Acting as a Destination Management Organisation (DMO) in the Era of Digital Transformation

The rapid development and the widespread use of information and communication technology (ICT) has led to the development of e-tourism and smart tourism. Tourism stakeholders have adapted to the digitalisation of the economy and society. This chapter discusses the case study of Destination Management Organisations (DMOs) from the Małopolska Region in Poland, using the frameworks of smart tourism destination and learning tourism destination. The study employed qualitative research design, comprising structured interviews with 53 key informants from local DMOs. The study’s results indicate that DMOs primarily use ICT for destination marketing, destination branding, and positioning purposes. The development of ICT has significantly impacted tourism promotion and the dissemination of tourist information by DMOs, leading to a shift towards digital destination marketing. However, the key factors that facilitate the use of ICT by DMOs for their destination marketing objectives and tasks provide a foundation basis for development towards smart tourism. The chapter concludes that applying the concepts of a smart tourism destination and a learning tourism destination can encourage DMOs to take innovative approaches and facilitate the shift towards a more sustainable tourism development.