Development Strategy of Smart Tourism in the Upper Northeastern Provincial Cluster 1

Abstract

The purposes of this research article were 1) to study the state of tourism development; 2) to determine strategies for smart tourism development; and 3) to evaluate these smart tourism development strategies. A mixed-methods research approach was used. Quantitative research involved a population of 14,266 tourism service providers, of whom 375 were identified using the Krejcie-Morgan index. A 5-level Likert scale questionnaire was used as the research instrument. Statistical analyses included frequency distribution, percentage, mean, and standard deviation. Qualitative research involved purposive sampling, selecting 30 tourism experts through a workshop. Content analysis was used to draw conclusions. The research findings revealed that 1) the overall state of tourism development was at a high level ( = 4.07, S.D. = 0.27). Considering individual aspects, the mean scores from highest to lowest were 1) the use of digital technology in tourism ( = 3.86, S.D. = 0.54), 2) digital marketing management in tourism ( = 3.97, S.D. = 0.66), 3) participation in digital tourism development ( = 4.15, S.D. = 0.44), and 4) the use of digital information systems and media in tourism ( = 4.29, S.D. = 0.42); 2) there were four strategies for smart tourism development: strategy 1 was the use of digital technology in tourism, strategy 2 was digital market management in tourism, strategy 3 was a participation in the development of digital tourism, strategy 4 was the use of digital information systems and media in tourism, consisting of (1) vision, (2) mission, (3) objectives, (4) strategic development issues, consisting of objectives, strategies, plans, activities and indicators; and 3) results of the evaluation of the smart tourism development strategy had an average of suitability and feasibility at a high level in all aspects, passing the evaluation criteria with an average of 3.51 or higher in all aspects.