Building sustainability in smart destinations: Applicability of a management model for the case of Spain

Abstract

Tourism Inteliigence and sustainability are present in most of the current academic debates on the policy and governance of tourism. In the case osf Spain, these debates have darwn a new scenario in which tourism sustainability and intelligence need to meet with the new territorial and tourism sector needs. Withins this framework, the Spainsh model of smart destination is led by the methodology of the State Company for the Management of Innovation and Touris Technologies (SEGITTUR), transforming the territories to favor the transition to a new, more innovative, and sustainable tourism model. The main goal of this work consists of obtaining empirical evidence on smart sustainability measurement within the smart transformation of a destination. To do this, the SEGITTUR methodology has been applied in 22 Spanish destinations that are in process of becoming SD. The outputs of this work bring empirical evidence within their smart transforamation. These outputs also enable the Spanish destinations to identify the main weaknesses and strengths they must cope with to assure a sustainable transformation regarding both their territorial characteristics as well as their population size.