The aim of this research is to assess the real effects of developing smart tourism destinations on urban sustainability. A content analysis method is used to analyze 994 initiatives contained in action-plan and strategy documents from different smart tourism pilot projects funded by Spanish tourism administration. The results indicate that, despite the noteworthy effort to develop smart initiatives, sustainability solutions based on the use of technology are scarcely proposed, suggesting that cultural, managerial and technological barriers do exist. Overall, smart tourism plans are mainly conceived as instruments designed to create new tourism products in a tourism-driven approach. Despite the institutional narrative promoting smart tourism destinations as a guarantee to transform destinations responding to residents’ needs and improve sustainability, pilot projects undergo little interest in holistic sustainable initiatives, suggesting that destination management is focused on a rhetorical approach to sustainability.

One of the last decade’s major challenges faced by tourist cities has been dominated by the increasing tourism flows that have harmed the quality of life of residents, the neighbourhood’s sense of belonging, and the stakeholders’ concerns regarding reliance on tourism. However, tourism mobilities are not the only drivers of structural change in cities. The advent of temporary residents, digital nomads, international students, short-stay expats, and creative workers have shaped the way cities have evolved together with tourism mobilities. This paper will present research conducted in the Vila de Gràcia neighbourhood in Barcelona, which has undergone a thoughtful transformation in terms of tourism-oriented businesses specialisation, housing market prices, sociodemographic changes, the use of public space and nightlife leisure. Gradually, the Vila de Gràcia neighbourhood has become an emblematic area of leisure and tourism consumption experience in Barcelona. Based on ethnographic fieldwork begun in 2017 and in-depth semi-structured interviews with lifelong and new residents, the research analyses residents’ attitude toward touristification processes related to social discontent, nightlife noise, the rise in housing market prices and overcrowding.

The perceived risk of tourists’ use of smartphones is a key issue in shaping the tourist experience in terms of sustainability, as it can affect the behaviour of tourists and influence their satisfaction with that experience. However, little empirical research exists on the relationship between tourists’ risk perception and the perceived value of mobile device usage. This paper measures the association between tourists’ perceived risk of mobile device usage and several variables that demonstrate the perceived usefulness of mobile devices: utility, hedonic value and future intention of use. A survey on tourists’ use of smartphones was conducted in 2016 and, by means of a cluster analysis, four groups of tourists were identified with significant differences in their perception of the risk and use value of smartphones. Differences between tourists suggest that a single digital tourist profile does not exist and that tourism destinations and smart tourism DMOs (destination marketing organisations) should include risk perception in their management agenda. This will allow them to achieve a better understanding of tourist behaviour and to adapt the commercialisation of tourism products and services to a wide range of tourism needs. In addition, four regression models were applied to measure the association between the risk and perceived usefulness of mobile devices. On the one hand, dependence on mobile devices was associated positively with the perceived usefulness of mobile devices. On the other hand, the tourists surveyed saw privacy risk as having a major negative impact on the tourist experience, although it did not affect their perceived utility value and future use of mobile devices. Smart tourism destination managers should bear in mind that privacy risk issues related to the use of mobile devices must be integrated into an ethical perspective when marketing a destination.

Having Barcelona as a case study, within a framework of stimulus-overload and attribution theory, this paper is intended to analyse how residents’ opinion towards overtourism is shaped by emotional response factors. For this purpose, a survey of 450 Barcelona residents was launched to detect emotional reactions to tourism development. Using a psycho-social approach to residents’ responses, the study contributes to a more comprehensive understanding of the overtourism phenomenon. Through the use of a cluster analysis three types of residents were identified: (1) Tourism supporters, who show a tourism-acceptance response ; (2) Tourism-opposed residents, who show tourism-rejecting, tourism-phobic attitudes t; and (3) Neutral residents, who show emotional indifference in their response. The study provide empirical evidence that residents’ attitude towards tourism is different, and suggests that crowding is the key factor explaining the residents’ negative emotional responses towards tourism, and that proximity to crowded neighbourhoods results in a higher stress.

This article contributes to the analysis of the relationship between urban renewal processes and sustainable development in mature beach destinations and the adoption of smart tourism. It takes as its case study Spanish destinations taking part in publicly-funded projects and plans designed to convert them into so-called “smart destinations” (SD). Its chief goals are to identify, through the Delphi technique, the smart tourism narrative behind the drive for creating SD, as well as to see how good a fit this is with the strategic positionings of mature destinations seeking to halt their decline or take on a new lease of life by introducing sustainability measures. Based on a review of the existing literature, we perform a critical analysis of this narrative to expose the contradictions arising when it is applied as a tool for urban renewal based on the implementation of sustainability strategies. The results aid with progress in two directions. Firstly, the article contributes new conceptual elements on the role of SD in the urban transformation of tourist destinations as a response to the challenges of global competitiveness. The second contribution, which is applied in nature and based on the study of a variety of Spanish tourist destinations, analyzes the impact the application of smart tourism-based technological solutions may have upon sustainability. Specifically, it examines the actions of different mass tourism beach destinations and discusses their actual ability to foster renewal in the field of tourism and offer solutions for overcoming urban sustainability problems. Lastly, it offers some recommendations for mature beach destination managers interested in implementing smart tourism projects based on sustainability criteria.

Purpose: The aim of this study is to analyse the role of short-term rental platforms in tourists’ revisit intentions, focusing on the ability of these platforms to create memorable tourism experiences (MTEs). It examines guests’ perceived hospitality as a key variable in shaping MTEs and investigates whether these experiences influence the decision to revisit the destination. For this purpose, a theoretical model grounded in the stimulus-organism-response theory is proposed. The model is based on hypothesised relationships among four constructs, namely MTEs, hospitality, place attachment and revisit intention. Design/methodology/approach: These relationships are explored using a sample of 369 international visitors staying in peer-to-peer accommodation in Barcelona, Spain. Data were collected in 2022 from a street survey of international visitors to Barcelona staying in peer-to-peer accommodation. A predictive model was employed to explain the relationship between MTEs created during stays, hospitality and visitors’ intention to return. Findings: The study highlights that for tourists staying in peer-to-peer accommodation, perceived hospitality serves as a precursor to MTEs. All dimensions of MTEs investigated contribute positively to the formation of such experiences. MTEs, in turn, influence the intention to revisit the city in the future, with place attachment mediating this relationship. In this regard, the study shows that guests associate perceived hospitality with feelings of place attachment, which act as drivers in the creation of MTEs, thus motivating a return visit to the destination. The article puts forward several practical implications for local authorities, hosts and platform companies, aimed at harnessing the benefits of offered hospitality while mitigating the undesirable effects of host professionalisation. Originality/value: This paper explores how hospitality shapes MTEs and encourages revisit intentions. It highlights that guests find non-professional hosts more hospitable, fostering authentic connections and place attachment. These insights are crucial as short-term rentals become more professionalised, potentially reducing unique, personalised experiences. The paper suggests strategies to preserve these authentic interactions and promote tourism satisfaction and sustainability, counteracting the increasing professionalisation of the industry.