Open Innovation

SECTION 1: Innovation at the Heart of Smart Tourism

Objective: Explore how smart tourism leverages innovation and technology to create sustainable, adaptive, and collaborative travel experiences.

Content:

1.1. What Is Smart Tourism? 

Smart tourism refers to tourism that is enhanced through the use of digital technologies and data-driven systems to improve services, personalize experiences, and ensure sustainability.1 It involves gathering and combining information from various sources—such as physical infrastructure, social networks, government systems, and human input—to create meaningful on-site experiences and innovative business value. The ultimate goal is to improve efficiency, promote sustainability, and enrich the overall travel experience.

1.2 The Need for Innovation in a Rapidly Changing World

The tourism industry is evolving in response to profound global shifts—technological, economic, environmental, and social. In this fast-paced landscape, relying solely on internal innovation is no longer enough. Destinations and businesses face rising expectations for personalized, immersive, and sustainable travel experiences, while also contending with increasing competition, economic uncertainty, and resource constraints.

To stay relevant, tourism stakeholders must embrace more open, collaborative approaches to innovation. Advances in digital tools—such as smart applications, big data, rapid prototyping, and collaborative platforms—have unlocked new ways for individuals, startups, communities, and even travelers themselves to contribute to the innovation process. This democratization of innovation empowers even small players to shape big ideas.

Moreover, a globally connected workforce and the growing availability of skilled talent make it easier than ever to tap into diverse expertise. In this context, innovation is not just a response to disruption—it’s a strategic necessity. The ability to co-create, adapt, and evolve through open innovation is key to building tourism systems that are not only resilient, but also deeply aligned with the values of inclusivity, sustainability, and experience-driven growth.

SECTION 2: Defining Open Innovation in the Tourism Context

Objective: Understand how open innovation enables collaborative, adaptive, and sustainable transformation in the tourism sector.

Content: 

2.1 Origin and Evolution 

Open Innovation, a concept introduced by Henry Chesbrough in 2003, describes a model in which organizations enhance their innovation processes by integrating external ideas, technologies, and collaborations alongside internal efforts. In the tourism sector, this means engaging a wide range of stakeholders—governments, businesses, tourists, and local communities—to co-create value, enrich visitor experiences, and adapt more effectively to evolving industry challenges.

2.2 What Makes Innovation “Open”?

Open innovation differs from traditional, closed innovation models by actively inviting external contributions into the innovation process. Rather than relying solely on internal resources, open innovation embraces a more collaborative, networked approach that integrates insights, technologies, and feedback from a wide array of stakeholders.

In the tourism sector, this shift is not only strategic but necessary. As global interconnectivity intensifies and technological capabilities evolve, the tourism industry faces increasing pressure to meet diverse and dynamic demands. Open innovation answers this call by creating inclusive spaces where governments, businesses, local communities, and even tourists themselves can co-create new services, products, and experiences.

What truly makes innovation “open” is this commitment to shared value creation. It leverages platforms, digital tools, and networks that allow for rapid prototyping, crowdsourced ideas, and distributed knowledge-sharing. For example, tourism businesses can collaborate with tech startups to implement smart solutions, or work with local communities to design culturally respectful experiences. These interactions not only drive more relevant and adaptive innovation but also foster resilience and sustainability across the tourism ecosystem.

Open innovation thrives in environments where diverse perspectives are not only welcomed but actively sought out. This allows for a richer pool of ideas and problem-solving approaches, which are essential in a competitive and ever-changing global market.1

2.3 From Closed Systems to Collaborative Ecosystems

Traditionally, tourism innovation was driven by internal R&D, isolated from broader input. However, the complexities of today’s digital and interconnected world make such closed systems less effective. Open innovation now dominates, with tourism shaped by collaborative ecosystems rather than just businesses or governments. This shift is driven by trends like personalized experiences, digital advancements, and global talent pools. Tourism now involves diverse actors—tourists, communities, startups, and institutions—working together to create smarter, more resilient systems. These dynamic networks address challenges like over-tourism and sustainability, replacing siloed approaches.

SECTION 3: Why Open Innovation Matters for Smart Tourism

Objective: Demonstrate how open innovation addresses emerging global trends and fosters adaptive, collaborative, and tech-enabled innovation in smart tourism.

Content: 

3.1 The Relevance of Open Innovation in the Smart Tourism Landscape

Open Innovation in Tourism has become essential for navigating a fast-changing, interconnected industry. Instead of relying solely on internal processes, innovation now involves collaboration with external actors—like communities, governments, businesses, and tourists.

Global trends such as digitalization, personalization, and limited R&D capacity have accelerated this shift. Technologies like data platforms and IoT have made innovation more accessible and collaborative, even for small players.

In smart tourism, open innovation supports co-creation, agility, and the development of more personalized, sustainable experiences. It also helps address key challenges like over-tourism and shifting traveler expectations.

Ultimately, this approach reflects a strategic move toward shared responsibility, adaptive ecosystems, and long-term value creation.

Figure 1: Own elaboration

3.2 Global Trends Driving Openness

In the context of smart tourism, innovation cannot remain confined within traditional organizational boundaries. The global landscape is being reshaped by a set of major trends that demand more fluid, inclusive, and collaborative innovation models. These trends, rooted in social, technological, and economic transformation, are not only accelerating the pace of change but also amplifying the need for open innovation. Below, we explore the key global forces making openness not just advantageous—but essential.

3.2.1 Hyperconnectivity

The hyperconnected world is the new norm. We are constantly surrounded by digital tools that allow instant interaction and collaboration. In tourism, this connectivity means visitors are not passive consumers but active participants who can shape experiences in real-time. Open innovation thrives in this context because it allows a more dynamic exchange of ideas between stakeholders—be it tourists, local communities, or organizations.

Smart tourism must leverage this interconnected reality to create feedback loops where travelers co-create and improve experiences. Much like in group decision-making processes, the collective input enhances the precision of the final outcome. Just as diverse perspectives help better define a problem, involving diverse users in tourism innovation ensures relevance and adaptability.

3.2.2 Technological Accessibility

Technology has become more accessible than ever. Mobile apps, social platforms, sensors, and data collection tools are no longer limited to tech giants or research labs. Individuals, small businesses, and local organizations now have the capacity to generate and use data, and to prototype new services. This democratization of innovation tools opens the door to new players in the tourism space, enabling bottom-up innovation.

Much like the creative decision-making process, where unorthodox ideas are incubated and tested, technological accessibility empowers a wide range of actors to participate in ideation and implementation. It aligns with the concept of creativity becoming part of daily decision-making, as described in Part 4, making innovation a distributed, ongoing process rather than a top-down initiative.

3.2.3 Economic Uncertainty

Economic volatility highlights the need for flexible, resilient innovation in tourism. Rather than rigid, closed systems, open and adaptive frameworks enable quicker responses to change. By involving more stakeholders, open innovation spreads risk, supports faster adaptation, and builds shared ownership—key assets in uncertain times.

3.2.4 Global Competition

Tourism destinations now compete not just with their neighbors, but with the entire world. The pressure to differentiate and to deliver value beyond the standard offering is greater than ever. Creativity, as emphasized in earlier sections, becomes a key tool for setting a destination apart.

Open innovation provides access to a wider pool of ideas and solutions—just as the use of brainstorming, forced relations, or thinking hat techniques generates richer results than isolated thinking. Destinations can co-create with tourists, partner with tech firms, or collaborate with local communities to produce unique, high-impact experiences that stand out in a saturated market.

3.2.5 Distributed Talent

Talent is no longer centralized within large corporations or research institutions. Today, innovation emerges from individuals, startups, academic labs, travelers, and even citizens with no formal affiliation. The knowledge economy has created an environment where collaboration across disciplines, geographies, and industries becomes a strength.

Drawing on the lessons from group creativity and problem-solving, open innovation recognizes that great ideas can come from anyone. Just as group decision techniques—like the Nominal Group Technique or the Delphi Method—allow diverse opinions to converge into a solid decision, open innovation taps into the collective intelligence of a broad and distributed network.

3.3 Smart Tourism Needs Smarter Innovation

In today’s rapidly evolving tourism environment, marked by increasing digitalization and complex societal demands2, innovation must go beyond the integration of new technologies. Smart tourism requires a redefinition of how innovation is conceptualized and implemented—moving from isolated, top-down models to open, collaborative approaches. It is not merely about deploying smart tools, but about enabling flexible, participatory, and context-aware solutions that respond effectively to the shifting behaviors of tourists, the strategic goals of destinations, and the broader dynamics of a connected world. This smarter innovation embraces co-creation, multidirectional knowledge sharing, and the capacity to adapt through continuous feedback and experimentation. By embedding innovation into networks of diverse stakeholders—governments, businesses, communities, and travelers—tourism systems can become more resilient, sustainable, and attuned to human needs. Ultimately, the evolution toward smarter innovation empowers destinations to remain competitive and relevant, not just by adopting digital solutions, but by rethinking their innovation ecosystems from the ground up.

SECTION 4: Who Innovates? Key Stakeholders in Open Innovation

Objective: Examine the roles of key stakeholders in shaping collaborative, open innovation ecosystems within smart tourism.

Content:

4.1 Public Sector and Policy Makers

In smart tourism, the public sector plays a key role in shaping open, collaborative innovation ecosystems aligned with long-term regional goals. Governments and policymakers act as both facilitators and enablers by establishing regulatory frameworks, infrastructure, and partnerships that support co-creation and experimentation across sectors.

By promoting policies that merge technology with social innovation, funding pilot projects, and incentivizing data sharing, public institutions lower innovation risks and broaden participation. Tools like open data platforms and innovation clusters help unite private, academic, and civic actors around shared solutions.

To be effective, public governance must also become more agile and responsive, continuously evolving based on new trends and community input. This shift from service provision to innovation orchestration helps ensure tourism development remains inclusive, resilient, and collectively beneficial.

4.2 Tourists as Co-creators

In smart tourism, tourists are evolving from passive consumers to active co-creators of experiences1. This shift reflects a more collaborative and experience-driven model where travelers shape services and destinations through their feedback, behaviors, and digital interactions.

Open innovation in tourism embraces this by involving tourists in co-design processes via tools like living labs, online platforms, and real-time feedback systems. Digital technologies—such as mobile apps and social media—further enable tourists to contribute insights that guide product development and service improvements.

By integrating tourists into the innovation process, destinations can offer more personalized, authentic experiences while fostering traveler engagement and loyalty. Ultimately, smart tourism benefits from recognizing tourists not just as users, but as essential partners in building responsive, inclusive, and adaptable tourism systems.

4.3 Communities and Civil Society

In smart tourism, communities and civil society are vital co-creators, not just passive recipients. Their involvement ensures that tourism development aligns with local values, cultural authenticity, and community well-being. Open innovation thrives when it integrates grassroots knowledge and lived experiences, enriching strategies with insights that outsiders might miss.

Through participatory design, living labs, and community-driven initiatives, civil society helps shape more inclusive and democratic tourism systems. Empowering local populations fosters ownership, resilience, and sustainable stewardship of cultural and natural assets.

Ultimately, open innovation in tourism is deeply social—relying on civic engagement and shared responsibility to create solutions that are both effective and rooted in place.

Figura 2: Own elaboration

SECTION 5: Tools and Frameworks Enabling Open Innovation

Objective: Key tools like co-creation, digital platforms, hackathons, and data-sharing systems drive open innovation in smart tourism.

Content:

5.1 Crowdsourcing, Co-Creation, and Living Labs

In smart tourism, tools like crowdsourcing, co-creation, and living labs are key enablers of open innovation. Crowdsourcing gathers ideas and feedback from a wide range of people—tourists, residents, professionals—through digital platforms, tapping into collective intelligence. Co-creation deepens this engagement by involving multiple stakeholders in jointly designing and refining tourism experiences, fostering mutual value and responsiveness to change1.

Living labs further extend co-creation by offering real-world environments to test and improve innovations with community participation. Together, these tools promote inclusive, user-driven innovation that helps tourism destinations adapt sustainably and effectively to evolving needs.

5.2 Digital Platforms and Smart Apps

Digital platforms and smart apps connect stakeholders, personalize services, and enable real-time decision-making. Beyond their technical role, they incorporate user feedback and data to drive continuous improvement.

Tourists become active contributors, while providers benefit from automation, AI, and analytics. These tools help integrate services, enabling efficient, adaptive, and sustainable tourism management.

5.3 Hackathons, Incubators, and Accelerators

Hackathons, incubators, and accelerators are vital tools for driving open innovation in smart tourism. These collaborative environments bring together diverse stakeholders—entrepreneurs, developers, researchers, and public officials—to co-create and refine solutions to real-world tourism challenges.

Hackathons foster rapid ideation and prototyping, encouraging creative, cross-sectoral collaboration. Incubators support early-stage concepts with mentorship and resources, while accelerators help mature innovations scale through investment and partnerships. Together, they bridge the gap between ideas and implementation, aligning innovation with public and private sector goals like sustainability and digital transformation.

Ultimately, these platforms democratize innovation, promote local knowledge, and translate emerging tech into practical, user-focused solutions for the tourism sector.

5.4 Data Sharing and Innovation Platforms

Data sharing platforms are central to open innovation in smart tourism, treating data as both an operational and strategic asset. In a fragmented sector, integrated data ecosystems help connect public institutions, private firms, researchers, communities, and tourists, enabling coordinated, personalized, and adaptive services2.

These platforms do more than store data—they serve as collaborative environments for innovation through APIs, open-source tools, and interoperable systems. Effective use depends on governance models that ensure privacy, interoperability, and trust, especially where public and private interests intersect.

Ultimately, these systems are the backbone of smart tourism innovation, enabling inclusive knowledge flows, multi-actor engagement, and sustainable development.

SECTION 6: Technology at the Core of Smart Tourism Innovation

Objective: Big Data, IoT, AI, and smart infrastructure transform tourism into a dynamic, data-driven, and collaborative ecosystem.

Content:

6.1 Role of Big Data, IoT, and AI

Big Data, IoT, and AI form the backbone of smart tourism. Big Data captures insights from travel behavior, sensors, and social media, enabling better decision-making. IoT facilitates real-time interactions through devices like smart sensors. AI turns this data into action—driving chatbots, personalization, and predictive services.

Together, they create an intelligent ecosystem where data flows from devices (IoT), is processed (Big Data), and acted on (AI), supporting personalization, sustainability, and system agility.

6.2 Smart Infrastructure and Real-Time Systems

Smart infrastructure and real-time systems are essential to open innovation in smart tourism, enabling efficient, responsive, and data-driven management. By integrating digital tech with physical spaces, they allow real-time monitoring of visitor behavior, resource use, and mobility, leading to more personalized and sustainable services2.

These systems also support collaboration by providing transparent data access to businesses, policymakers, and communities—fostering co-creation and locally driven solutions. To be effective, they require investment in digital capacity and inclusive governance. Overall, they transform tourism destinations into adaptive, intelligent ecosystems.

Figure 3: Own elaboration

SECTION 7: Case Studies: Open Innovation in Action

Objective: Smart tourism thrives through the synergy of destination-led initiatives, corporate collaboration, and grassroots innovation, creating adaptive, inclusive, and locally grounded solutions.

Content: 

7.1 Destination-Led Projects

Destination-led innovation centers on local assets and goals. Using open innovation frameworks, these projects engage residents, tourists, and businesses to develop context-specific solutions in sustainability, digital transformation, and visitor management.

Tools like real-time monitoring and open data platforms support continuous improvement and transparent governance.

7.2 Corporate Innovation Strategies

In the evolving landscape of smart tourism, private sector actors are increasingly adopting open innovation to respond to shifting market demands and complex consumer behaviors. Tourism companies—spanning hospitality to mobility—are moving beyond traditional, isolated models toward collaborative strategies that leverage external ideas, technologies, and partnerships.

Innovation is now embedded into corporate strategy through digital platforms, co-creation initiatives, and partnerships with startups, research institutions, and even competitors. Firms invest in innovation hubs, accelerators, and living labs where tourists and communities actively shape new services.

This shift reflects a new mindset: innovation is a networked, open process where value is co-created across organizational boundaries. In smart tourism, corporate innovation thrives by combining technological advancement with openness, adaptability, and user engagement.

7.3 Grassroots and Community-Based Models

Grassroots models embed local knowledge and values into tourism innovation. These bottom-up approaches foster inclusive governance and tech-social relevance through living labs, hackathons, and co-designed experiences.

They bridge communities and tourists, ensuring innovation aligns with cultural identity and sustainability.

SECTION 8: The Road Ahead: Building Resilient and Sustainable Systems

Objective: Open innovation in smart tourism empowers collective intelligence, blending technology, community, and creativity to shape sustainable and responsive travel futures.

Content:

8.1 Challenges and Risks 

While open innovation within smart tourism presents vast opportunities for collaboration and transformation, it is not without its complexities. The shift toward more inclusive and technology-driven innovation models introduces several challenges that stakeholders must navigate carefully.

One of the primary risks lies in data governance. The growing reliance on shared digital platforms and real-time data exchange raises critical concerns around privacy, security, and ownership. Ensuring ethical data use and establishing transparent frameworks for data sharing are essential to build trust among participants and prevent misuse.

Another significant challenge is the fragmentation of efforts. Without coordination, the proliferation of isolated initiatives may lead to inefficiencies, duplication of resources, and inconsistent user experiences. To counter this, strategic alignment across public and private actors is needed, fostering ecosystems rather than isolated projects.

Moreover, disparities in technological access and digital literacy can create barriers to meaningful participation, especially for smaller enterprises or underrepresented communities. This digital divide threatens to exclude valuable voices and hinder the co-creative potential of open innovation.

Institutional inertia and resistance to change also persist as obstacles. Traditional governance structures may be slow to adapt to the flexible and dynamic nature of open innovation, requiring a cultural shift toward experimentation, openness, and shared leadership.

These challenges, while significant, are not insurmountable. Addressing them requires proactive governance, inclusive policies, and a commitment to cultivating resilient, adaptable innovation ecosystems within the tourism sector.

8.2 Future Directions for Smart Tourism Innovation

Smart tourism will increasingly prioritize interdisciplinary collaboration and systemic integration. Tools like living labs, open data platforms, and participatory design will support localized, adaptive innovation.

Future models will rely on fluid governance and collective responsibility, where innovation is shared among all actors—from governments to tourists.