Reinventing Tourism Cities: Examining Technologies, Applications and City Branding in Leading Smart Cities

Cities have become the engines of economic development more than ever before. Nowadays, numerous cities have been using technological and innovative service delivery tools called “smart city technologies and applications” to affect living conditions of their residents and visitors positively. These technologies and applications can be seen at government and private buildings, city facilities and management, informational and communicational technology infrastructure and personal services. They have a significant positive impact on the environment and natural resources by reducing harmful emissions, excessive and unnecessary use of energy, water, gas, public and private transport vehicles etc. On the city branding side, efficient, sustainable and powerful city economy, security, tidiness, regularity in urban facilities, enhanced civic imagery and a decent quality of life have made a city attractive to its target audiences. In this paper, smart city technologies and applications in the world's leading smart cities were examined. Thereafter, common and/or city-specific applications were listed. Finally, in the light of these findings, some suggestions were put forward for tourism cities which aim to realize sustainable economic development by means of tourism and be an attractive city/destination for their existing and prospective visitors.