Dynamic Network Slicing for IoT in Smart Tourism: A Hybrid Management Approach

The rapid proliferation of connected devices in smart tourism destinations has placed immense pressure on network infrastructure, particularly during periods of over-tourism such as global events or peak seasons. Traditional network management strategies often fail to accommodate the diverse and dynamic requirements of IoT applications, leading to congestion, latency spikes, and degraded Quality of Service (QoS). This paper proposes a novel hybrid network slicing framework for 5G-enabled smart tourism environments, which dynamically allocates resources between static and adaptive operational modes. By leveraging real-time monitoring and threshold-based triggers, the system ensures optimal performance for critical services (e.g., emergency communications, IoT-enabled traffic management) while maintaining efficiency under normal conditions. Our approach combines predefined slice configurations with dynamic resource reallocation during high-demand scenarios, supported by hysteresis mechanisms to prevent instability. A case study demonstrates the framework’s effectiveness in responding to sudden network stress, such as during a disaster scenario, highlighting its potential to enhance resilience, QoS, and scalability in smart tourism ecosystems.