Conceptualizing the Smart Tourism Mindset: Fostering Utopian Thinking in Smart Tourism Development

The growing literature on smart tourism and the increasing number of smart tourism initiatives demonstrate that the idea of smart tourism is captivating and that its potential is great. However, its concrete implementation so far has lacked the transformative focus called for by smart development principles. This paper suggests that conceptualizing smart tourism development as a utopian endeavor that requires critiquing the status quo and collective imagining of better tourism and good destinations could help smart tourism efforts transcend their instrumental, short-term, and fragmented character. It further introduces the concept of the Smart Tourism Mindset to propose that, as a utopian enterprise, smart tourism needs to be guided by specific values and traits that permeate actors at all levels. The paper concludes by calling for a greater focus on identifying what these values and traits are and how to best establish and communicate the Smart Tourism Mindset.