Smart Tourism and Cultural Heritage: Enhancing Visitor Experience through Digital Innovation
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.59675/S413Keywords:
Smart Tourism; Cultural Heritage Management; Artificial Intelligence; Digital Heritage; Visitor ExperienceAbstract
Smart tourism is the product of the fusion of digital innovation and cultural heritage management, using artificial intelligence tools (AI), augmented reality (AR), the Internet of Things (IoT) and big data analytics to enhance the visitor experience whilst maintaining the authenticity of heritage sites. The use of smart tourism technologies is especially important in the Arab world, where archaeological and cultural heritage are national and civilizational assets, which cannot be replaced. However, the literature shows that there are ongoing gaps such as unequal digital infrastructure at various locations in the heritage sector, lack of Arabic language digital information and poor community representation in the tourism technological models. This article focuses on the Arab region and explores the role of digital innovations in the region's cultural heritage tourism, based on a number of case studies from Jordan, Saudi Arabia, UAE and Egypt. It examines the contribution of Personalization using Artificial Intelligence, immersive AR/VR Heritage Reconstructions, Smart Mobility Solutions and Data-driven Visitor Management in improving the visitor experience and site sustainability. A vision of a Smart Cultural Heritage Tourism Framework (SCHTF) with 4 pillars is proposed: Digital Accessibility, Experiential Depth, Operational Sustainability and Community Co-Creation. Policy recommendations for heritage authorities, technology developers and tourism ministries are provided in the final part of the article, as they seek to implement smart tourism in a responsible and equitable manner.
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