Smart Destination Applications according to Cohen'sSmart City Wheel:

The example of İzmír, Turkey

Abstract

Since the innovative use of technological systems provides many advantages and convenience to cities, the tendency towards smart applications in cities is increasing. The "smart city" concept, accepted as the new city concept, adopts an innovative and sustainable management style integrated with information and communication technologies in order to find solutions to the problems of cities. By making use of smart city applications, destinations implement smart tourism applications and this provides various conveniences and opportunities to both tourists and tourism stakeholders. In addition, destinations with smart tourism applications provide competitive advantage and increase the quality of tourists' travel experience. İzmir, one of the important destinations of Turkey and visited by many tourists every year, is one of the cities that stand out with its smart city and smart tourism applications. In this context, the aim of the study is to examine the smart city components of İzmir according to Cohen's Smart City Wheel and to determine the studies made to become a smart tourism city based on these applications. In order to achieve this aim, interview technique, one of the qualitative research methods, was used in the research. According to the research findings, the questions directed to the participants regarding smart tourism applications were gathered under 7 themes. These themes were analyzed in the Nvivo 12 package program, including 6 themes (smart mobility, smart living, smart people, smart economy, smart government, smart environment) and smart tourism applications in line with Cohen's smart city dimensions. It is thought that the smart city and smart tourism applications in İzmir will contribute to the residents and tourists visiting the city in terms of easy access, accessibility, sustainability, increasing the quality of life and competitiveness of the destination.