Modeling Sustainable Urban Tourism with Digital Self-Guided Tours
A Smart City Perspective
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 13113249 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Alexandru Predescu (0000-0003-0792-3820, Universitatea Națională de Știință și Tehnologie Politehnica București, corresponding author), Mariana Mocanu (0000-0002-8305-2652, Universitatea Națională de Știință și Tehnologie Politehnica București, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 9 |
| Issue | 9 |
| Pages | 371-371 |
| Publication date | 2025-09-15 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Urban Science (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2413-8851 • E-ISSN: 2413-8851 |
| Publisher | MDPI AG (PUBLISHER • IT) |
| DOI | 10.3390/urbansci9090371 |
| OpenAlex | W4414207632 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 24 |
The rise of independent travel is reshaping tourism, moving away from mass tourism and rigid itineraries toward flexible, technology-driven, and sustainable experiences. This study examines how self-guided digital tours can reduce congestion at points of interest while maintaining visitor engagement. Using a stylized agent-based simulation implemented with the Mesa framework, we modeled guided and self-guided tourist groups to compare congestion patterns, travel flows, and completion rates. The results indicate that self-guided tours flatten congestion peaks and support decentralized, walking-based exploration while maintaining comparable engagement levels. The findings suggest that digital self-guided formats can complement urban visitor management and smart-city strategies by distributing tourist flows more evenly. Future research should calibrate the model with real-world data and case studies to validate and extend these results. This study contributes to the discourse on sustainable urban tourism by positioning self-guided tours as a tool for integrating visitor management into smart infrastructure and enhancing long-term cultural and environmental resilience
Perspective (graphical · Smart city · Stylized fact · Sustainable city · Sustainable tourism · Tourism · Urban tourism · Visitor pattern · Digital Marketing and Social Media · Diverse Aspects of Tourism Research · Technology Adoption and User Behaviour
| Citations per year | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2026 - 2026 (1) |
| Highly cited | No |