E-Tourism in the Smart City Framework: Development and Validation of SEM Models for Digital Tourism Adoption in Indonesia

Abstract

Digital transformation has encouraged the tourism sector to adapt to the smart city paradigm (Smart City) and smart tourism (Smart Tourism). In this context, E-Tourism emerges as a strategic subsystem that bridges policies, urban infrastructure, and tourist experiences through the use of integrated digital technology. This study aims to develop and validate an Indonesian E-Tourism model in the framework of Smart City using the Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) approach based on the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). This study adopts a quantitative approach with an explanatory research design. The conceptual model was developed by integrating the Smart City dimensions (Smart Governance, Smart Mobility, and Digital Infrastructure Readiness), E-tourism capabilities (Information Quality, Service Integration, and Smart Tourism Capability), construct technology adoption (Perceived Usefulness and Perceived Ease of Use), and tourism outcomes (Intention to Use and Tourist Satisfaction). To demonstrate the feasibility and consistency of the model, the analysis was performed using simulation data-based SEM-PLS that followed the proposed indicator structure and causal relationships. The results of the analysis show that the Smart City dimension has a significant effect on E-tourism capabilities, both directly and indirectly. E-tourism capabilities have been shown to mediate the relationship between the context of Smart City and user perception, which further influences user intent and tourist satisfaction. These findings confirm that the success of Smart Cities in the tourism sector is highly dependent on the ability of E-tourism to provide integrated, easy-to-use, and valuable digital services for users. This research contributes by providing an E-tourism framework that is integrated with Smart City and a quantitative model baseline that is ready to be empirically tested in future research. Practically, this model can be a reference for local governments and tourism industry players in designing digital tourism strategies that are smart, sustainable, and oriented towards the tourist experience.