journal article·2026-04-18Open access

Design and Implementation of a Tourism Experimentation Platform for Context-Aware and Sustainable Recommendations

Alessandro Abluton, Luisa Barrera-Leon, Stefania Benetti, Massimo Canonico, Stefania Cerutti, Francesco Desimoni, Luigi Portinale

Applied Sciences· Volume 16· Issue 8

Abstract

The digitization of tourism has made numerous platforms available, but there remains a significant shortage of tools capable of promoting local events and activities. This study hypothesizes that a decentralized digital interface can mitigate over-tourism. We conducted an experiment by deploying a digital platform to assess the synergy between local providers and visitors through the Tourism Open-ended Experimentation Platform (TOEP), a multi-interface solution designed to directly connect tourism activity providers with residents and visitors. The platform integrates a web portal for providers and a mobile app for users, supported by a recommendation system based on individual profiles and preferences. TOEP stands out for its focus on local and sustainable tourism, facilitating the promotion of smaller events and helping to reduce the concentration of tourist flows in already saturated destinations. Initial validation, conducted with a panel of industry experts, highlighted the ease of use and good organization of the interfaces, with scores above average. Preliminary results confirm the relevance of TOEP as a tool for the sustainable and digitized promotion of local tourism, opening prospects for development towards a smart, participatory tourism ecosystem that can be replicated in different territorial contexts.
Source: crossref · Quality: baseline

Research context

OpenAlex topics: Digital Marketing and Social Media · Diverse Aspects of Tourism Research · Conferences and Exhibitions Management

SciVX discovery tags are terminology-based. OpenAlex topics are source-provided classifications.

Affiliations

Department of Computer Science, University of Torino, 10149 Torino, Italy

Inferendo s.r.l., 15121 Alessandria, Italy

Computer Science Institute, DiSIT, University of Piemonte Orientale, 15121 Alessandria, Italy

Department of Sustainable Development and Ecological Transition, University of Piemonte Orientale, 13100 Vercelli, Italy

Funding

EU

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