Smart Tourism Technologies in Museums: Opportunities and Challenges

Two years into Covid-19 pandemic, places of tourist interests and attractions, such as museums are still grappling with its long-term implications, while also attempting to reopen with social distancing restrictions in place. Tourism is one of the industries most affected by the Covid-19 epidemic, with impacts on economies, livelihoods, public services, and opportunities on all continents. Hence, an alternative solution needs to be taken to continue portraying the past scents. Recently, the operators of museums and touristic landmarks digitalized its content to reach their public remotely. This study aims to review the role of smart technologies in cultural attractions such as museums, and historic sites, and its role as interpretive story telling tool. Nowadays the advanced use of smart technologies such as virtual reality, augmented reality, and mixed reality receives a notable attention aiming to enhance the visitor experience, interaction and creation of memorable experiences. Using literature review, the research portrayed insightful information about innovative technologies and its addressed challenges in the realm of cultural tourism. The paper addressed a prospect methodology for implementing smart technologies starting with the assessment phase towards the implementation, monitoring and evaluation phase. The author claims that by using the proposed structured methodology, cultural institutions like museums and historic sites can implement smart technologies that meet the needs of both the institution and its visitors. The study revealed that engaging stakeholders in the development and implementation is a core element in the success of smart technologies. The study also emphasized the need to stay current with technological advancements to continue delivering a unique experience to visitors for both tourist and educational objectives.