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Information and Communication Technologies in Tourism 2018 pp 437–449Cite as

Smart Tourism Destinations and Higher Tourism Education in Spain. Are We Ready for This New Management Approach?

Abstract

‘Smart tourism’ and ‘smart tourism destinations’ (STDs) have become commonplace in the research of the interrelationship between tourism, destinations and the latest Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs). However, research has failed hitherto to identify if this evolution towards smartness of tourism is accompanied by a similar process in tourism education to provide the system with prepared human resources once the transformation has been fully completed. This paper aims to fulfil this gap, by taking the case of Spanish public superior education in tourism, to analyse in which degree ICTs, as critical knowledge and skills required within STDs, are included in tourism curricula and how students assess the formation they receive in this regard. The analysis offers several valuable implications for governments in charge of public education design and opens discussion over the possibility to strengthen the technological side of tourism curricula.

Keywords

  • Smart tourism
  • Smart tourism destinations
  • ICTs
  • Tourism education

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Acknowledgements

This research has been carried out within the project “New approaches for tourism destinations planning and management: conceptualization, case studies and problems. Definition of smart tourism destinations models” (CSO2014-59193-R) under the Spanish R&D&I Plan financed by the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University Institute of Tourism Research, University of Alicante, Alicante, Spain

    Francisco Femenia-Serra

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  1. Francisco Femenia-Serra
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Correspondence to Francisco Femenia-Serra .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Hospitality and Tourism Management, University of Surrey, Guildford, United Kingdom

    Dr. Brigitte Stangl

  2. Business School, Centre for Tourism Studies, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland

    Dr. Juho Pesonen

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Femenia-Serra, F. (2018). Smart Tourism Destinations and Higher Tourism Education in Spain. Are We Ready for This New Management Approach?. In: Stangl, B., Pesonen, J. (eds) Information and Communication Technologies in Tourism 2018. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-72923-7_33

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