Côte d’Azur: a destination moving towards digital, innovative and sustainable tourism? Analysis of a smart tourism destination based on the case studies of Cannes, Antibes, Nice, and Monaco

The aim of the research is to compare key elements from the contemporary concept of the smart tourism destination with the current workings of a world-renowned popular tourism destination in France. For this we chose the Maralpine region of the Côte d’Azur in the south-easternmost part of France, with four destinations as objects of study: the iconic destinations of Cannes, Antibes, Nice and Monaco. The objective is to identify the fundamental drivers that characterize a smart tourism destination in a world undergoing technological and sustainability transitions. Different types of documents from these four tourism destinations were studied and analysed using discourse analysis.