emerging innovative destination models and practical smart solutions involving stakeholders in sustainable development. It explores the unchartered territories of sustainability-oriented innovation for human wellbeing and societal development.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution .

Buying options

• Available as PDF
• Read on any device
• Instant download
• Own it forever
• Available as EPUB and PDF
• Durable hardcover edition
• Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
• Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Accenture (2020) Waking up to a new reality: building a responsible future for immersive technologies.

Google Scholar  

Adams R, Jeanreanaud S, Bessant J, Denyer D, Overy P (2016) Sustainability-oriented innovation: a systematic review. Int J Manag Rev 18(2):180–205

Article   Google Scholar  

Ali A, Frew AJ (2014) ICT and sustainable tourism development: an innovative perspective. J Hosp Tour Technol 5(1):2–16

Bach C, Scapin DL (2004) Obstacles and perspectives for evaluating mixed reality systems usability. In: Computer-aided design of user interfaces, pp 1–8

Bekele MK, Town C, Pierdicca R, Frontoni E, Malinverni ES (2018) A survey of augmented, virtual, and mixed reality for cultural heritage. J Comput Cult Heritage 11(2):7–36

Coenen L, Truffer B (2012) Places and spaces of sustainability transitions: geographical contributions to an emerging research and policy field. Eur Plan Stud 20(3):367–374

Collins-Kreiner N, Ram Y (2020) National tourism strategies during the COVID-19 pandemic. Ann Tour Res 89. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annals.2020.103076

Colomb C, Novy J (2016) Protest and resistance in the tourist city. Routledge

Book   Google Scholar  

Del Chiappa G, Pung JM, Atzeni M (2022) Factors influencing choice of accommodation during Covid-19: a mixed-methods study of Italian consumers. J Qual Assur Hosp Tour 23(4):1037–1063

Dodds R, Butler RW (2019) Introduction. In: Dodds R, Butler RW (eds) Overtourism. Issues, realities and solutions. De Gruyter, Berlin

Chapter   Google Scholar  

Dolnicar S, Zare S (2020) COVID19 and airbnb–Disrupting the disruptor. Ann Tour Res 83:102961

Edwards-Schachter M (2018) The nature and variety of innovation. Int J Innov Stud 2(2):65–79

Elkhwesky Z, El Manzani Y, Elbayoumi Salem I (2022) Driving hospitality and tourism to foster sustainable innovation: a systemic review of Covid-19-related studies and practical implications in the digital era. Tour Hosp Res 20:1–19

Fagerberg J (2018) Mobilizing innovation for sustainability transitions: a comment on transformative innovation policy. Res Policy 47:1568–1576

Fava N, Rubio SP (2017) From Barcelona: the pearl of the Mediterranean to bye bye Barcelona. In: Bellini N, Pasquinelli C (eds) Tourism in the city. Towards an integrative agenda on urban tourism. Springer, pp 285–296

Flavián C, Ibáñez-Sánchez S, Orús C (2019) The impact of virtual, augmented and mixed reality technologies on the customer experience. J Bus Res 100:547–560

Gossling S, Scott D, Hall M (2020) Pandemics, tourism and global change: a rapid assessment of COVID-19. J Sustain Tour 29(1):1–20

Gretzel U (2021) Conceptualizing the smart tourism mindset: fostering utopian thinking in smart tourism development. J Smart Tour 1(1):3–8

Gretzel U (2022) The smart DMO: a new step in the digital transformation of destination management organisations. Euro J Tour Res 30:302

Gretzel U, Fuchs M, Baggio R, Hoepken W, Law R, Neidhardt J, Pesonen J, Zanker M, Xiang Z (2020) E-tourism beyond COVID-19: a call for transformative research. Inf Technol Tour 22(2):187–203

Hassan SB, Soliman M (2021) Covid-19 and repeat visitation: assessing the role of destination social responsibility, destination reputation, holidaymakers’ trust and fear arousal. J Destin Mark Manag 19(March):100495

Higgins-Desbiolles F (2021) The ‘war over tourism’: challenges to sustainable tourism in the tourism academy after COVID-19. J Sustain Tour 29(4):551–569

Ioannides D, Gyimothy S (2020) The Covid-19 crisis as an opportunity for escaping the unsustainable global tourism path. Tour Geogr 22(3):624–632

Jovicic DZ (2019) From the traditional understanding of tourism destination to the smart tourism destination. Curr Issue Tour 22(3):276–282

Kahn KB (2018) Understanding innovation. Business Horizons 61(3):453–460

Karabulut G, Bilgin MH, Demir E, Doker AC (2020) How pandemics affect tourism: international evidence. Ann Tour Res 84:102991

Koens K, Postma A, Papp B (2018) Is overtourism overused? Understanding the impact of tourism in a city context. Sustainability (Switzerland) 10:1–15

Li J, Nguyen THH, Coca-Stefaniak JA (2021) Coronavirus impacts on post-pandemic planned travel behaviours. Ann Tour Res 86(January):1–5

Martín JMM, Martínez JMG, Fernández JAS (2018) An analysis of the factors behind the citizen’s attitude of rejection towards tourism in a context of overtourism and economic dependence on this activity. Sustainability (Switzerland) 10(8)

Matiza T (2020) Post-COVID-19 crisis travel behaviour: towards mitigating the effects of perceived risk. J Tour Futures 8(1):99–108

Milano C (2017) Overtourism y Turismofobia. Tendencias globales y contextos locales. Ostelea School of Tourism & Hospitality, Barcelona

Milano C, Novelli M, Cheer JM (2019) Overtourism and tourismphobia: a journey through four decades of tourism development, planning and local concerns. Tour Plan Develop 16(4):353–357

Minoia P (2017) Venice reshaped? Tourist gentrification and sense of place. In: Bellini N, Pasquinelli C (eds) Tourism in the city. Towards an integrative agenda on urban tourism. Springer, pp 261–274

Muler Gonzalez V, Coromina L, Galí N (2018) Overtourism: residents’ perceptions of tourism impact as an indicator of resident social carrying capacity–case study of a Spanish heritage town. Tour Rev 73(3):277–296

OECD (2017) Science, technology and industry scoreboard 2017. The digital transformation. OECD Publishing, Paris, France

Oklevik O, Gössling S, Michael CH, Jens Kristian SJ, Ivar Petter G, McCabe S (2019) Overtourism, optimisation, and destination performance indicators: a case study of activities in fjord Norway. J Sustain Tour 27(12):1804–1824

Paramanathan S, Farrukh C, Phaal R (2004) Implementing industrial sustainability: the research issues in technology management. R D Manag 34(5):527–537

Pasquinelli C, Rovai S, Bellini N (2023a) Linking place brands and regional innovation: sustainable business strategies leveraging heritage. Reg Stud 1. https://doi.org/10.1080/00343404.2023.2187046

Pasquinelli C, Trunfio M (2020a) Overtouristified cities: an online news media narrative analysis. J Sustain Tour 28(11):1805–1824

Pasquinelli C, Trunfio M (2020b) Reframing urban overtourism through the smart-city lens. Cities 102:1–8

Pasquinelli C, Trunfio M (2020c) The European capitals of culture in a time of overtourism hazard. In: Cantoni L, De Ascaniis S, Elgin-Nijhuis K (eds) Proceedings of the Heritage, Tourism and Hospitality International Conference HTHIC2020. Università della Svizzera Italiana, Lugano, pp 159–170

Pasquinelli C, Trunfio M (2022) The missing link between overtourism and post-pandemic tourism. Framing twitter debate on the Italian tourism cities. J Place Manag Dev 15(3):229–247

Pasquinelli C, Trunfio M, Bellini N, Rossi S (2021) Sustainability in overtouristified cities? A social media insight into Italian branding responses to Covid-19 crisis. Sustain 13:1848

Pasquinelli C, Trunfio M, Bellini N, Rossi S (2022) Reimagining urban destination: adaptive and transformative city brand attributes and values in the pandemic crisis. Cities 124(May):103621

Pasquinelli C, Trunfio M, Punziano G, Del Chiappa G (2023b) Online tourism experiences: exploring digital and human dimensions in in-remote destination visits. J Hosp Mark Manag 32(3):385–409

Peeters PM, Gössling S, Klijs J, Milano C, Novelli M, Dijkmans CHS, … Postma A (2018) Research for TRAN committee-Overtourism: impact and possible policy responses. European Parliament, Policy Department for Structural and Cohesion Policies

Pencarelli T (2020) The digital revolution in the travel and tourism industry. Inf Tech Tour 22(3):455–476

Reinhold S, Laesser C, Beritelli P (2015) 2014 St. Gallen Consensus on destination management. J Destin Mark Manag 4(2):137–142

Séraphin H, Ivanov S, Dosquet F, Lajoinie B (2020) Archetypes of locals in destinations victim of overtourism. J Hosp Tour Manag 43:283–288

Séraphin H, Sheeran P, Pilato M (2018) Over-tourism and the fall of Venice as a destination. J Destin Mark Manag 9:374–376

Séraphin H, Zaman M, Olver S, Bourliataux-Lajoinie S, Dosquet F (2019) Destination branding and overtourism. J Hosp Tour Manag 38:1–4

Shafiee S, Ghatari AR, Hasanzadeh A, Jahanyan S (2019) Developing a model for sustainable smart tourism destination: a systemic review. Tour Manag Perspect 31:287–300

Sharma A, Nicolau JL (2020) An open market valuation of the effects of COVID-19 on the travel and tourismindustry. Ann Tour Res 83:102990

Sigala M (2020) Tourism and COVID-19: impacts and implications for advancing and resetting industry and research. J Bus Res 117:312–321

Sorokina E, Wang Y, Gyall A, Lugosi P, Torres E, Jung T (2022) Constructing a smart destination framework: a destination marketing organisation perspective. J Destin Mark Manag 23(March):100688

Stankov U, Gretzel U (2020) Tourism 4.0 technologies and tourist experiences: a human-centered design perspective. Inf Tech Tour 22(3):477–488

Talwar S, Kaur P, Nunkoo R, Dhir A (2022a) Digitalisation and sustainability: virtual reality tourism in a post pandemic world. J Sustain Tour 1. https://doi.org/10.1080/09669582.2022.2029870

Talwar S, Srivastava S, Sakashita M, Islam N, Dhir A (2022b) Personality and travel intentions during and after the Covid-19 pandemic: an artificial neural network (ANN) approach. J Bus Res 142:400–411

Trunfio M, Campana S (2020) Innovation in knowledge-based destination: technology-driven versus social-driven. Int J Knowl Based Dev 11(2):76–199

Trunfio M, Campana S (2019) Drivers and emerging innovations in knowledge-based destinations: towards a research agenda. J Destin Mark Manag 14:100370

Trunfio M, Jung T, Campana S (2022) Mixed reality experiences in museums: exploring the impact of functional elements of the devices on visitors’ immersive experiences and post-experience behaviours. Inf Manag 59:1–16

Trunfio M, Pasquinelli C (2021) Smart technologies in the Covid-19 crisis: managing touris flows and shaping visitors’ behaviour. Euro J Tour Res 29:2910

UNWTO (2020) Covid-19 and tourism. 2020: a year in review. UNWTO

van der Have RP, Rubalcaba L (2016) Social innovation research: an emerging area of innovation studies? Res Policy 45:1923–1935

Wong IA, Lu MV, Lin S, Lin Z (2022) The transformative virtual experience paradigm: the case of Airbnb’s online experience. Int J Contemp Hosp Manag. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJCHM-12-2021-1554

Xiang Z, Gretzel U (2010) Role of social Media in Online Travel Information Search. Tour Manag 31:179–188

Zhang H, Song H, Wen L, Liu C (2020) Forecasting tourism recovery amid COVID-19. Anna Tour Res 87:1–16

Zhang J, and Qiu H (2022) Window to the destination: tourists’ local experience via “online experiences” on Airbnb amid the pandemic. Paper presented at the ENTER 2022 eTourism Conference

Zheng D, Luo Q, Ritchie BW (2021) Afraid to travel after COVID-19? Self-protection, coping and resilience against pandemic ‘travel fear. Tour Manag 83:104261

Zhu J, Cheng M (2021) The rise of a new form of virtual tour: airbnb peer-to-peer online experience. Curr Issue Tour:1–6

Download references

Author information

Authors and affiliations.

Department of Management and Quantitative Studies, University of Naples Parthenope, Naples, Italy

Cecilia Pasquinelli & Mariapina Trunfio

You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2023 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this chapter

Cite this chapter.

Pasquinelli, C., Trunfio, M. (2023). Sustainability-Oriented Innovation in Smart Destinations: An Integrative Perspective. In: Sustainability-oriented Innovation in Smart Tourism. Tourism on the Verge. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-33677-5_1

Download citation

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-33677-5_1

Published : 25 June 2023

Publisher Name : Springer, Cham

Print ISBN : 978-3-031-33676-8

Online ISBN : 978-3-031-33677-5

eBook Packages : Business and Management Business and Management (R0)

Share this chapter

Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content:

Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article.

Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative

• Publish with us

Policies and ethics

• Find a journal
• Track your research

More From Forbes

Technology tourism is hampering the rollout of ai and deep-tech.

• Share to Facebook
• Share to Twitter
• Share to Linkedin

Dr. Prasad Akella is the founder and chairman of Drishti, which uses AI and video to empower manufacturing workers and optimize production.

I have, over the years, helped host my fair share of multinational CxOs visiting Silicon Valley. The cultural exposure to innovation during these “Silicon Valley tourism” trips is designed to help senior executives develop and drive their own innovation agendas. I’ve always felt that this is analogous to going to Harvard Business School, walking the corridors, talking to a few famous professors and leaving with the belief that you have earned an MBA.

I have also seen a similar and harmful trend in the manufacturing world—one I call “technology tourism” and McKinsey calls “pilot purgatory” —with multinationals toying with technologies at significant cost to startups and innovation. This article offers practical ideas intended to help scale innovative manufacturing. In truth, this article generalizes to scaling deep tech, including GenAI.

Technology Tourism: Inappropriate Success Metrics For Their Innovation Leaders.

First, the problem statement. CEOs hear about Industry 4.0, computer vision, GenAI and the like. Often, industry analysts, peers or board members ask, “What are you doing about the topic de jour ?” In response, CEOs assign a VP of, say, Industry 4.0 (and, increasingly, “VP of AI”) to test and deploy the latest technologies. And it is here that the trouble starts. The newly anointed VP often decides to set up an innovation lab to “demonstrate new technologies” and broker technology marriages. To make the center sexy, he reaches technology vendors and spreads the proverbial peanut butter by bringing in vendors of all sizes. The center is wonderful for show ‘n tell—from great all-hands meetings to dazzling corporate videos. Unfortunately, the effort often lacks grounded planning around how these technologies will be used, which deployment team will catch the vetted ones and how they will become a part of the company’s standard business process. Most importantly, how the technologies will deliver documentable VALUE to the company.

The core issue is that success KPIs center around “how many exciting technologies are demonstrated” and, more cynically, “how many guests are impressed.” Not “how is the business consistently benefiting?”

Why You Should Stop Sending Texts From Your iMessage App

See ‘shooting stars’ from halley’s comet as top meteor shower peaks, ukrolancet drones blitz russian air defenses, rethinking technology tourism: ensure that the business drives the innovation investment.

While innovation windows should vary from immediate to 10 years out, the required approach is clear and universal: anchor all decisions around the notion that “the business drives innovation investment.”

Here’s an instantiation of this approach.

1. Select the investment areas deliberately.

• Working with your CFO, identify the top three functional metrics that directly contribute to the financial metrics—tactical and strategic—that the company has committed to.

• Working with your head of manufacturing, identify, for each of these KPIs, the most important drivers. For example, first pass yield or categorization of returned merchandise authorizations to drive quality.

• Empower a leadership team to drive hard decisions and align resources (human, people, process).

• Embed the CFO’s representative in this team, and task them with building and executing a financial model that ties the activity on the plant floor to the financials that the CFO presents to the Street. Independent measurement is good for the project and for the business!

• Craft the business case/framework and publish it—before technology and vendor selection even starts!

2. Design the process to identify contributors and ruthlessly kill the rest.

• Then, working with your plant leadership, identify candidate processes and lines. Characterize them so you are working with facts—not opinions.

• Invite as many vendors as you deem fit so you are also scanning the market.

• Deploy the potential technologies across different facilities.

• Run clear, scientifically valid tests to eliminate inherent biases and the inevitable politics. In fact, publish the essentials of your business decision framework a priori to focus everyone.

• End the validation on a pre-assigned date—ideally within weeks, not months and years.

• Empower the leadership team to make and act on their findings. Demand a technical and financial readout to the CEO’s staff.

3. Plan for success.

• In parallel with step 2, anticipate success and construct and prep the scaling team.

• Let it define your rollout strategy and train and prepare the receiving teams.

• Fund the scaling effort for success.

4. Scale the recommended technologies/vendors.

• Target initial deployments where you have your more open-minded and progressive plant managers

• Confirm that the value that you expected when scaling is delivered. If yes, skip any double guessing and invest If no, ask why and what differed. Often, it is something simple and the value that you saw is being missed. Redo till you have a clear answer. Kill, if you have to.

5. Rinse, learn and repeat.

Rethinking technology tourism: align clock speeds.

The decision-making velocity of large enterprises kills startups—which live and die by the 18-24 month funding cycle.

All large companies pride themselves on vetting new technologies before deploying them. They test the technology till they have covered their backsides, unleash their amazingly adept buyers on their vendors and hammer out deals that are inevitably biased in their favor. All good.

But, where they miss the boat is that by—sometimes innocently—dragging things out, they make it hard for startups to demonstrate success to their investors. By stripping startups of any financial leverage, they leave startups unable to use scarce resources wisely and make it to the next round. This means large companies lose access to the very technology that they need!

Aligning goals and timelines is critical for mutual success.

I conclude with three easy, implementable takeaways for the next CEO touring Silicon Valley.

1. Identify and work a predetermined process.

2. Force timely decision-making.

3. Think win-win. Think long.

As they say in financial portfolio theory, small asset allocations don’t move the returns. Gaming and dithering hurts everyone. So, leaders of enterprises have to make calculated and big bets, accept the risk that comes alongside the potential upside from innovation, commit and execute speedily. Doing so will advance innovation in most verticals—from manufacturing to GenAI—that is particularly critical today.

Forbes Technology Council is an invitation-only community for world-class CIOs, CTOs and technology executives. Do I qualify?

• Editorial Standards
• Reprints & Permissions