THE ROLE OF SECTORAL SPECIALIZATION IN THE CREATION OF SMART TOURISM DESTINATION

The concept of Smart Tourism Destination (STD) derives from modern innovation policy based on the concept of Smart specialization. In order to achieve successful implementation of the concept of Smart Tourism Destination, it is necessary to consider the aspect of implementation that will ensure the achievement of long-term sustainability. This paper highlights strategic dimensioning and sectoral specialization in tourism through the appropriate allocation of available tourism resources as a significant aspect when implementing the concept of Smart Tourism Destination, The specialization of tourism market and the identification of market niches within the tourism sector results in specialized tourist products. From this aspect, tourism destinations are able to utilize synergies between strategic planning, specializing and recognizable tourist products and market competitiveness when implementing the concept of Smart Tourism Destination. The priority is therefore given to install information technology into the business processes of many actors as possible in order to form a tourism supply. Tourism supply of a Smart Tourism Destination based on the sectoral technology platform provides benefits for tourist as well as for the domestic people. This paper seeks to fill the research gap by identifying the challenges of successful conceptualization and implementation of the Smart Tourism Destination, above all from the aspect of strategic planning and recognizable specialization in tourism. This exploratory research based on the secondary data highlights the aspect of successful implementation of the concept of Smart Tourism Destination and provides guidelines for future research, The results of this research can serve all stakeholders involved in the process of creating general economic development policies.