Global urbanization brings the urge to identify the most intelligent methods to cope with the challenges arising in the modern society Sustainable and smart cities are the new target for urban development; their representatives are being forced to identify and develop new strategies to increase their city’s performance and ensure that it endures over time Information and Communication Technology (ICT) contributes to this purpose Brașov is one of the cities in Romania for which the process of modernization started years ago, and it is currently developing as a smart city This paper focuses on the development of the city in terms of cultural tourism solutions by presenting a case study on the use of virtual reality with a mobile application and its evaluation on cultural heritage sites The original contribution of the paper is to describe and analyze the quality of the mobile application by using a proposed analysis grid to identify the main elements of this app The main findings suggest that the application may bring authenticity of experience through the lens of heritage preservation for further user engagement and participation in real-time, while suggestions are made for future enhancement Implications are discussed for a) destination managers, b) for developers to improve the general quality of the mobile application in terms of design and features and to implement changes in the near future, and c) for visitors who engage in real-time and co-create experiences

Evaluating How ‘Smart’ Brașov, Romania Can Be Virtually via a Mobile Application for Cultural Tourism

The purpose of this research is to introduce a method that utilises a combination of Google Cloud Vision AI's label detection and a topic-modelling algorithm, latent Dirichlet allocation, to identify common destination images and to compare destinations worldwide The study analyses 283,912 photos of 193 countries from Flickr com, and 16 cognitive image attributes (CIAs) are identified Subsequent hotspot analyses indicate the exact locations of these CIAs in three sample countries: France, the US, and Thailand Destination marketing organisations (DMOs) can use this method to more effectively analyse and promote destinations during and after the COVID-19 pandemic

Traveller-generated destination image: Analysing Flickr photos of 193 countries worldwide

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and its real-life applications are among the most effervescent research topics of the last couple of years. In the past decade, stakeholders such as private companies, public institutions, non-profit entities, and even individuals, have developed and used various AI algorithms to solve a wide range of problems. Given the extended applicability and the disruption potential of this technology, it was just a matter of time until it connected to the field of cultural heritage. This paper presents the development of an intelligent conversational agent which was built to improve the accessibility to information inside a history museum. We present the cultural context, the application architecture, the implementation challenges, and the visitors’ feedback. We created a smart virtual agent that interacts with users in natural spoken language. This involved the design and implementation of the artificial intelligence-based core responsible for understanding the Romanian language. A short survey regarding the tourist acceptance of the system was conducted at the premises of our partners, the Museum “Casa Mureșenilor” from Brașov, shows good acceptance levels from both visitors and museum staff. Given the flexibility of the implementation, the system can be used by a large array of stakeholders with minor modifications.

https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/17/6958/pdf

A Virtual Assistant for Natural Interactions in Museums

Social media tools are viewed as important sources for the tourism sector and different types of consumers and travellers. This article presents the role and the impact of YouTube, as the main video sharing solution in the online environment, for the development of what is called prosumer, the user which generates, circulates and consumes online knowledge and being part of the participatory culture. The goal of this research is to investigate the extent to which social media and YouTube in particular appear to be part of the spreadable media phenomenon, the capacity of the information to be shared among users. The study used a research design by selecting the first 100 video clips promoted by YouTube and addressing the theme of Bran Castle (also known as Dracula Castle) from Brasov, Transylvania region in Romania, uploaded by different categories of users. For the analysis of the results, this paper used elements of descriptive statistics from YouTube and methods of quantitative content analysis, regarding the YouTube video characteristics such as the frequencies of views, comments, appreciations (likes, dislikes), channel subscribers etc. This study shows that YouTube is considered to be important for the development of the tourist industry as it provides travellers with new practices for choosing their destination after viewing video materials.

Participatory Culture and Tourist Experience: Promoting Destinations Through YouTube

The article examines a double case study framework for analyzing perceived and projected destinations by using ITC solutions. First, 22,362 photos tagged with “Brasov” were collected and analyzed using the Flickr API. Second, a descriptive-explanatory research was employed, applying an instrument for the analysis and to address the online identity of place brands where a proposed online platform generates an automatic score calculation. The spatial patterns of tourist activity revealed many similarities and differences compared to promoted attractions by the DMOs, as the results indicated that geotagged photos reflect the projected image of the destination as the data provided a hotspot distribution of popular tourist attractions. The article makes a theoretical and practical contribution: (a) visual imagery may be more fully implemented in research studies; and (b) the distribution of popular tourist attractions may be in synergy between the perceived and projected image of a destination. Implications for marketing managers are presented.

Minding the Gap Between Perceived and Projected Destination Image by Using Information and Communication Platforms and Software

Visitor-generated visual content (VGVC) that is created and uploaded as travel photos allows researchers to examine tourists’ behavior, as traditional tourism data collection methods (surveys, interviews and focus groups) were proved both expensive and time consuming. Tourists take photos, upload them to social networks and photo sharing platforms, leaving digital footprints on the Internet, footprints that can be subsequently used for tourism research. Photos tagged with “Brasov” between January 1st 2000 and July 1st 2018 were collected using Flickr API. A collection of 22,362 geotagged photos collected from Flickr was analyzed. Using DBSCAN algorithm, tourist attraction areas were identified, after eliminating the content created by people living permanently in the area. For detailed data analysis seasonal graphs were generated. The research method combines content analysis based on text tags and image data with structural analysis based on geospatial data. The resulting tourist attractions of the area as derived from the number of photos taken there were compared to the distribution of the attractions as resulted from Destination Management Organizations’ (DMOs) promotional materials. The spatial patterns of tourist activity in Brasov revealed many similarities and differences compared to promoted attractions by the DMOs. The results indicate that geo-tagged photos in Brasov reflect the projected image of the destination as the data provided a hotspot distribution of popular tourist attractions. This paper explores the advantages of using VGVC for tourism research, but also highlights the limitations that have to be addressed. Implications for tourism marketing managers are provided thereafter.

Projected Destination Images Versus Visitor-Generated Visual Content in Brasov, Transylvania

The purpose of this study is to analyze the factors determining consumers’ intentions to adopt NFC proximity mobile payment services (p-mps). An extended version of the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT), a model that incorporates the most relevant theoretical approaches in the adoption literature was selected to investigate the consumers’ adoption process. To empirically test the proposed model, data were collected from 513 consumers of mobile internet service providers in Greece and were analyzed using PLS. The results indicated that p-mps features, expressed by consumers’ expectations about service performance and required efforts, along with the social context effects have the biggest impact on consumers’ intentions to use the service, followed by channel characteristics, reflecting consumers’ beliefs about p-mps usage risk and trust. Potential customers’ characteristics moderating analysis suggested that the effects of performance expectancy and perceived trust on behavioral intentions are affected by gender, age and previous experience, while that of social influence only by potential customers’ previous experience. Theoretical and managerial implications, limitations and suggestions for further research are provided at the end of the study.

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Exploring the Factors Affecting Consumer Acceptance of Proximity M-Payment Services

The research provides synergies with a comprehensive and integrated approach to the discipline of cooperation between the critical private and public sector of tourism. The research follows a modern approach to providing the necessary knowledge for the understanding of co-marketing and measuring the contribution has on revenue and profits of the destination stakeholders. Through the research we understand the dynamic and the modern way to co-create valuable innovation in the field of marketing, in the updated promotion of destinations, and other sectors such as airline enterprises. The paper highlights the modern ability to connect and promote stakeholders within an ever-growing frame of the globalized environment.

Sotiris Varelas

Papers

Projected Destination Images Versus Visitor-Generated Visual Content in Brasov, Transylvania

Exploring the Factors Affecting Consumer Acceptance of Proximity M-Payment Services

Strategic Synergies and Co-marketing: A Case Study of the Airline Sector