旅游信息服务视阈下的智慧旅游概念探讨

The Concept of Smart Tourism under the Context of Tourism Information Service

智慧旅游的丰富实践使研究者不断思考"什么是智慧旅游"的问题,而对这个基本问题虽有很多解答但仍然需要进行探索。文章试图通过对国内外有关智慧旅游的概念进行了梳理,建立起以旅游信息服务为基础的智慧旅游的基本概念,即把智慧旅游定义为旅游者个体在旅游活动过程中所接受的泛在化的旅游信息服务。该定义旨在强调智慧旅游以旅游者个体为核心、以信息服务为载体的支撑体系,以泛在化作为核心内涵,以旅游者行为方式、旅游业营销方式、管理方式和服务方式的根本性变化为主要外延,并据此对国内外智慧旅游概念进行了全面评价。文章的价值在于将智慧旅游的概念与旅游信息化(特别是旅游信息服务)有机结合,既承上启下又能开启智慧旅游发展的新思路。

Smart tourism has become increasingly popular in China's Mainland since Qiwei Shao, the director of the China National Tourism Administration, called for developing the tourism industry over the next 10 years by means of smart tourism in July 2011. Since then, different types of events and activities have been held by the name of ＂smart tourism＂, leading to some misunderstanding of the term. What, then, is smart tourism？ How can it be defined？ Although some researchers have expressed their understanding of the term in papers or presentations, there is still a long way to go before an accepted meaning can be reached. Some years ago outside China, some researchers and practitioners defined smart tourism according to their own understanding. In the United Kingdom, it was defined in 2009 as ＂the use and application of technology in the tourism sector＂ by ＂smart tourism organizations＂. The Tourism Industry Association of Canada in 2000 provided the following definition： ＂smart tourism is simply taking a holistic, long-term, sustainable approach to planning, developing, operating and marketing tourism products and businesses.＂ In the West world, it seems that smart tourism is not an independent concept but an adjective used in such ways as smart tourism information system, smart travel system, smart travel service advisor, and smart travel planning. Smart tourism is still a new concept, both theoretically and practically, in China's Mainland. According to the Baidu online encyclopedia, smart tourism is ＂the use of cloud computing, networking, and other new technologies with a portable terminal via the Internet or mobile Internet, in achieving information on tourism resources, tourism economy, tourist activities, etc. In this regard, tourists can acquire information in a timely manner to arrange and adjust their travel plans. ＂ This is not a theoretical definition but a descriptive notion. In the present study, based on an analysis of the definitions used by most scholars and organizations, smart tourism is defined as a ubiquitous tourist information service used by individual tourists during their trips. The definition provided by this study intends to emphasize smart tourism as an individual tourist support system with a carrier, information services, and ubiquitous technology; this is identified as the core area in the concept of smart tourism. This paper observes that great changes have taken place in tourists＇ behavior, tourism marketing, tourism management, and also the tourism service mode. The new information service offered by smart tourism and that of a traditional tourist information service are quite different with respect to three areas--destinations, enterprises, and tourists. This study compares and contrasts the particular characteristics of both traditional tourist information services and the information services of smart tourism. This paper presents recommendations for smart tourism and examines the future for smart tourism in China in terms of research and practical fields. For the Chinese tourism market, the use of new technology has become increasingly important in improving tourist satisfaction, reducing the costs of tourism, and increasing the efficiency of tourist transactions. Smart tourism represents a new direction for new technology directed at tourism, and it will have a significant influence on tourist destinations, enterprises, and also tourists themselves. Smart tourism represents a prospective direction for the future Chinese tourism industry. This paper indicates that unique value can be achieved by merging smart tourism and tourism informationization, which can be seen as an area of future development for smart tourism.