Sustainable solutions and important factors for developing Smart Tourism in Estonian Cities

Abstract: Over the last few decades, major changes have taken place in the world due to the riseof technology. Industrial mass-based cities have been replaced by post-industrial cities. At the same time, urban development is affected by both global and local processes. Knowledge, innovation and creativity are central to urban development to create a higher quality and more attractive living environment. Smart cities are part of nowadays urban development. Smart cities focus on sustainability and overall improvement of citizen’s life quality in the cities by implementing ICT solutions in different areas of cities. This research focused on Estonian cities of Tallinn and Tartu and their smart solutions in different smart city dimensions. The purpose of this research was to find out Estonian hotel employees' views of current smart tourism solutions in Estonian cities and according to the answers to determine development areas of the cities. For data collection method, Estonian hotel employees from Tallinn and Tartu were interviewed. This research revealed that most respondents were familiar with the smart tourism solutions and it’s challenges.