Thematic Analysis Smart Tourism Ecosystems: A Decade of Technological Advancement and Sustainable Impact

This study investigates how the Fourth Industrial Revolution (IR 4.0) strengthens the tourism industry through the evolution of smart tourism ecosystems (STE). As one of key economic sectors, tourism requires technology-driven interventions to enhance accessibility and visibility and foster the development of smart and sustainable destinations. In response to increasing global challenges and shifting industry demands, digital transformation has become essential for revitalizing tourism and accelerating national economic growth. Hence, to what extend digital transformation has happened in tourism industry is become crucial to explore. This research employs bibliometric analysis to investigate the development of STE over time, using a Scopus-derived dataset comprising 352 articles published between 2014 and 2023, extracted from a broader collection of 1190 journal articles and 151 conference proceedings. Keyword synthesis identifies three dominant research clusters: smart tourism, artificial intelligence, and sustainable tourism. The findings further indicate that the evolution of STE reflects broader sociotechnical transformation, where stakeholder coordination and human–technology interaction progressively shape ecosystem maturity. As its key contribution, this study proposes the smart tourism ecosystem maturity model (STEMM-Pentahelix), which integrates five strategic pillars: economic, environmental, sociocultural, technological innovation, and policy regulation within the collaborative lens of the pentahelix model. This framework captures a decade of academic progress and offers a strategic foundation for assessing and guiding the development of intelligent, inclusive, and sustainable tourism ecosystems.