Tourism management studies of the smart era

Tourism management studies of the smart era

Tourism Marketing in the Smart Age: Convergence of Smart Technologies, Tourist Behavior, and Sustainable Tourism

Document Type : Original Article- original research

Authors
1 Department of Business Management, ShQ.C., Islamic Azad University, Shahr-e Qods, Iran.
2 Department of Public Administration, CT.C., Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran
Abstract
Tourism marketing, as one of the main pillars of the tourism industry, plays a vital role in attracting tourists, developing destinations, and fostering economic expansion. In today's world, tourism is not only known as a dynamic and revenue-generating industry, but also acts as a tool for cultural exchange, sustainable development, and strengthening international relations. The present study aims to present a tourism marketing model. The research method is qualitative. The participants include 13 managers, faculty members specializing in the field of tourism and smart management, senior managers of tourism planning in the municipality and the Cultural Heritage Organization, and senior technology experts in tourism in Tehran, who were selected through purposive non-probability sampling. A semi-structured interview tool with the 5W1H technique was used to collect data. To ensure the validity of the research, conformance was used, and test-retest reliability was used for reliability. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the data. Finally, 6 main themes and 21 sub-themes were identified: smart technology (virtual reality and augmented reality, artificial intelligence capabilities, blockchain capabilities, and the Internet of Things), tourist behavior (personal preferences, experience, trust, and purchasing behavior), tourism marketing challenges (tourist behavioral challenges, infrastructure, global crises), tourism marketing strategies (marketing communications, content marketing, dynamic pricing), sustainable tourism (environmental, social, economic, and cultural), smart governance (smart regulations, smart management of tourism destinations, and participatory governance). The proposed model, by combining the components, provides a suitable solution for the sustainable development of the tourism industry in the digital age, which can lead to increased competitiveness of destinations and improved tourist experience
Keywords
Subjects

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