Evaluating the strategies and solutions to improve cultural and national tourism services

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 School of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, Universidad Técnica de Cotopaxi, Latacunga, Ecuador

2 Department of Geography and Sustainable Development, University of St. Andrews, United Kingdom

3 School of Human and Education Sciences, Universidad Técnica de Ambato, Ambato, Ecuador

4 School of Systems, Electronics and Industry, Universidad Técnica de Ambato, Ambato, Ecuador

Abstract

The global tourism industry demands fresh ideas and complementary initiatives for sustained growth and resilience, particularly in the wake of recent COVID-19-related restrictions and lockdowns that have disproportionately impacted travel, tourism, and hospitality worldwide. These necessary innovations can encompass non-technological elements such as organizational or business models, as well as technological components including digital technologies, e-tourism, travel apps, and more. This research seeks to introduce a novel theoretical framework aimed at revitalizing the regional tourism sector in the prominent travel destination of Tungurahua province in Ecuador. The goal is to provide enhanced tourism experiences that deliver added value and prevent further stagnation and decline within both the local and regional tourism industries. Through a combination of comprehensive face-to-face meetings and surveys, this study engaged industry professionals, tourism experts, tourists, government representatives, and key stakeholders associated with enhancing tourism in Tungurahua. Our findings indicate that a fresh, synergistic, and collaborative approach among tourism stakeholders holds the potential to generate innovative tourist services and solutions. This collective effort seeks to address the ongoing challenges confronted by the global tourism, hospitality, and travel sectors. The proposed tailored tourism offerings, products, innovations, and promotional strategies primarily draw upon advanced technology. Ultimately, these innovations and adaptive strategies, guided by dynamic mindsets, forecasts, and technological advancements, have the potential to foster long-term growth in tourism for Tungurahua.

Keywords

Main Subjects


Adeola, O., and Evans, O. (2020). ICT, infrastructure, and tourism development in Africa. Tourism Economics, 26(1), 97-114. https://doi.org/10.1177/1354816619827712
Benyon, D., Quigley, A., O’keefe, B. & Riva, G., 2014. Presence and digital tourism. AI & society, 29(4), 521-529. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00146-013-0493-8
Castillo Vizuete, D.D., Gavilanes Montoya, A.V., Muñoz Jácome, E.A., ChávezVelásquez, C.R. & Borz, S.A. (2021). An evaluation of the importance of smart tourism tools in the Riobamba Canton, Ecuador. Sustainability, 13(16), p.9436. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13169436
Castillo-Vizuete, D., Gavilanes-Montoya, A., Chávez-Velásquez, C., Benalcázar-Vergara, P. and Mestanza-Ramón, C. (2021). Design of nature tourism route in chimborazo wildlife reserve, ecuador. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(10), p.5293. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18105293
Chen, Y. & Sivakumar, V. (2021). Investigation of finance industry on risk awareness model and digital economic growth. Annals of Operations Research, pp.1-22. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10479-021-04287-7.
David-Negre, T., Almedida-Santana, A., Hernández, J.M. & Moreno-Gil, S. (2018). Understanding European tourists’ use of e-tourism platforms. Analysis of networks. Information Technology & Tourism, 20(1), 131-152. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40558-018-0113-z
De Lucia, C., Pazienza, P. & Balena, P. (2021). How does ICT influence residents' attitudes towards tourism as a driver of development? A generalised ordered logistic regression analysis: ICT for tourism as driver of development in lagging behind regions. International Journal of Tourism Research, 23(6), 1126-1150. https://doi.org/10.1002/jtr.2473
del Pilar Hurtado-Yugcha, J., Quisimalin-Santamaría, H.M., Mancheno-Saá, M.J., Gamboa-Salinas, J.M., & Castro-Analuiza, J.C. (2022). Tourist routes, a link between economic and cultural development in the modern marketplace. Journal of Positive School Psychology, pp.1562-1572.
Dredge, D., Phi, G.T.L., Mahadevan, R., Meehan, E. and Popescu, E., (2019). Digitalisation in Tourism: In-depth analysis of challenges and opportunities.
ECLAC. (2019). Caribbean technology partnerships for the SDGS. Available from: https://www.cepal.org/en/publications/45206-caribbean-technology-partnerships-sdgs#:~:text=Director's%20Desk%3A%20Caribbean%20technology%20partnerships,speed%20connections%20in%20the%20Caribbean.
Gratzer, M., Werthner, H. &Winiwarter, W. (2004). Electronic business in tourism. International Journal of Electronic Business, 2(5), 450-459. https://doi.org/10.1504/IJEB.2004.005878
Hays, S., Page, S.J. &Buhalis, D. (2013). Social media as a destination marketing tool: its use by national tourism organisations. Current issues in Tourism, 16(3), pp.211-239. doi.org/10.1080/13683500.2012.662215
Honorable Gobierno Provincial de Tungurahua. (2015).  https://www.tungurahua.gob.ec/
Kim, S.E., Lee, K.Y., Shin, S.I. & Yang, S.B. (2017). Effects of tourism information quality in social media on destination image formation: The case of Sina Weibo. Information & management, 54(6),687-702. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.im.2017.02.009
Labanauskaitė, D., Fiore, M. and Stašys, R. (2020). Use of E-marketing tools as communication management in the tourism industry. Tourism Management Perspectives, 34, p.100652. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tmp.2020.100652
Lee, C.C., Chen, M.P., Wu, W. and Xing, W. (2021). The impacts of ICTs on tourism development: International evidence based on a panel quantile approach. Information Technology & Tourism, 23(4), 509-547. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40558-021-00215-4
Lewis, C. & Perry, R. (2017). Lesson study to scale up research-based knowledge: A randomized, controlled trial of fractions learning. Journal for research in mathematics education, 48(3), pp.261-299. https://doi.org/10.5951/jresematheduc.48.3.0261
Martin, C., & Leurent, H. (2017). Technology and innovation for the future of production: Accelerating value creation. In World Economic Forum, Geneva Switzerland.
OECD. (2010). OECD tourism trends and policies 2010. Available from: https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/industry-and-services/oecd-tourism-trends-and-policies-2010_tour-2010-en
OECD. (2019). Latin American economic outlook 2019: Development in transition. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1787/20725140
Palvia, P., Baqir, N. and Nemati, H. (2018). ICT for socio-economic development: A citizens’ perspective. Information & Management, 55(2), 160-176. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.im.2017.05.003
Paredes, O.E., Melo Fiallos, D.F., Guaman, A.R., García, M.G. and Armas, N. (2018). Touristic Virtual Environment of Tunguragua Province. The Academic Research Community publication, 2(2), p.9. http://dx.doi.org/10.21625/archive.v2i2.244
Rajamohamed, H.R.K. (2016). Analyzing the importance of ICT in tourism industry with reference to Thailand. Available at SSRN 2739491. https://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2739491
Snabe Hagemann, J. & Weinelt, B. (2016). Digital transformation of industries: Demystifying digital and securing $100 trillion for society and industry by 2025. In World Economic Forum,(January).
Souto, J.E. (2015). Business model innovation and business concept innovation as the context of incremental innovation and radical innovation. Tourism management, 51, pp.142-155.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2015.05.017
Stonehouse, G.H. & Konina, N.Y. (2020). Management challenges in the age of digital disruption. In 1st International Conference on Emerging Trends and Challenges in the Management Theory and Practice (ETCMTP 2019) (pp. 1-6). Atlantis Press. https://dx.doi.org/10.2991/aebmr.k.200201.001
Ugurlu, K. (2022). Technology in Tourism Marketing. Handbook of Technology Application in Tourism in Asia, p.69. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-2210-6_4
      UNCTAD. (2014). Transfer of technology and knowledge sharing for development science, technology and innovation issues for developing countries. Available from: https://digitallibrary.un.org/record/784430?ln=en
Vij, M. & Rizwan, S.A. (2022). Emerging Technologies in Tourism for a Better Experience: The Case of Dubai. Technology Application in Tourism in Asia, pp.97-107. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-5461-9_6
Wagaw, M. and Mulugeta, F. (2018) Integration of ICT and tourism for improved promotion of tourist attractions in Ethiopia. In Applied Informatics, 5(1), 1-12). SpringerOpen. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40535-018-0053-x
      Worum, H., Lillekroken, D., Ahlsen, B., Roaldsen, K.S. and Bergland, A. (2019). Bridging the gap between research-based knowledge and clinical practice: a qualitative examination of patients and physiotherapists’ views on the Otago exercise Programme. BMC geriatrics, 19(1), 1-18. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12877-019-1309-6.
Yoon, W. and Kwon, S. (2022). The Impact of Technological and Non-technological Innovative Activities on Technological Competitiveness. Journal of the Knowledge Economy, pp.1-19. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13132-021-00868-w
Zhou, C. and Sotiriadis, M. (2021). Exploring and evaluating the impact of ICTs on culture and tourism industries’ convergence: Evidence from China. Sustainability, 13(21), p.11769. https://doi.org/10.3390/su132111769