CITY TOURISM: IS THE BEATEN PATH A THING OF THE PAST

TBEX Europe 2015 is taking place NOW at the coastal scenery of Lloret de Mar in Catalonia, Spain and it seems like a perfect time to reconsider a few ideas about what makes an authentic experience especially in the case of city tourism. 
The more contemporary travelers tend to enjoy the wealth of options provided by urban centers, the more the discovery of unknown parts of a city does not entail that travelers risk missing places that are genuinely great. Under the influence of the powerful interplay between the physical and the digital world, travelers tend to think more of the things they want to do (and feel) than the places they want to go. 
There are several examples to refer to technology and the ways in which it affects the processes of visiting and experiencing places. For instance, the consumption of services through the individual providers and the online platforms of the sharing economy has already been a driver of change, with the traditional tourism sector paying equal attention to the violation of the law and the innovation associated with the same practices. Moreover, the transition from the Internet of Things to the Internet of Everything reflects how travelers have found themselves recently inside an interconnected world of assets, data and processes, which shape their perceptions and expand their opportunities to experience destinations in totally new ways. 
In each city, a balance is necessary between the overwhelming variety of available options and the digital solutions which the tourism sector and competent authorities can afford to implement. Crucially, real-time experiences will determine to what extent a city destination has become SMARTer than its competitors without sacrificing the unique values and attractions to which it owes its fame. As it was also noted in TOPOSOPHY’s recent destination marketing trends report, smart city management has to respond to a genuine need (such as improving visitor flows, traffic or simply travellers’ desire to meet the locals) and be so easy to use that visitors take to it naturally, wherever they’re from.
In times of uncertainty, the physical-digital integration can provide fertile ground for tourism businesses and the public sector to pursue innovation and develop new skills and services.