Multidimensional Readiness Evaluation of Smart Tourism Destinations: A Natural Language Processing and Thematic Analysis Approach

The rapid expansion of the tourism sector, driven by technological progress, has led to smart tourism, improving visitor experiences and streamlining destination administration. In underdeveloped nations, such as Indonesia, destinations often are not adequately prepared to use smart technology, resulting in inefficiencies and unsuccessful projects. Existing models for evaluating tourism progress typically concentrate on specific regions or isolated dimensions, lacking a comprehensive assessment of governance, socioeconomic conditions, and information technology (IT) awareness. This research addresses this gap by introducing a multidimensional framework for evaluating smart tourism readiness based on the Technology-Organization-Environment (TOE) paradigm. The study starts with a thorough review of existing literature using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) method to find key factors for readiness, and it uses a combination of both qualitative and quantitative research methods. We conducted a quantitative examination using natural language processing (NLP) to cluster the dimensions of the existing evaluation models. In the qualitative phase, two validation processes were conducted. The first process involved expert interviews with stakeholders to validate the dimensions identified in the previous step. In the second validation process, we simplified the information by matching the proposed dimensions with IT governance components from well-known frameworks like COBIT and ITIL 4. This mapping ensures the proposed dimensions are aligned with IT governance components, supporting the effective management of smart technology in smart tourism destinations. The study identifies seven critical readiness dimensions as a key finding: governance, sustainability, online tourism services, smart technology, accessibility, innovation culture, and socioeconomic conditions. The findings contribute to a holistic readiness evaluation framework, offering actionable insights for policymakers and tourism stakeholders to inform strategic planning and policy development. This comprehensive model supports the successful implementation of smart tourism initiatives, addressing the unique challenges of developing countries and fostering long-term sustainability.