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However, under the influence of digital technologies, the nature of destination promotion
has undergone significant transformations across several dimensions:
(i) From one-way communication to multidirectional interaction: Digital platforms
(e.g., social media, travel applications, and online travel agencies) enable tourists not only
to receive information but also to respond, share, and create content, turning promotion
into a continuous interactive process among multiple stakeholders (Buhalis & Sinarta,
2019).
(ii) From mass marketing to personalization: Through Big Data analytics and AI
applications, promotional messages can be tailored to specific segments or even
individual tourists, enhancing effectiveness through personalized marketing approaches
(Xiang et al., 2015).
(iii) From information provision to experience creation: Technologies such as virtual
reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), digital maps, and smart guides allow tourists to
experience destinations even before their trips. Promotion thus evolves into a process of
designing and guiding tourism experiences (Gretzel et al., 2015).
(iv) From firm-created value to co-creation: In digital environments, tourists actively
participate in content creation (user-generated content), service evaluation, and
destination image dissemination. Consequently, promotional value is co-created through
the interaction of multiple stakeholders (Prahalad & Ramaswamy, 2004).
2.2. Smart destination promotion model
Smart destination promotion is conceptually grounded in the broader framework of
smart tourism. Fundamentally, this model is structured around three key pillars. First,
digital technology serves as the core infrastructure, encompassing information and
communication technologies (ICT), artificial intelligence (AI), Big Data, and the Internet of
Things (IoT). These technologies enable the real-time collection, processing, and analysis
of tourists’ behavioral data, thereby supporting decision-making processes and optimizing
promotional content (Xiang, Tussyadiah, & Buhalis, 2015). Second, data emerges as a
strategic resource, facilitating the personalization of marketing messages and enabling
the prediction of needs at both segment and individual levels. Third, the model operates
within a multi-stakeholder digital ecosystem, in which tourists, tourism enterprises, and
governmental authorities are interconnected through digital platforms, creating
continuous information flows and fostering value co-creation (Del Chiappa & Baggio,
2015).
To explain the mechanism through which smart destination promotion influences
tourist behavior, prior studies have widely applied established behavioral models, among
which the Stimulus–Organism–Response (S–O–R) model is particularly prominent.
The S–O–R model in smart destination promotion
The S–O–R model, originally developed in consumer behavior research (Mehrabian
& Russell, 1974), describes the relationship between Stimulus (S) - external environmental
stimuli, Organism (O) - internal cognitive and emotional states, and Response (R) -
individual behavioral reactions.
When applied to the context of smart tourism, the S–O–R model can be interpreted
as follows: (i) Stimulus (S) represents the smart destination promotion ecosystem based
on digital technologies, including online platforms, personalized content, and intelligent
systems; (ii) Organism (O) reflects tourists’ internal states, encompassing cognitive
evaluations, emotional responses, and digital experiences throughout the travel journey;

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