Technology is reflected in every aspect of our lives. Although more prominent in urban life, it also forms part and parcel of rural life. So much so, that we will soon be talking about #smartrural. And yet one of the few walks of life in which smart technology has still to gain a foothold is in the tourism world.

Spain's economic motor seems to run without the need for any oil changes or innovative components. Apart from online flight and hotel bookings, and of course the travel agency business, technology has not really changed tourism as we know it today.

But what would happen if we started introducing technological elements in tourism? Why not adopt a smart approach to tourism?

Let's imagine a scenario in which tourists can plan their visit before setting out on their travels. An omnichannel portal (accessible from a cell phone, PC, tablet, etc.) would allow tourists to create the complete visit, including accommodations, places of interest, restaurants and other information such as routes recommended by friends and other users or generated by the local tourist office. Let's imagine that all this can be downloaded to your cell phone and used offline. Next, why not supplement all of this with the latest information about the city, traffic, weather, events, congestion at museums, on streets, in stores, on beaches, etc.? And while we're at it, why not use the public Wi-Fi networks already available in many cities to increase the connectivity of the service?

Here are two simple examples. (i) You get up with the intention of doing some sightseeing in the old town and then taking a walk along the beach, but it's raining. Wouldn't it be great to receive recommendations or alternative options based on what the city has to offer and adapted to your own interests, using information in real time? (ii) After lunch, you'd planned to visit a museum or an amusement park. Why not find out what their current capacity is before you head off to the attraction so that you can adapt your time to the local conditions in real time?

This would not only benefit tourists but traders as well, who could match their supply to demand and launch special offers in real time, etc. It would also benefit city managers as they could adapt their tourism policies to the realities observed.

The tourism model is changing, and not only because of worldwide competition in the industry. The fact is that users are beginning to demand that existing services offer them added value. The key is in having the requisite information to make the best possible decisions, and clearly if that information is available in real time and is connected to other aspects of the city, the result will be much better, for everyone all round. Perhaps if all of this materialized – and believe me, it will, because we're already working on it – we would need to stop talking about tourism and replace it with the term "smart tourist", or simply with the "smart tourism experience".