Abstract

In Tourism, information technology has been a core in creating the features and functions of digital and social innovations. Thus, previous smart tourism studies mainly highlighted technology-driven approach (TDA). To achieve the goals of Smart tourism, however, we need more attention to the Sociotechnical Systems Perspective that embraces technical and social aspects, because currently established design systems and services of TDA are limited to prevent several social vulnerabilities. Therefore, we conducted the Digital Omotenashi project, which deals with foreign tourists’ Japanese restaurant experiences with a design thinking approach. As a result, we synthesised EATJOY as a mobile application for satisfying users’ sociotechnical requirements. Based on our key findings, the contributions of this study are condensed as follows:1) designing tourists’ information systems, consolidating various aspects in technical and social views; 2) rethinking the role of IT application as a communication tool between local staffs and foreign tourists; and 3) providing a positive direction of how users could create key contents in identifying novel and effective solutions in IS design by a design thinking approach.

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