Journal of Smart Tourism

Smart Tourism Research Center, Kyung Hee University (경희대학교 스마트관광연구소)
권호 표지
DOI QR코드

DOI QR Code

Getting Smart? A Research Note into Smart Tourism Curriculum and Implications on Generation Alpha and Beta

  • Aaron Tham (School of Business and Creative Industries, University of the Sunshine Coast) ;
  • Husna Zainal Abidin (Centre for Tourism Research, Wakayama University)
  • Received : 2023.04.05
  • Accepted : 2023.05.05
  • Published : 2023.03.31
Download PDF
⟨ Previous Next ⟩

Abstract

This research note probes the largely ignored sphere of smart tourism curriculum as destinations and institutions seek to develop graduates ready to embrace the demands and challenges of future work environments where technology has a ubiquitous presence. This knowledge gap is somewhat surprising, even as destinations progress towards smart tourism futures, without necessarily clarifying what human resources need to possess in the coming decades. Drawing from available smart tourism curriculum across the globe, and emergent trends associated with Generation Alpha and Beta, this research note paints a timely picture of how smart tourism curriculum should be designed and developed to meet the needs of industry and consumer demands and expectations.

Keywords

References

  1. Akasah, Z. A., & Alias, M. (2010). Bridging the spatial visualisation skills gap through engineering drawing using the whole-to-parts approach. Australasian Journal of Engineering Education, 16(1), 81-86. https://doi.org/10.1080/22054952.2010.11464037
  2. Ardito, L., Cerchione, R., Del Vecchio, P., & Raguseo, E. (2019). Big data in smart tourism: Challenges, issues and opportunities. Current Issues in Tourism, 22(15), 1805-1809. https://doi.org/10.1080/13683500.2019.1612860
  3. Boes, K., Buhalis, D., & Inversini, A. (2016). Smart tourism destinations: ecosystems for tourism destination competitiveness. International Journal of Tourism Cities, 2(2), 108-124. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJTC-12-2015-0032
  4. Borges-Tiago, T., Veri ssimo, J. M. C., & Tiago, F. (2022). Smart tourism: A scientometric review (2008-2020). European Journal of Tourism Research, 30, 3006.
  5. Cauchefer, C. (2022, July 22). An introduction to Generation Alpha, the future of the workforce! AssessFirst. https://www.assessfirst.com/en/an-introduction-to-generationalpha/
  6. Chen, S., Tian, D., Law, R., & Zhang, M. (2022). Bibliometric and visualized review of smart tourism research. International Journal of Tourism Research, 24(2), 298-307.
  7. Femenia-Serra, F. (2018). Smart tourism destinations and higher tourism education in Spain. Are we ready for this new management approach? In B. Stangl & J. Pesonen (Eds.), Information and communication technologies in tourism 2018 (pp. 437-449). Jonkoping, Sweden: Springer.
  8. Femenia-Serra, F., Ioannou, A., & Tussyadiah, I. P. (2022). Is smart scary? A mixed-methods study on privacy in smart tourism. Current Issues in Tourism, 25(14), 2212-2238. https://doi.org/10.1080/13683500.2021.1987399
  9. Gaid, A. (2023, February 23). Generation Alpha: How brands can connect with digital natives 2.0. Obelo. https://au.oberlo.com/blog/generationalpha.
  10. Gelter, J., Lexhagen, M., & Fuchs, M. (2021). A meta-narrative analysis of smart tourism destinations: Implications for tourism destination management. Current Issues in Tourism, 24(20), 2860-2874. https://doi.org/10.1080/13683500.2020.1849048
  11. Gretzel, U. (2021). Conceptualizing the smart tourism mindset: Fostering utopian thinking in smart tourism development. Journal of Smart Tourism, 1(1), 3-8. https://doi.org/10.52255/smarttourism.2021.1.1.2
  12. Gretzel, U. (2022). The smart DMO: A new step in the digital transformation of destination management organizations. European Journal of Tourism Research, 30, 1-12.
  13. Gretzel, U., Werthner, H., Koo, C., & Lamsfus, C. (2015). Conceptual foundations for understanding smart tourism ecosystems. Computers in Human Behavior, 50, 558-563. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2015.03.043
  14. Kontogianni, A., & Alepis, E. (2020). Smart tourism: State of the art and literature review for the last six years. Array, 6, 100020.
  15. Law, R., Ye, H., & Chan, I. C. C. (2022). A critical review of smart hospitality and tourism research. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 34(2), 623-641.
  16. McCrindle Research. (2020). Understanding Generation Alpha. https://generation-alpha.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Understanding-Generation-Alpha-McCrindle.pdf. Accessed on 7 May 2023
  17. Otowicz, M. H., Macedo, M., & Biz, A. A. (2022). Dimensions of smart tourism and its levels: An integrated literature review. Journal of Smart Tourism, 2(1), 5-19.
  18. Pinsker, J. (2020, February 22). Oh no, they've come up with another generation label. The Atlantic. https://www.theatlantic.com/family/archive/2020/02/generation-after-gen-z-named-alpha/606862/
  19. Ryan, T. (2023, January 31). Do retailers need to start paying serious attention to Generation Alpha? RetailWire. https://retailwire.com/discussion/do-retailers-need-to-start-paying-serious-attention-to-generation-alpha/
  20. Schawbel, D. (2020, December 7). The future of work according to Generation Alpha. LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/future-work-according-generation-alpha-dan-schawbel/
  21. Smith, J. (2020, November 18). Generation BETA is the latest demographic grouping you need to acknowledge, claims report. Insight. https://workplaceinsight.net/the-new-generation-beta/
  22. Smith, R. A. (2021). Pandemic and post-pandemic digital pedagogy in hospitality education for Generations Z, Alpha, and beyond. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Research, 45(5), 915-919. https://doi.org/10.1177/10963480211000818
  23. Sun, S., Ye, H., Law, R., & Hsu, A. Y. (2022). Hindrances to smart tourism development. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Technology, 13(4), 763-778. https://doi.org/10.1108/JHTT-10-2021-0300
  24. Tigar, L. (2022, December 20). Generation Alpha: Who they are and what they mean for the workforce. HerMoney. https://hermoney.com/earn/careers/career-experts-make-predictions-for-generation-alpha/
  25. Wallace, T. (2022, August 9). Welcome to Generation Alpha: Definition, stats, predictions. The Future of Commerce. https://www.the-future-of-commerce.com/2022/08/09/generation-alpha-definition-statspredictions/
  26. Wang, X., Zhen, F., Tang, J., Shen, L., & Liu, D. (2022). Applications, experiences, and challenges of smart tourism development in China. Journal of Urban Technology, 29(4), 101-126.
  27. Ziatdinov, R., & Cilliers, J. (2021). Generation Alpha: Understanding the next cohort of university students. European Journal of Contemporary Education, 10(3), 783-789.