TTLA: Research on the impact of Smart Tourism Ecosystem on the quality of technology experience and intention to return of tourists to Ho Chi Minh City

1. Full name of PhD student: Hoang Ngoc Hien 2. Gender: Male
3. Date of birth: September 21, 1984 4. Place of birth: Hanoi
5. Decision on recognition of PhD students: 2949/2021/QD-XHNV-DT dated: December 28, 2021
6. Changes in training process (if any):
7. Thesis topic: Research on the impact of Smart Tourism Ecosystem on the quality of technology experience and the intention to return of tourists to Ho Chi Minh City
8. Major: Tourism 9. Code: 9810101.01
10. Scientific advisors: Associate Professor, Dr. Le Anh Tuan. Dr. Dang Thi Phuong Anh
11. Summary of new results of the thesis:
Objective: The study aims to develop a theoretical framework of Smart Tourism Ecosystem (STE) and build a scale for the research model (including 5 factors: smart tourism technology, smart tourists, smart government, smart tourism businesses, smart people), evaluate the impact on the quality of technology experience and tourists' intention to return to the destination.
Research object: The research object of the thesis is STE, the role of smart tourism technology on STE, the impact of STE factors on the amount of technology experience and tourists' intention to return.
Research method: The thesis used the inheritance method, secondary document analysis method and document review method, expert interview method in the qualitative research phase. Quantitative method: sample selection, sample size, survey, data processing and analysis on SPSS and Smart PLS 4.0.
Research results: The research results clearly show that the content of STE includes five factors: Smart Tourism Technology (STT), Smart Tourism Business (SB), Smart Government (SG), Smart Tourist (SC) and Smart People (SP). The results have 25 observed variables used to measure the above five factors of STE. Of which, 06 observed variables developed from qualitative research were added to the research scale, including SC5, SG6, SB4, SP4, SP5, QTE3.
Conclusion and recommendations: The thesis's objectives have been achieved with the result that the research model and initial research hypotheses from H1 to H10 have been accepted. The results have clarified the role of smart tourism technology factors for STE. The impact of the technology experience quality factor on the intention to return is very strong with the index p = 0.745. Thus, the above results have shown that specific factors in STE have a greater impact on the quality of tourists' experiences at smart urban destinations, because this is an important factor affecting tourists' intention to return to destinations with comprehensive STE development with five indispensable stakeholders, including: smart tourism technology, smart government, smart businesses, smart tourists and smart people.
Ho Chi Minh City needs to complete and develop smart urban infrastructure as an important factor to provide high-quality experiences for tourists and promote sustainable development of the tourism industry. Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism and the city's tourism businesses need to invest heavily in smart tourism technology to improve services and create more interactive and attractive experiences for tourists. Developing regulations on the safety and security of personal information as well as the rights of tourists on the smart tourism technology system in STE is an important and indispensable step in developing Ho Chi Minh City's modern tourism industry.
To develop Ho Chi Minh City's STE effectively in improving the quality of experience and attracting returning tourists, it is necessary to have the synchronous development of five important factors: smart tourism technology, smart government, smart businesses, smart people and smart tourists.
12. Further research directions:
Research and clarify the theory of tourism experience quality for many tourism development models based on AI application platform - artificial intelligence, robots serving in service provision activities in hotels, restaurants, and travel companies.
Further research can be conducted to achieve the goal of measuring the impact of smart tourism technology on the exploitation and sustainable development of heritage destinations in localities where cultural tourism resources need to be effectively exploited in conjunction with conservation work.
To make the study more comprehensive, it is necessary to expand the scope to assess in more detail the influence and interaction of factors in STE. This is not only related to the quality of tourist experience but also includes the assessment of important cultural, social and economic aspects of the smart tourism destination.
13. Publications related to the thesis:

 

INFORMATION ON DOCTORAL THESIS

Aim: The research aims to develop a theoretical framework of Smart Tourism Ecosystem (STE) and create a measurement scale for the research model (including 5 factors: smart tourism technology, smart tourists, smart governance, smart tourism businesses, and smart citizens), to assess their impact on the quality of economic experience and the intention of tourists to return to their destination.
Research Objectives: The research subjects include the STE, the role of smart tourism technology in STE, and the impact of STE factors on the technological experience and intention to return of tourists.
Research Methods: The thesis employs inheritance method, secondary document analysis method, literature review method, and expert interviews in the qualitative research phase. Quantitative methods included sampling, sample size determination, surveying, data processing, and analysis using SPSS and Smart PLS 4.0.
Research Results: The research results clarify the essence of STE, including five factors: Smart Tourism Technology (STT), Smart Tourism Businesses (SB), Smart Governance (SG), Smart Tourists (SC), and Smart Citizens (SP). There are 25 observed variables used to measure these five factors of STE. Among them, 06 observed variables were developed from qualitative research and added to the research scale, including SC5, SG6, SB4, SP4, SP5, QTE3.
Conclusion and Recommendations: The aim of the thesis was achieved with the acceptance of the research model and initial hypotheses from H1 to H10. The results elucidated the role of smart tourism technology in STE. The impact of the quality of technological experience on the intention to return was strongly significant with a p-value of 0.745. Thus, the results indicate that specific factors within STE enhance the tourist experience in smart urban destinations, as this is a crucial factor involving tourists' intention to return to comprehensively developed STE destinations with five essential stakeholders: smart tourism technology, smart governance, smart businesses, smart tourists, and smart citizens.
Ho Chi Minh City needs to enhance and develop smart urban infrastructure as a crucial factor in providing high-quality experiences for tourists and promoting sustainable tourism development. The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism and city tourism businesses need to invest heavily in smart tourism technology to improve services and create more interactive and engaging experiences for tourists. Establishing regulations on safety, privacy, and tourist rights on the smart tourism technology system within STE is an important and indispensable step in the development of the modern tourism industry in Ho Chi Minh City.
To effectively develop the STE of Ho Chi Minh City in enhancing experience quality and attracting repeat tourists, it is necessary to have synchronized development of the five important factors: smart tourism technology, smart governance, smart businesses, smart citizens, and smart tourists.

Research and further clarify the theory of tourism experience quality for various AI-driven tourism development models, including the application of artificial intelligence and robotic services in hotel, restaurant, and travel company operations.
Subsequent research could aim to measure the impact of smart tourism technology on the sustainable exploitation and development of heritage destinations in areas rich in cultural tourism resources that need efficient exploitation linked with conservation efforts.
To make the research more comprehensive, it is necessary to expand the scope to assess in more detail the influence and interaction of factors within the STE framework. This involves not only the quality of tourist experiences but also includes evaluating important aspects of the cultural, social, and economic dimensions at smart tourism destinations.