Blockchain-Enabled Smart Tourism: Key Benefits and Systemic Comparison with Centralized Models

Abstract

Recently, smart tourism marks a significant evolution in the tourism industry, driven by the adoption of cutting-edge digital technologies. Yet, it continues to grapple with persistent issues such as centralized data control, reliance on intermediaries, and challenges to digital sovereignty. Blockchain technology has several core characteristics that make it uniquely capable of handling the in-built challenges of smart cities -specifically smart tourism-. This paper examines the potential of blockchain technology to address these issues through its decentralized, secure, and transparent infrastructure. By analyzing both the foundations and limitations of the current smart tourism model, the study outlines how blockchain can contribute to a more robust, disintermediated, and user-centric tourism ecosystem. It also explores the technical, legal, and organizational barriers to blockchain implementation, and proposes directions for its sustainable and responsible integration into the sector.