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PurposeDestination management organizations perform a very important role regarding the management of tourism destinations. Destination management systems are a key technological infrastructure for these organizations. However, in the literature, it is not clear what are the factors that promote the implementation of these systems, neither what are the factors that contribute to their success. This study aims to propose and test two research models to overcome these research gaps.Design/methodology/approachThe first model refers to the determinants of the implementation of destination management systems, and the second model refers to the determinants of the success of those systems. The models are tested with data collected through a questionnaire survey from destination management organizations of five European countries, which are among the leaders in international tourism receipts.FindingsConcerning the factors that promote the implementation of destination management systems, this study reveals the importance of the diversity of partnerships that the private sector establishes in the destination, of advantages resulting from governance and of partners' involvement in the functions of destination management organizations. Concerning the factors that promote the success of these systems, this study highlights the importance of a phased implementation, the fact that a high number of functionalities in the system prevents success and the importance of having a revenue model that can support financial and operating costs.Originality/valueThe study provides important theoretical and practical contributions to the successful implementation of destination management systems by destination management organizations.

Evidence suggests that factors influencing choice of destination for a conference have changed and the effectiveness and sustainability of traditional approaches to securing conferences such as the offer of financial incentives by destinationmanagement organizations (DMOs), has been questioned. Incentives, such as venue discounts, are used to attract association conferences to a destination but this widely accepted industry practice remains scarcely discussed in scientific publications. Therefore, there is a renewed need to understand site selection from the perspective of professional conference organizers (PCO) and such research will be valuable to the growing number of competing destinations and to the policy makers that support them. This research reports on a qualitive inquiry involving 12 elite PCOs designed to specifically explore the influence of financial incentives onsite selection. This research makes an important contribution to the theoretical discourse on destination competitiveness and is of practical value to DMOs and policy makers.

Smart tourism destinations aim to manage data coming from deployment of ICT solutions for the sake of an actionable decision-making process. However, data management in the tourism domain have some challenges, such as (i) the need of tourism sector for including external, non-tourism data to make the data more meaningful; (ii) the very heterogeneous nature of tourism data by subject matter; as well as (iii) data coming from many levels of granularity (e.g., city, region, or nation). In order to propose how to properly address these challenges, contribution of this paper is twofold. First, opportunities and barriers that held data-driven smart tourism destinations are analyzed by considering the case study of Visit Benidorm, the Destination Management Organization (DMO) of Benidorm, which is the first city certified as smart tourism destination according to the Spanish standards. Secondly, insights are provided that allow to state that data spaces in the tourism sector are required for DMOs to unleashing the potential of data in a smart tourism destination. Los destinos turísticos inteligentes buscan gestionar los datos provenientes del despliegue de soluciones TIC con el fin de facilitar un proceso de toma de decisiones accionable. Sin embargo, la gestión de datos en el ámbito turístico presenta algunos desafíos, tales como: (i) la necesidad del sector turístico de incluir datos externos, no turísticos, para hacer que los datos sean más significativos; (ii) la naturaleza muy heterogénea de los datos turísticos por temática; así como (iii) datos que provienen de muchos niveles de granularidad (por ejemplo, ciudad, región o nación).Con el objetivo de proponer cómo abordar adecuadamente estos desafíos, la contribución de este artículo es doble. En primer lugar, se analizan las oportunidades y barreras que condicionan a los destinos turísticos inteligentes basados en datos, considerando el estudio de caso de Visit Benidorm, la Organización de Gestión del Destino (DMO) de Benidorm, que es la primera ciudad certificada como destino turístico inteligente según los estándares españoles. En segundo lugar, se ofrecen perspectivas que permiten afirmar que los espacios de datos en el sector turístico son necesarios para que las DMOs puedan liberar el potencial de los datos en un destino turístico inteligente.

Destination brand identity has become a crucial topic in tourism research, garnering considerable significance recently. This study aims to provide a scholarly contribution by conducting a bibliometric mapping analysis, specifically focusing on identifying areas that will significantly impact future research. The research uses SciMAT software to structure various topics into clusters based on their similarities and scientifically map them. The data sample comprises 295 papers published in the SCOPUS database between 1995 and 2022. The findings show the evolutionary structure of pertinent domains. The analysis identified eight main themes and proposed a research agenda to guide future lines of research: (a) tourist destination, (b) communications and digital technologies, (c) co-creation; (d) place branding, (e) cultural identity, (f) sustainable destination, (g) dimensionality, and (h) destination satisfaction. This article is a pioneering document in mapping this field of research, as it identifies relevant areas and sub-areas for current and future research. As a result, this article should be considered a guide for tourism and hospitality researchers. The significance of destination brand identity has increased in tourism research and practice, leading to a crucial research topic. This research aims to uncover important areas that influence future inquiries through an extensive bibliometric mapping analysis. Using SciMAT software, papers published between 1995 and 2022 were meticulously clustered based on their correlations and scientific mapping. The results reveal an evolutionary framework that encompasses eight primary themes, including tourist destinations, digital technologies, co-creation, place branding, cultural identity, sustainability, dimensionality, and destination satisfaction. This pioneering article maps these domains and proposes a comprehensive research agenda, guiding present and future inquiries in the tourism and hospitality sphere. This work is an invaluable resource for scholars and practitioners alike, shaping the trajectory of research in this field.

Delivering a positive tourism experience is an expanding concern of destinations because of the growth of the tourism industry. The emergence of creative tourism has led to a continued necessity for local destination management organizations to pursue innovative and versatile strategies. This study aims to evaluate the organizational capabilities of local destination management organizations to promote a creative tourism context and develop related activities. The conceptual model was tested using a mixed-methods approach, combining a focus group with local destination management organizations with a quantitative study using multivariate statistical analysis through structural equational modeling. The findings showed that local destination management organizations ought to prioritize organizational culture by coordinating learning and effective knowledge training to strengthen marketing communication capabilities while focusing on potentiating their resources to develop the destination by implementing a local creative tourism destination, thereby generating value for a greater creative tourism local destination where tourists play an active role.

The article presents a methodological concept for the creation of tourism management foresight scenarios for selected areas of intervention and driving forces as well as the obligatory components influencing the directions of its evolution. Recommendations were made on methods and research techniques for preparing such a scenario. The proposed concept of creating foresight of positive and negative future events or situations will enable stakeholders and decision-makers to evaluate what effect the foreseen transformation should have on the management of a destination, which will result in new organizational, financial and legal tools within the framework of the tourism policy of the country or region. The scenarios identify the network of agents of change and the expected benefits and facilitate a continuous diagnostic of the state of the tourism function in the destination and further evolution from the perspectives of diverse stakeholder types.

The convergence of artificial intelligence (AI) and smart destinations has attracted increasing academic and industry interest; however, the specific mediating role that smart destinations play in the relationship between AI and the tourist experience remains underexplored. This study explores how artificial intelligence (AI) influences both the development of smart tourist destinations and the overall tourist experience. It further investigates the direct impact of smart destinations on tourist experiences, as well as their mediating role in the relationship between AI and those experiences. To empirically test these relationships, the researchers employed Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) using WarpPLS 7.0, analyzing quantitative data collected from 482 managers and supervisors operating within travel agencies, hotels, and destination management organizations across various regions in Saudi Arabia. The findings reveal that AI has a statistically significant and positive effect on both the advancement of smart destination capabilities and the enrichment of tourist experiences. In turn, smart destinations were found to have a direct positive impact on tourist experiences, while also functioning as a partial mediator, indicating that their presence strengthens-but does not fully account for-the influence of AI on experience quality. These results contribute to the growing body of knowledge on AI- enabled tourism and provide practical implications for destination managers, tourism developers, and policymakers. Specifically, they underscore the importance of investing in smart infrastructure and AI applications not merely as tools of modernization, but as strategic enablers for enhancing visitor satisfaction, fostering loyalty, and securing sustainable competitive advantages in an increasingly digital tourism economy.

Purpose Few papers address innovation activities among tourism entities. The purpose of this paper is to elucidate the extent to which the theoretical framework of network orchestration can explain the system of relations underlying roles and behaviors of tourism actors in collaborative innovation settings. Design/methodology/approach Using interview data collected from destination management organizations and their destination partners within two polar-sampled North American destinations, this study identifies relationships which underlie the behaviors of tourism and hospitality actors engaged in collaborative innovative activities. To understand these relationships, this study abductively imposes the emergent theoretical framework of network orchestration and offers practical implications for conducting successful innovation among tourism collaborators. Findings First, orchestration of knowledge mobility processes in collaborative innovation settings is associated with trust, perceived fairness and the search for experts within the network. Second, orchestration of innovation appropriability processes is associated with forging shared ownership and knowledge exchange with “dissimilar” partners. Third, orchestration of network stability processes is associated with enhancing the reputation of influential actors within the tourism destination, and shared visioning of future innovation outcomes. Originality/value This paper contributes to the collaborative innovation landscape by testing the emerging theoretical framework of network orchestration and proposing practical implications for hospitality and tourism actors engaged in innovative activities. The research further demonstrates the value of abductive reasoning for elucidating theory from interview evidence and proposes a model for future studies on collaborative innovation networks.

Developments in ICT and the massive growth in social media usage have increased the availability of data on travel behaviour. This brings an array of new possibilities to improve destination management through Data-driven decisions. This data, however, needs to be analysed and interpreted in order to be beneficial for destination management. Different kinds of methodologies and data have already been applied to analyse spatial behaviour of tourists between and within destinations. The novelty of our paper in this sense that we apply a relational approach by conducting a network analysis methodology on a readily available big data source: user generated content (UGC) from TripAdvisor. The collected data from the city of Antwerp, Belgium shows how locals, Belgians, Europeans and non-Europeans have distinct review patterns, but also shows recurring behavioural patterns. By comparing the relational constellation of the review network to the spatial distribution of central and peripheral attractions, hotels and restaurants, we discuss the added value of social network analysis on UGC for translating (big) data into applicable information and knowledge. The results show a dominant position of a limited number of clustered attractions in the historic city centre, and shows how geographical proximity and relational proximity are interrelated for international reviewers but less for domestic reviewers. This finding is translated into a set of recommendations for policy makers and destination managers trying to accomplish a better distribution of tourists over the entire destination.

Purpose This paper aims to understand the key factors affecting collaborative innovation in a destination management organisation from a dynamic capability perspective. Design/methodology/approach An in-depth case study was conducted using semi-structured interviews with the CEO and Chairman of the destination management organisation (DMO) and internal DMO documents from 2011 to 2016. Thematic analysis was carried out on the data both deductively, with generic themes identified and informed by theory, and inductively, where detailed subthemes were developed from the data. Findings The success of innovation in the context of a DMO depends on having a strong base of microfoundations that underpin the DMO’s capabilities to sense and seize opportunities and reconfigure its assets for competitive advantage. Collaboration with the key players in the sector has been the essential elements of these microfoundations. Research limitations/implications This study has been conducted within a single DMO case study. Future research should test the proposed models in different types of organisations and collaborative contexts. Practical implications The proposed dynamic capability framework helps managers achieve collaborative innovation, leading to competitive advantage through better development of relevant capabilities. Originality/value The study represents a first attempt to understand the key factors enabling successful collaborative innovation in the context of DMOs, from a dynamic capability perspective. The unique opportunity of accessing information and witnessing the changes in a DMO over a period of five years enabled the authors to gain in-depth insights and comprehensive understanding as to why and how a UK DMO has been successful in enhancing its business performance through a successful collaborative innovation.