SMART DESTINATIONS
- Course
- TRHM440 - SMART DESTINATIONS
- Department
- Tourism and Hotel Management - English - Undergraduate
- Course Type
- Course
- Status
- Required
- Language
- English
- Credit
- 3
- ECTS
- 6
- T+P+L
- 3 + 0 + 0
- Course Coordinator(s)
- Asst. Prof. Dr. Sara SALEHI
- Prerequisite
- -
Course Description
This course introduces students to the concept of smart destinations: tourism destinations that use digital technologies, data, and innovation to enhance visitor experiences, support local businesses, and improve destination management and sustainability. Students will explore how technologies such as mobile applications, the Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence, big data, and immersive media (AR/VR) are applied in real tourism settings. The course is deliberately conceptual and application-oriented rather than technical: no programming or engineering background is required. Through case studies, in-class demonstrations, and a collaborative group project, students from tourism and computing backgrounds will learn to speak a common language and to design realistic smart tourism solutions together.
SMART DESTINATIONS
Evaluation Tools (Active Term)
| Item | Type | Weight (%) |
|---|---|---|
| Midterm | Midterm | 40 |
| Final Exam | Final | 45 |
| Presentation | Presentation | 15 |
| Total | 100 | |
Course outcomes
No course outcomes have been defined yet.
Course Syllabus
| Week | Topic |
|---|---|
| Week 1 | Introduction |
| Week 2 | From smart cities to smart destinations |
| Week 3 | The smart destination framework |
| Week 4 | The digital visitor journey |
| Week 5 | Mobile applications and location-based services |
| Week 6 | Internet of Things and sensors + project checkpoint |
| Week 7 | Midterm Exams |
| Week 8 | Midterm Exams |
| Week 9 | Big data and destination intelligence |
| Week 10 | Artificial intelligence in tourism |
| Week 11 | Immersive media: AR, VR and digital heritage |
| Week 12 | Smart sustainability and overtourism management |
| Week 13 | Accessibility and inclusive smart tourism + Ethics, privacy and data governance |
| Week 14 | Group project presentations |
| Week 15 | Final Examinations |
Reference Books & Course Materials
- 01 Buhalis, D., Rahimi, R., & Taheri, B. (2022). Smart Cities and Tourism: Co-creating experiences, challenges and opportunities.
- 02 Andrades, L., Romero-Dexeus, C., & Martínez-Marín, E. (Eds.). (2024). The Spanish Model for Smart Tourism Destination Management: A Methodological Approach. Springer.
- 03 Xiang, Z., Fuchs, M., Gretzel, U., & Höpken, W. (Eds.). (2022). Handbook of e-Tourism. Heidelberg: Springer.
Learning Outcomes
No learning outcomes have been defined.
Program Outcomes
- P01 1. Students will be able to adopt theoretical and practical knowledge in a challenging work environment.
- P02 2. Students will be able to guide teamwork in intercultural and various international working environments.
- P03 3. Students will be able to obtain the communicative, conceptual and analytical skills necessary for conflict environments.
- P04 4. Students will be able to recognize the importance of basic competence to create a competitive advantage and achieve a success on a global scale.
- P05 5. Students will be able to integrate ethical and social responsible practices that are environmentally friendly and applicable both in business and personal life.
- P06 6. Students will be able to raise awareness about continuous improvement to increase business performance in professional life.
- P07 7. Students will be able to adopt and apply critical and strategic thinking together with research capabilities for organizational decisions.
- P08 8. Students will be able to use and manage the information technologies required for the contemporary business world.
- P09 9. Students will be able to have a knowledge of, at least, one foreign language at basic level in addition to English.
- P10 10. Students will be able to acquire effective teamwork skills.
Po-Lo Matrix
The PO-LO matrix has not been populated yet.