Towards a Smart Tourism Destination: An Empirical Study on Hurghada, Egypt

The term ‘smart’ represents a marketing word for all things that are embedded or enhanced by technology. One smart concept, which has gained momentum in recent years, is Smart City. It mainly focuses on how to increase the quality of life of citizens by using Information and Communication Technologies (ICT). This paper aims to explore which dimensions except technology are critical for the development of a Smart City Tourism Destination. This paper develops a framework for smartness in cities and tourism destinations. Results open the ground for discussing how to transpose ‘smartness’ to tourism and destination levels.
This research aims to study the possibility of applying the smart city model to the city of Hurghada. In addition, the research highlights the adoption of a new approach to building cities by relying on technological systems, information and ICT, services and social care with the aim of meeting technological challenges and meeting the requirements of the smart tourism city.
This research used the descriptive analytical method, where a questionnaire was prepared and distributed to 105 experts in the field of ICT and experts in the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, and other academic researchers. These analyzes resulted in a positive and somewhat significant relationship between the possibility of applying the smart cities model to the city of Hurghada and the benefits that will accrue to after its transformation into a smart city. As a result, this research recommends the importance of paying attention to smart city perspective as a destination in Egypt.