The impact of smart tourism technology and domestic travelers' technology readiness on their satisfaction and behavioral intention: A cross-country comparison

Despite the increasing use of tourism technology, not much has been discovered about the effects of the external aspects of tourism technology with internal inclination of travelers to adopt the technologies. This study attempted to examine the influence of smart tourism technologies (STTs) and travelers' technology readiness (TR) on satisfaction and future behavioral intention. Comparing two smart tourism destinations in the United States and South Korea, this study investigated the cross-country effects in the relationships among STTs, TR, satisfaction, and behavioral intention. The results revealed that travelers' TR has a more significant impact on satisfaction than STTs. Specifically, travelers' optimism, innovativeness, and discomfort significantly influenced travelers' satisfaction, while STTs' informativeness positively affected travelers' satisfaction. The results of cross-country comparison indicated that travelers' TR and perspectives toward STTs differently affected their satisfaction with STTs by their destination country. The findings of this study suggest that when implementing STTs in tourism destinations, the destination tourism organizations should identify their target travelers' demographic profile including cultural backgrounds as a way to enhance their level of satisfaction and future behavioral intention.