Designing a Smart Tourism Marketing Model (Case Study: Tehran Metropolis)

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to design a smart tourism marketing model for the metropolitan city of Tehran. In terms of research objective, the study is applied, and with respect to data collection method, it is qualitative and based on the systematic grounded theory approach. The participants consisted of 15 academic experts and professionals in the field of tourism management in Tehran, who were selected through purposive sampling and according to the principle of theoretical saturation. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and analyzed using the three-stage coding process of open coding, axial coding, and selective coding. The research findings led to the identification of six main dimensions of the model: causal conditions (including international, national, economic–market, socio-cultural, and technological–infrastructural factors), the central phenomenon (formation of a smart tourism marketing ecosystem in the metropolitan city of Tehran), contextual conditions (political–governance, economic–financial, physical–infrastructural, and environmental factors), intervening conditions (institutional–governance, economic–market, socio-technological, external, and resource-related factors), action–interaction strategies (including development of integrated data-driven platforms, personalization of travel experience, development of smart content and digital storytelling, stakeholder collaboration and networking, targeted digital marketing, and stakeholder empowerment), and consequences (economic–financial outcomes, tourist experience and satisfaction, managerial–urban governance outcomes, socio-cultural and environmental outcomes, competitive–branding outcomes, and negative consequences). The final proposed model indicates that the realization of smart tourism marketing in Tehran requires the establishment of an integrated ecosystem in which smart technologies, data-driven approaches, inter-organizational collaboration, and attractive digital content are combined within an appropriate governance framework, while taking into account the specific context and challenges of the city of Tehran. This model can serve as a comprehensive roadmap for policymakers, managers, and practitioners in Tehran’s tourism sector to achieve smart transformation and enhance the destination’s competitiveness at regional and global levels.