Innovative Development of Digital Cultural Tourism: Theoretical Framework, Technological Empowerment and Sustainable Realization Paths
Article Sidebar
Main Article Content
Abstract
Driven by the full penetration of the digital economy and the high‑quality development of the cultural and tourism industry, digital cultural tourism has evolved from technological application to a comprehensive transformation stage of industrial restructuring, value recreation and sustainable development. Taking the whole‑chain innovation of digital cultural tourism as the research object, this paper adopts systematic review and logical deduction to sort out the global research context and theoretical basis of digital cultural tourism. This study constructs a five‑in‑one conceptual framework of "technological empowerment — business innovation — model restructuring — value realization — sustainable guarantee", deeply analyzes the empowerment mechanism and application scenarios of core technologies such as metaverse, artificial intelligence, blockchain, digital storytelling and smart platforms, and extracts four practical models: digitalized business model, cultural heritage revitalization, rural cultural tourism upgrading and inclusive service supply. Finally, it puts forward implementable and replicable sustainable realization paths from five dimensions: technological innovation, industrial integration, model optimization, cultural inheritance and institutional guarantee. This paper aims to provide a systematic conceptual reference for the theoretical improvement, industrial transformation and policy formulation of digital cultural tourism, and clarifies the differences between this multi‑dimensional whole‑chain framework and previous fragmented single‑perspective digital tourism analytical frameworks.
Article Details
References
Ammirato, S., Felicetti, A. M., Linzalone, R., & Carlucci, D. (2022). Digital business models in cultural tourism. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research, 28(8), 1940-1961. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJEBR-01-2021-0070
Bekele, H., & Raj, S. (2025). Digitalization and digital transformation in the tourism industry: a bibliometric review and research agenda. Tourism Review, 80(4), 894-913. https://doi.org/10.1108/TR-07-2023-0509
Chengcai, T. A. N. G., Lingyi, S., Limei, L. I. U., & Jianghai, M. E. I. (2024). The model and path for digital cultural tourism to promote rural revitalization. Journal of Resources and Ecology, 15(3), 528-540. https://doi.org/10.5814/j.issn.1674-764x.2024.03.002
Costantino, C., Mantini, N., Benedetti, A. C., Bartolomei, C., & Predari, G. (2022). Digital and territorial trails system for developing sustainable tourism and enhancing cultural heritage in rural areas: The case of San Giovanni Lipioni, Italy. Sustainability, 14(21), 13982. https://doi.org/10.3390/su142113982
Dayoub, B., Yang, P., Omran, S., Zhang, Q., & Dayoub, A. (2024). Digital silk roads: leveraging the metaverse for cultural tourism within the belt and road initiative framework. Electronics, 13(12), 2306. https://doi.org/10.3390/electronics13122306
Fauzi, H., Sharif, H. M., & Razak, R. A. (2022). Virtualization of digitalized cultural assets to promote sustainable heritage tourism in Malaysia. International Journal of Environment, Architecture, and Societies, 2(02), 85-99. https://doi.org/10.26418/ijeas.2022.2.02.85-99
Gonçalves, A. R., Dorsch, L. L. P., & Figueiredo, M. (2022). Digital tourism: an alternative view on cultural intangible heritage and sustainability in Tavira, Portugal. Sustainability, 14(5), 2912. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14052912
Gutierriz, I., Ferreira, J. J., & Fernandes, P. O. (2025). Digital transformation and the new combinations in tourism: A systematic literature review. Tourism and Hospitality Research, 25(2), 194-213. https://doi.org/10.1177/14673584231198414
Jiang, C., & Phoong, S. W. (2023). A ten-year review analysis of the impact of digitization on tourism development (2012–2022). Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, 10(1), 1-16. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-023-02150-7
Jo, H. (2023). Tourism in the digital frontier: A study on user continuance intention in the metaverse. Information Technology & Tourism, 25(3), 307-330. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40558-023-00257-w
Kasemsarn, K., Harrison, D., & Nickpour, F. (2023). Applying inclusive design and digital storytelling to facilitate cultural tourism: A review and initial framework. Heritage, 6(2), 1411-1428. https://doi.org/10.3390/heritage6020077
Kasemsarn, K., & Nickpour, F. (2025). Digital storytelling in cultural and heritage tourism: A review of social media integration and youth engagement frameworks. Heritage, 8(6), 200. https://doi.org/10.3390/heritage8060200
Kumar, S., Kumar, V., Kumari Bhatt, I., Kumar, S., & Attri, K. (2024). Digital transformation in tourism sector: trends and future perspectives from a bibliometric-content analysis. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Insights, 7(3), 1553-1576. https://doi.org/10.1108/JHTI-10-2022-0472
Lapuz, M. C. M. (2023). The role of local community empowerment in the digital transformation of rural tourism development in the Philippines. Technology in Society, 74, 102308. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techsoc.2023.102308
Li, X., Liang, X., Yu, T., Ruan, S., & Fan, R. (2022). Research on the integration of cultural tourism industry driven by digital economy in the context of COVID-19—based on the data of 31 Chinese provinces. Frontiers in Public Health, 10, 780476. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2022.780476
Lian, Y., & Xie, J. (2024). The evolution of digital cultural heritage research: Identifying key trends, hotspots, and challenges through bibliometric analysis. Sustainability, 16(16), 7125. https://doi.org/10.3390/su16167125
Liang, D. (2022). Aesthetic value evaluation for digital cultural and creative products with artificial intelligence. Wireless Communications and Mobile Computing, (1), 8318620. https://doi.org/10.1155/2022/8318620
Liu, Q., Gao, J., & Li, S. (2024). The innovation model and upgrade path of digitalization driven tourism industry: Longitudinal case study of OCT. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 200, 123127. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2023.123127
Maquera, G., da Costa, B. B., Mendoza, Ó., Salinas, R. A., & Haddad, A. N. (2022). Intelligent digital platform for community-based rural tourism—a novel concept development in Peru. Sustainability, 14(13), 7907. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14137907
Polukhina, A., Sheresheva, M., Napolskikh, D., & Lezhnin, V. (2025). Digital solutions in tourism as a way to boost sustainable development: Evidence from a transition economy. Sustainability, 17(3), 877. https://doi.org/10.3390/su17030877
Ratna, S., Saide, S., Putri, A. M., Indrajit, R. E., & Muwardi, D. (2024). Digital transformation in tourism and hospitality industry: a literature review of blockchain, financial technology, and knowledge management. EuroMed Journal of Business, 19(1), 84-112. https://doi.org/10.1108/EMJB-04-2023-0118
Roziqin, A., Kurniawan, A. S., Hijri, Y. S., & Kismartini, K. (2023). Research trends of digital tourism: a bibliometric analysis. Tourism Critiques: Practice and Theory, 4(1-2), 28-47. https://doi.org/10.1108/TRC-11-2022-0028
Stoica, G. D., Andreiana, V. A., Duica, M. C., Stefan, M. C., Susanu, I. O., Coman, M. D., & Iancu, D. (2022). Perspectives for the development of sustainable cultural tourism. Sustainability, 14(9), 5678. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14095678
Tuomi, A., Moreira Kares, E., & Zainal Abidin, H. (2023). Digital cultural tourism: Older adults’ acceptance and use of digital cultural tourism services. Scandinavian Journal of Hospitality and Tourism, 23(2-3), 226-247. https://doi.org/10.1080/15022250.2023.2256698
Poulopoulos, V., & Wallace, M. (2022). Digital technologies and the role of data in cultural heritage: The past, the present, and the future. Big Data and Cognitive Computing, 6(3), 73. https://doi.org/10.3390/bdcc6030073
Wider, W., Gao, Y., Chan, C. K., Lin, J., Li, J., Tanucan, J. C. M., & Fauzi, M. A. (2023). Unveiling trends in digital tourism research: A bibliometric analysis of co-citation and co-word analysis. Environmental and Sustainability Indicators, 20, 100308. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indic.2023.100308
Wu, W., Xu, C., Zhao, M., Li, X., & Law, R. (2024). Digital tourism and smart development: State-of-the-art review. Sustainability, 16(23), 10382. https://doi.org/10.3390/su162310382
Yanti, D., Heryadi, D. Y., Cakranegara, P. A., & Kadyrov, M. (2023). Developing rural communication through digital innovation for village tourism. Jurnal Studi Komunikasi, 7(3), 696-712. https://doi.org/10.25139/jsk.v7i3.7384
Zeqiri, A., Ben Youssef, A., & Maherzi Zahar, T. (2025). The role of digital tourism platforms in advancing sustainable development goals in the industry 4.0 era. Sustainability, 17(8), 3482. https://doi.org/10.3390/su17083482
Zhao, X., Xie, C., Huang, L., Wang, Y., & Han, T. (2023). How digitalization promotes the sustainable integration of culture and tourism for economic recovery. Economic Analysis and Policy, 77, 988-1000. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eap.2023.01.005
Zheng, D., Huang, C., & Oraltay, B. (2023). Digital cultural tourism: progress and a proposed framework for future research. Asia Pacific Journal of Tourism Research, 28(3), 234-253. https://doi.org/10.1080/10941665.2023.2217958
Zhou, Y., & Chen, S. (2022). Design innovation of ethnic cultural wisdom tourism products based on digital information technology. Wireless Communications and Mobile Computing, (1), 1833649. https://doi.org/10.1155/2022/1833649
