Why Are There Not More Smart Tourist Destinations in Mexico?

Mexico and Latin America are in the process of promoting smart cities on the one hand and Smart Tourism Destinations on the other, but  there is confusion about the conceptual terms and about their scope and impact.

What is a smart city?

A smart city is a city that uses the potential of technology and innovation, together with other resources, to promote efficiency and sustainable development and, ultimately, improve the quality of life of its citizens.

Why a Smart Tourism Destination and not a Smart City?

Both smart cities and smart tourist destinations share some similar objectives, such as the use of advanced technologies to improve the quality of life of residents and visitors, and the more efficient management of resources. However, there are some differences between the two concepts.

A smart city is a city that uses information and communication technologies (ICT) to improve the quality of life of its inhabitants, environmental sustainability, and the efficiency of public services. Technologies are used to collect and analyze data in real time, enabling authorities to make informed decisions and provide more effective services.

On the other hand, a smart destination is a tourism destination that uses smart technologies to improve the visitor experience and sustainable tourism management. These technologies are used to provide personalized information and services to tourists, improve safety and accessibility, and promote environmental and cultural sustainability.
The two concepts can be complementary, as a smart city can be a smart tourism destination and vice versa. For example, a smart city that uses advanced technologies to manage traffic and security can provide a better tourism experience for visitors. Similarly, a smart tourism destination that uses advanced technologies for sustainable tourism management can also improve the quality of life of residents and the environmental sustainability of the city in which it is located.

The term smart city implies that the whole city must be intelligent. This has not been achieved anywhere in the world because cities are unmanageable and the peripheral or marginal neighborhoods are never reached.

Therefore, an ITD is verifiable and a smart city is not. An ITD is more realistic because it implies developing the intelligence of the city in the area where tourists move and where the tourist product is.

In the meantime, what about the ITDs in Spain and Latin America?

In Spain, there are 380 members and 150 distinguished Smart Tourist Destinations (DTI), while in Latin America there are 42 members, three distinguished, and two in process. Among these there are 10 in Brazil, three in Argentina, and three in Colombia. In Mexico, there is only one: Tequila, which was the first DTI to be distinguished by the Ministry of Tourism of Spain in Latin America in 2020.

Likewise, the Spanish DTI Network has 619 members, of which 440 are destinations, 86 institutions, 86 companies and eight observers, while the Ibero-American DTI Network founded in 2022 by four countries (Mexico, Colombia, Brazil and Argentina) today has 43 members, 17 destinations, 12 institutional members, five collaborators and six observers (among them the Inter-American Development Bank, the Ibero-American Network of Accessible Tourism and UN Tourism).

If we analyze the success stories in Latin America and Spain, we can see that the following have been achieved:

- Think in holistic terms
- Achieve governance 
- Territorial organization 
- Manage the destination
- Dimensioning problems
- Evaluate solutions
- Generate public goods, socially responsible goods, private goods and goods of coexistence
- Achieve impacts
- To have a proven and validated methodology.

Likewise: 
- Prioritize based on the logic of the city
- Raise awareness of the public sector and sensitize residents
- Show immediate benefits 
- Match solutions to scale 
- Manage interoperability and technological obsolescence
- Think systemically 
- Move from addressing issues to managing them 
- Make quick decisions based on real-time information 
- Manage the interactions of the system and its components.
- Achieving economic sustainability.

What are the main indicators?

-Average length of stay doubles
-Poverty decreases 
-Increased economic revenue
-Many jobs are added because the tourism sector is a major employer, especially among women and young people
-Investments are made in tourism infrastructure by the private sector.
-Improved sustainability
-Business models and prevention models are designed

What are the benefits for the population?

-Increased safety 
-Greater accessibility and mobility
-Increased economic benefits
-Jobs 
-Higher average income

Based on these benefits, the evidence that Spain is the most advanced country in terms of tourism, the growth of destinations interested in becoming ITDs and being distinguished as such, the fact that networks have been formed, alliances have been generated and SEGITTUR's methodology has been validated by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the European Union and the Asian Bank, it is worth asking why Mexico does not have more ITDs.

There are all kinds of reasons: there is not enough information, the benefits are not known, neither are the business models; the concepts of smart city and smart destination are confused, the government closed this or that program, and there is no funding. But the main issues are a lack of political will, lack of vision and lack of public-private investment.

Today, the technology is available, the solutions are ubiquitous, there are best practices and lessons learned from more than 200 destinations, there are success stories with holistic visions, knowledge networks, university courses and specialized consultants. 

Of course, there are a number of initiatives labeled as smart, but without the concept of smart. It seems that putting technology into something already defines it as smart. However, with ITDs, 80% of their intelligence is non-technological and only 20% is technological.

The most important thing is that we have to change, stop talking about smart cities/destinations, and start talking about smart city/destination management. This way, the concept will be more understandable.

Let's see whether or not Mexico follows the growth of DTI's in Spain and Latin America .