Progress and stakes in sustainable tourism: indicators for smart coastal destinations

Abstract

The paper is based on territorial intelligence (TI) and its application to the sustainability of tourist destinations. The TI focus is viewed as being suited to dealing with the problems of tourist destinations, as well as the integrating nature of different aspects of their reality.

The aim of this research is to design a System of Smart Coastal Destination Indicators (SD-Coast) that allows the level achieved by a destination to be measured and a comparison in time and space to be made.

The selected study scope comprises 14 destinations on the Spanish Mediterranean coast. The tool proposed for the evaluation of territorial intelligence in coastal destinations is based on the generation of standards that enable the measurement and explanation of variables to be clearly delineated. For this purpose, 30 indicators are considered, covered by six dimensions (Smart Governance, Smart Environment, Universal Access, Smart Business, Smart Technology and Smart Innovation).

What most coastal destinations have in common is specialisation in technological advances and the respective application of these advances to long-term sustainability. Yet the municipalities in question are far from being considered a shining example in terms of accessibility or governance.