Evaluation of Quito’s potential as a smart tourism destination: Challenges in sustainability, innovation, and digital marketing

Abstract

Smart Tourism Destinations have emerged as a pivotal strategy to enhance the tourist experience through the integration of technology, data, and sustainability. This study assesses the potential of Quito, Ecuador, to become a smart tourism destination by evaluating its current performance across key dimensions, including governance, sustainability, accessibility, innovation, connectivity, intelligence, information, digital marketing, and tourism activity evolution. Employing a qualitative methodology based on direct and indirect observation, the DTI-CV self-diagnostic tool, adapted to the Ecuadorian context, was applied. The results show that Quito exhibits an uneven performance across the evaluated dimensions. The city stands out in governance and connectivity due to the presence of strategic planning and basic technological services, yet it faces significant weaknesses in sustainability, innovation, accessibility, and digital marketing. Overall, the findings position Quito at an intermediate stage in its progress toward becoming a Smart Tourism Destination. The study confirms that Quito’s transition toward becoming a Smart Tourism Destination requires more than technological progress; it calls for a sustainable strategic vision that integrates innovation, citizen participation, and collaborative governance. The research highlights the need to strengthen coordination between public and private actors to transform current achievements into long-term policies ensuring competitiveness, sustainability, and inclusion in tourism management.