Journal of Destination Marketing & Management 2 (2013) 5961

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Journal of Destination Marketing & Management

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jdmm

Regional Spotlight

China's smart tourism destination initiative: A taste of the

service-dominant logic
Dan Wang a, Xiang (Robert) Li b,n, Yunpeng Li c
a

School of Hotel & Tourism Management, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, PR China
School of Hotel, Restaurant, and Tourism Management, University of South Carolina, USA
c
Department of Tourism Management, Capital University of Economics and Business, Beijing, PR China
b

art ic l e i nf o

a b s t r a c t

Article history:
Received 22 May 2013
Accepted 30 May 2013
Available online 1 July 2013

China's smart tourism destination initiative has sparked some research interests lately. This essay
suggests taking the service-dominant logic as an alternative angle to understand the rationale and
implications of smart tourism development in China.
& 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords:
Service-dominant logic (SDL)
Smart tourism
Value co-creation
Tourist experience
Destination competitiveness
Social media

The research and practices of marketing are undergoing some

profound changes (Lehmann, McAlister, & Staelin, 2011; Li &
Petrick, 2008). One line of thought that has drawn much attention
lately is the service-dominant logic (SDL) (Vargo & Lusch, 2004a,
2004b). Vargo and Lusch (2004a) argued that in the past marketers function under a goods-dominant (G-D) logic, which focuses
on producing tangible outputs, completing transactions, and
maximizing prots. They advocate a new logic (i.e., SDL) centering
on service provision, which proposes (Lusch, Vargo, & Tanniru,
2010, p. 22)
(1) a shift to a focus on the process of serving rather than the
creation of goods; (2) a shift to the primacy of intangibles rather
than tangibles in the rm's marketplace offering, (3) a shift to a
focus on the creation and use of dynamic operant resources as
opposed to the consumption and depletion of static operand
resources, (4) a recognition of the strategic advantage of symmetric rather than asymmetric information, (5) a shift to conversation and dialog as opposed to propaganda, (6) an understanding that the rm can only make and follow through on value
propositions rather than create or add value, (7) a shift in focus to
relational rather than transactional exchange, and (8) a shift to an

Corresponding author. Tel.: +1 803 777 2764.

E-mail addresses: d.wang@polyu.edu (D. Wang), robertli@sc.edu (X.(Li),
liyunpeng2008@gmail.com (Y. Li).
2212-571X/$ - see front matter & 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jdmm.2013.05.004

emphasis on nancial performance for information feedback and

learning rather than a goal of prot maximization.
Collectively, SDL highlights customer-dened and co-created
value, operant resources (knowledge and skills) as the fundamental source of competitive advantage, as well as two-way communication with customers and relationship management (Merz, He,
& Vargo, 2009). Although some key premises of SDL remain
controversial, a growing consensus has been reached that SDL
could serve as an instrumental framework in understanding
today's increasingly complex marketing phenomena (Li, in press).
This spotlight discusses the SDL rationale behind China's recent
smart tourism destination (STD) initiative. The STD initiative, coined
ofcially by China's State Council of Chinese Central Government in
2009, refers to a platform on which information relating to tourists
activities, the consumption of tourism products, and the status of
tourism resources can be instantly integrated and then provided to
tourists, enterprises, and organizations through a variety of end-user
devices (Huang & Li, 2011; Zhang, Li, & Liu, 2012). Although a SDL
lens is hardly sufcient to appreciate the profound implications of
smart tourism development on destination infrastructure and technology development, this spotlight suggests SDL may be taken as an
alternative angle to understand the context, necessity, and future
directions of smart tourism development in China.
As shown in Fig. 1, it has been suggested that a STD consists of
three main components: Cloud Services, the Internet of Things
(IoT), and End-User Internet Service System (Zhang et al., 2012).
First, according to Dikaiakos, Katsaros, Mehra, Pallis, and Vakali

60

D. Wang et al. / Journal of Destination Marketing & Management 2 (2013) 5961

1. Tourist experience

Fig. 1. The technology support system of smart tourism destination (adapted from
Zhang et al., 2012).

(2009), the cloud services are designed to provide convenient and

scalable access (e.g. measurable for payment per use) to applications, software, and data through web browsers. For example, a
sophisticated tour guide system can serve a large number of
tourists without being installed on any personal device. A centralized distribution system can serve any travel agents on a payper-use basis. The cloud services are the fundamentals of a smart
destination. Second, the Internet of Things (IoT) refers to the
pervasive presence around us of a variety of things or objects
such as Radio-Frequency Identication (RFID) tags, sensors, actuators, mobile phones, etc.which, through unique addressing
schemes, are able to interact with each other and cooperate with
their neighbors to reach common goals (Atzori, Iera, & Morabito,
2010, p. 2787). The IoT system supports smart destinations in
terms of (1) information and analysis; and (2) automation and
control (Chui, Lfer, & Roberts, 2010). For example, in China's
Sanya City, the IoT is applied to manage tourism scenic spots.
Entrance tickets are embedded with RFID reader chips. Thus,
tourists' locations and consumption behavior can be tracked, and
presence-based advertising and payments can be implemented
(Lin, 2011). As for automation and control, the system is designed
to control the number of visitors to heritage sites in SanyaThe
carrying capacity of heritage sites is monitored by a variety of
sensors such as the sensors for air quality, crowdedness, and
electricity consumption (Wu et al., 2012). The monitoring system
is automatically connected with the ticketing system to implement
pricing strategies that would affect visitor number. The third
component of a smart destination is the End-User Internet Service
System, which refers to the applications and equipment support of
the cloud service and the Internet of Things at various levels of
end-users (Huang & Li, 2011). For example, the design of individual
payment systems is based on personal telecommunication devices
such as smartphones and tablets. Wireless connections and touch
screens are set up in scenic spots to serve tourists. Tourism service
providers and government organizations are equipped with portals and connections to the cloud service.
In China, approximately 33 cities have participated in the STD
initiative. According to government ofcials of Zhenjiang, the rst
city proposed the concept in 2010, a STD is not merely about the
digitalization and informalization in the tourism industry. Underlying
this initiative are the transformation of tourist experience (co-created
value), the changes of destination marketing strategy (relationship
management), and a different view of destination competitiveness
(operant resources, big data) (Tourunion News (06/01/2011)), which
dovetail some aforementioned premises of SDL. As such, the rest of
this commentary will discuss STD from these three perspectives.

In a STD, the co-creation of tourist experience entails not only

experience customization by tourists, but more importantly, the
increasing involvement of DMOs and other tourists' experience
sharing (Chen, Drennan, & Andrews, 2012). On the one hand, the
wide adoption of mobile tour guides designed by local DMOs
allows close relationship building between DMOs and tourists, and
the use of mobile tour guides helps maintain such relationship
throughout their trips. For example, the city of Nanjing published
Nanjing Tour Assistant, a mobile application for smartphones and
tablets. This application provides not only comprehensive information about local attractions, but also location-based services
(LBS) which equips tourists with a better understanding of the
attractions and things surrounding them, as well as coupon
information from merchants and restaurants nearby. In essence,
DMOs are now playing an active role in helping tourists design
their own experience. On the other hand, with the ubiquitous
support of the Internet, tourists can instantly share stories and
photos with others to acquire feedback and suggestions while the
stories are still happening. The Nanjing Tour Assistant application
provides connections with Sina Weibo, a Twitter equivalent in
China. Thus, tourists who share the same interest (i.e. Nanjing as a
tourism destination) are connected to share stories and exchange
travel tips. As such, not only are tourists involved in experience
creation, this co-creation is real-time and multi-directional
(service provider-tourist, tourist-tourist, tourist-service provider).
Presumably, such experience-sharing would enhance the value
tourists receive from their travel.

2. Communication strategy
Traditional destination marketing organizations (DMOs) employ
one-way communication tools such as advertisements, brochures, or
road shows. In contrast, DMOs of STDs pay more attention to
carrying conversations with tourists via social media. For example,
the Nanjing Tourism Development Committee adopted Sina Weibo
to maintain two-way and instant communication with tourists. The
Sina Weibo is a platform to publish destination news, government
policies and regulations, promotions of events and activities, and
tourists' stories. Moreover, the Sina Weibo is a channel to solicit
tourists' opinions and suggestions, and ultimately serves as a
customer relationship management tool. Tourists can receive instant
replies regarding their questions and concerns from the online
representatives of the local DMO. The micro-blog owned by the
Nanjing Tourism Development Committee has attracted more than
200,000 fans. Through constant conversations with tourists, the
local DMO can acquire more insights on the demands and preferences of tourists.

3. Destination competitiveness
The construction of a smart tourism platform could win the
destination a competitive edge. Nowadays, destinations' competitive
advantage comes not only from their resource endowment, but also
from their managerial effectiveness and ability for optimal resource
allocation which may lead to truly sustainable tourism development
(Laws, 1995). One feature of STDs is the use of big data to support
business decision-making and resource allocation. The big data
refers to datasets with sizes beyond the ability of commonly used
software tools to capture, curate, manage, and process (Snijders,
Matzat, & Reips, 2012). The analysis of big data can exact new
insights in ways that affect markets, organizations, even relationships between citizens and governments (Mayer-Schonberger &

D. Wang et al. / Journal of Destination Marketing & Management 2 (2013) 5961

Cukier, 2013). The applications of cloud service, the Internet of

Things (IoT), and the contacts with tourists through Internet could
produce a big data database covering information relating business
transactions, tourism attractions, and tourists' behavior. In Nanjing,
the local government expects that within 35 years, four modules of
big data database will be established including the quality assurance module (e.g. complaints ling system, mega-event coordination system), tourism scenic area management module (e.g. eticketing system, tourist GIS system, parking statistics), travel agency
monitoring module (e.g. contracts ling system, tour guides system,
GIS positioning of tourist coaches), and accommodation monitoring
module (online transactions ling system) (Nanjing Municipal
Tourism Bureau, 2010). Owning these databases and the capabilities
to use such databases, both as operant resources, may bring a unique
competitive advantage to the destination.
In conclusion, the STD initiative aims at revolutionizing tourist
experience creation, as well as tourism business and destination
marketing practices. According to Mr. Qiwei Shao, Chairman of the
China National Tourism Administration (CNTA), the STD initiative
was proposed to adapt to the worldwide rapid development of
information technology, facilitate the internationalization of tourism industry in China, and enhance the quality of tourist experience (Shao, 2011). By making this a governmental initiative and
practicing smart tourism on a destination (as opposed to business) scale, China might lead the world into a new era of tourism
competition. Although one could readily appreciate this initiative
as technical advances, this commentary invites readers to further
consider its marketing rationale and implications.
References
Atzori, L., Iera, A., & Morabito, G. (2010). The internet of things: A survey. Computer
Networks, 54(15), 27872805.
Chen, T., Drennan, J., & Andrews, L. (2012). Experience sharing. Journal of Marketing
Management, 28(1314), 15351552.
Chui, M., Lfer, M., & Roberts, R. (2010). The internet of things. McKinsey Quarterly,
2, 19.

61

Dikaiakos, M. D., Katsaros, D., Mehra, P., Pallis, G., & Vakali, A. (2009). Cloud
computing: Distributed internet computing for IT and scientic research.
Internet Computing, IEEE, 13(5), 1013.
Huang, C., & Li, Y. (2011). In the 12th ve-year plan, the system research of
smarter
tourism
under
the
background
of
smarter
cities
(
). In Proceedings of annual
conference of tourism tribune, pp. 5568.
Laws, E. (1995). Tourist destination management: issues, analysis and policies.
London, UK: Routledge.
Lehmann, D. R., McAlister, L., & Staelin, R. (2011). Sophistication in research in
marketing. Journal of Marketing, 75(4), 155165.
Li, X. (2013). Linking service-dominant logic to destination marketing. In:
S. McCabe (Ed.), Handbook of Tourism Marketing. London: Routledge (in press).
Li, X., & Petrick, J. (2008). Tourism marketing in an era of paradigm shift. Journal of
Travel Research, 46(3), 235244.
Lin, Y. (2011). The application of the internet of things in Hainan tourism scenic
spot. Paper presented at the Computational Intelligence and Security (CIS). In
2011 Seventh international conference on computational intelligence and security.
Lusch, R. F., Vargo, S. L., & Tanniru, M. (2010). Service, value networks and learning.
Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 38, 1931.
Mayer-Schonberger, V., & Cukier, K. (2013). Big data: A revolution that will transform
how we live, work and think. New York: John Murray.
Merz, M. A., He, Y., & Vargo, S. L. (2009). The evolving brand logic: a servicedominant logic perspective. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 37(3),
328344.
Nanjing Municipal Tourism Bureau (2010). Master plan for the construction of smart
tourism destination in Nanjing. Nanjing, China: Government Internal Publication.
Shao, Q. (2011). Ofcial speech in 2012 National Tourism Administration conference.
Retrieved from http://www.cnta.gov.cn/html/2012-1/2012-1-16-9-23-93087.
html.
Snijders, C., Matzat, U., & Reips, U. D. (2012). Big data: Big knowledge gaps in the
eld of internet science. International Journal of Internet Science, 7.
Tourunion News (06/01/2011). Zhenjiang becomes the national service centre of smart
tourism destination. Retrieved from http://www.tourunion.com/info/htm13/
124958.htm.
Vargo, S. L., & Lusch, R. F. (2004a). Evolving to a new dominant logic for marketing.
Journal of Marketing, 68, 117.
Vargo, S. L., & Lusch, R. F. (2004b). The four service marketing myths: Remnants of a
goods-based, manufacturing model. Journal of Service Research, 6(4), 324335.
Wu, M., Zhen, Y., Zhang, W., Dong, X., Yan, X., Shan, C. (2012). A research on
experimental system for Internet of Things major and application project. Paper
presented at the System Science, Engineering Design and Manufacturing
Informatization (ICSEM). In 2012 3rd international conference on system science,
engineering design and manufacturing informatization.
Zhang, L., Li, N., & Liu, M. (2012). On the basic concept of smarter tourism and its
theoretical system (
). Tourism Tribune, 27(5),
6673.