Enhancing smart tourism and smart city development: evidence from Taoyuan smart aviation city in Taiwan

Purpose This study aims to investigate tourists’ impressions of the smart destinations model from the socio-technical systems and the technology–organization–environment (TOE) perspectives. Specifically, it aims to explore how information source credibility and cloud infrastructure influence tourists’ use of intelligent technology. Design/methodology/approach This measurement development is based on prior literature; after being evaluated for face and content validity, the authors used random sampling to collect data and conducted a field survey of tourists through Taoyuan Airport and using the airport MRT between December 2022 and March 2023. After confirming that tourists knew the destination information and had experience using travel-related mobile applications to plan their itinerary, the authors further invited tourists to participate in the survey, and 512 valid questionnaires were analyzed by the structural equation modeling approach. Findings The finding pointed out that source credibility and intelligent technology were innovative technologies that benefitted tourists, as were mobile travel planning apps, which created a relational context based on interests and activities from the socio-technical and TOE perspectives. Originality/value Technological innovation is closely related to the development of smart cities; tourists who used travel itineraries successfully understood travel-related actions and significantly had more positive affective images of the city.