The Role of Smart and Experimental Tourism in Sustainable Development

Research on smart tourism and tourist user experience has recently proliferated to include sustainable tourism. This chapter, through a bibliometric analysis and then an index analysis for Portugal, highlights a new approach that emerged during the recent pandemic. Evidence shows that virtual tourism, marketing, and contactless tools tend to cause the most disruptive shift. Cultural heritage has also been linked to smart tourism platforms. There is, however, a need for more research frameworks which seek to understand how best to construct interactive tourist destinations that are user-centric and smart system-based. Portugal is still catching up with these novel advances through increased initiatives of regional/national innovation acceleration programs. These can boost several collaborations that motivate new business opportunities which can capitalize on emerging trends in tourism.