2. Literature Review

Most of the European tourist cards studied in this paper have a validity period of 1 to 7 days, while their price is variable, depending on the days, season, and demand. The price range identified is from EUR 13 (simple provisions) to EUR 80 (including tours and more advanced experiences). In addition, discounts are offered for children aged 0–6 years and, in some cases, there are discounts for family packages (Hamburg Card, 2022).

Regarding the services included in their package, the most frequently recorded are unlimited use of public transport for the whole duration of the tourist card, entrance to selected museums/exhibitions/galleries, while at least four tourist cards include in their package unlimited entrance to their respective contracted points of interest (Innsbruck Card, Nuremberg Card, Stuttgart Card, Valencia Card). In addition, one of the main benefits identified was the use of a tourist bus (for a 2 h journey) and the provision of information on attractions, either in the form of magazines or audio guides.

Furthermore, the destination cards studied offer special discounts in restaurants, cafés, and gift-souvenir shops, with the discount ranging from 10–20%. Regarding ‘fast track entry’ and ‘airport transfer’ services, very few tourist cards include these. As regards the provision of maps and tourist guides, few cards include such material in the offer package, while only one tourist card provides a tour and information application, but without having this integrated into the card itself.

Thus, destination cards, by bringing all these elements together, simplify a complex system in the eyes of a visitor. The identification of both good practices and the possible shortcomings of existing tourist cards is, therefore, a very important tool for a destination to strengthen its competitive products. One of their key features is the Premium/Simple version option, which enables the visitor to choose between the basic version of the smart tourist card, with specific service benefits, and the Premium version with additional services. In the basic version, the visitor does not have to pay a price for the application, but instead can download it on his/her mobile device completely free of charge, with limited access to its functions. In the Premium version, the visitor has the possibility, by paying the corresponding fee, to have access to a variety of services such as a complete tourist guide, specialized tourist packages, tour guide audio, larger discounts in restaurants/gift shops, and more points of interest than the basic version.

In addition, the tourist card and the mobile ticket optimize the visitor’s journey, as they enable the visitor to have all his/her data registered in a QR Code, thus avoiding printing vouchers. Two additional features are the mobile wallet and the provision of booking, which enable the individual to pay without the use of card or cash, which mainly optimizes data security.

In terms of tourist services, the free entrance to points of interest (depending on the duration of the card), the provision of a digital tourist guide in several languages, and the selected fast track entry, as well as discounts in restaurants, make the tourist products of the place even more attractive, because the cost is much lower than in the case of individual consumption.

As for the other services, the tour bus and unlimited public transport routes are considered two of the most attractive benefits of a tourist card. With the unlimited public transport service, the visitor can discover the destination at a much lower cost than the total sum of individual tickets. On the other hand, with this practice the destination is boosting their use while at the same time promoting the use of alternative means of transport and environmentally friendly policies in general.

3. Research Methods

3.1. The Case Study

Based on the above findings of the literature review on the powers and key features of destination cards, and with a view to propose an innovative card for a Greek city that will support increasing touristic flow while supporting the sustainability goals of the area, a dedicated survey was designed aiming to identify tourists’ needs and link them with sustainability principles. Before presenting the survey, a quick presentation of the city and the city’s tourism growth goals follows.

Thessaloniki is the second-largest city in Greece, located in the region of Central Macedonia. Known for its rich history, diverse cultural heritage, and stunning natural beauty, it has become a popular destination for tourists from around the world. The city’s history dates back to ancient times, and it has been influenced by various civilizations throughout the centuries, including the Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Ottomans, and Jews. This cultural diversity is reflected in the city’s architecture, museums, and galleries, making Thessaloniki a hub for art and history enthusiasts. Thessaloniki also boasts a vibrant culinary scene, with a wide range of local and international cuisines available in its many restaurants, cafes, and tavernas. Its location near the Aegean Sea and Mount Olympus also offers opportunities for outdoor activities such as hiking, swimming, and water sports. Furthermore, Thessaloniki is home to numerous festivals and events throughout the year, including the Thessaloniki International Fair, the Dimitria Festival, and the Thessaloniki Documentary Festival, among others. Overall, Thessaloniki offers a unique blend of history, culture, cuisine, and outdoor recreation, making it a must-visit destination for anyone traveling to Greece.

According to the ‘Thessaloniki Strategic Management and Branding Plan (2020–2030)’ conducted on behalf of Thessaloniki Tourism Organization, the goals set for the city are as follows:

3.2. Materials and Methods

As mentioned above, serving the goals of #Thessaloniki_Tourism_Blockchain initiative, a dedicated tourism survey was implemented in order to examine both the motivations and needs that drive a visitor to buy a smart tourist card, and to capture their interest in integrating digital cultural content during a trip to the Thessaloniki. Initially, after clarifying theories and definitions regarding the importance of studying motivation, the motivations and attraction factors of a smart tourist card and the digital material it can provide were mapped through international and domestic studies. The mapping carried out is of dual importance because, on the one hand, it became possible to redefine the digital tourist card, since as technologies are integrated a transformation occurs, and, on the other hand, it created a list of features and services that was used both in the first part of the research and in the second part of the research. In the second stage, an empirical qualitative study was carried out in order to produce useful information and conclusions on: the interest of tourists in purchasing a smart tourist card, the types of services and facilities that should be included in it, the provision of digital material, and finally its cost in relation to its validity period.

All of the above led to conclusions about the needs of potential users of such a tourism application and their motivation towards the tourism industry in general.

A qualitative tourism needs survey was conducted during 2022 in the form of a questionnaire addressed to domestic and international, potential and real visitors. The questionnaire was circulated in a digital format and was promoted through applications, as well as through social media (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn). Various types of statistical analysis were applied to process the data. Descriptive statistics were conducted to analyze the profile of the subjects. Frequency evaluation analysis was performed to provide a complete picture of the distribution of the data on the measurement scale. A statistical significance analysis was then conducted to compare the sample with the population and to examine whether the statistical sample was not statistically significantly different on a population parameter. Finally, a series of multiple linear regression analyses were implemented in order to test the correlations. Finally, a chi-square test was used to calculate the significance of the regression model.

The questionnaire was constructed according to the data of the literature review conducted during the first phase. Four main sections were created, including: personal data, the evaluation of proposals based on the degree of agreement on the characteristics of Thessaloniki, the features that a smart tourist card can contain, and the integration of digital material within the product. A total of 22 closed and open-ended questions were constructed, which were measured with different nominal, tactical, and interval scales in order to produce in-depth conclusions.

The first section aims to control demographic characteristics and visitor diversity by presenting the demographic data of respondents (age, gender, ethnicity, income scale) and information on the characteristics of their holidays.

In the second section, the questions are framed by the personal assessment that the potential visitor will make of the degree of agreement or importance. In the first question, the characteristics that Thessaloniki can provide for a visitor are placed on a Likert scale, and the second question of this section, which is again on a Likert scale, concerns characteristics that can be included in a smart tourist card. The respondent is thus able to indicate his/her personal level of agreement and what he/she considers important in a smart tourist card. Through these questions, results can be obtained on the preferences and requirements of visitors.

In the next section, smart tourist card packages are presented, which are priced according to their benefits. The respondent, after studying them, should be able to answer which card he/she would prefer from the two and how he/she would rate them through a ‘Star Rating’ system. Various benefits are then given over a 48 h period, during which the potential visitor should choose what he or she would like to do. Through this module it is possible, using the frequency rating model, to carry out an analysis on visitors’ preferences regarding the ready-made tourist card packages.

Finally, the fourth section of the questionnaire gives weight to the digital city tools. The questionnaire in this section is structured through both multiple choice and single-choice questions about the digital promotion of a city through the smart tourist card. The answers will enhance the conduct of in-depth results on whether a visitor has a need to use a digital tool of a city, as well as what kind of digitization he/she would like.

The last phase of the empirical study is the interpretation and evaluation of the results:

The exploratory literature review was applied in order to answer the question ‘which are the clear needs of visitors for the purchase/use of a smart tourist card?’ This phase aims to identify the main explicit and latent needs of tourists related to the use of smart tourist cards, as well as the ideal characteristics of the new service. In the second phase of this study, the aim was to answer the following question ‘how should the new service be designed in order to satisfy visitors and improve their travel experience?’ For this purpose an integrated approach was applied, combining frequency assessment and statistical significance analysis. Both the former and the latter approach aided in better understanding the features and services that would be included in a potential smart tourist card application. The importance of applying these methodological analyses demonstrates the very essence of this study and its enhancement in the general scientific field, as it presents the prioritization made by potential users of the services of such an application.

4. Results

A total of 161 questionnaires were received (survey following a snowball sampling exploring social networks’ power due to the hard-to-reach population of tourists), which formed the basis of the data analysis reported in this paper. The project partnership, within which the current survey was conducted, distributed the questionnaire to individuals in their social media network who had previously visited the city. Two research and academic partners, namely the Centre for Research and Technology Hellas/Hellenic Institute of Transport and Hellenic International University, leveraged contacts from previous projects that involved visits to Thessaloniki. Additionally, the Thessaloniki Tourism Organization, a supporter of the DigitalThessaloniki2030 project, shared the survey with tourists from their own datasets. The initial recipients of the survey were encouraged to forward it to others who had visited the city or to actively seek out such groups among their contacts. Prior to the survey, respondents were informed about the purpose of the survey, the survey method, procedure, and anonymity regarding data analysis.

Leveraging social networks rapidly expanded the sample size, a need that was imposed by existing time and cost restrictions. The inherent limitation of not randomly selecting respondents (digital word of mouth communication exploited to diffuse the survey among connections between tourists that have visited the city), which can limit the generalizability of the findings, has to be considered.

4.1. Frequency Evaluation

After the data coding, a frequency assessment was performed on the demographic results to determine the sample collected from the questionnaire. Therefore, starting the analysis with the characteristics of the respondents, the total sample was reduced to 161 participants, having 49.7% female, 47.8% male, and 1.9% participants who did not wish to indicate their gender. Of the total respondents, most of the respondents held at least a postgraduate degree, at 68.3%, while the next in line, at 16.8%, held a doctoral degree.

It is worth noting the income scale where most respondents were identified: the majority, 35.4%, were placed in the 10,000–20,000 range, while 19.9% were placed in the 20,000–30,000 range.

In this current, quick survey, the focus was on collecting and analyzing qualitative data, which involve subjective information, opinions, beliefs, and the experiences of tourists, data that are not measured on a continuous numerical scale, therefore, do not have the same assumptions as quantitative data, such as normality. As presented below, the analysis focused on understanding the meaning and context of the data rather than assessing statistical assumptions.

The record of income categorization is of great interest in relation to the selection of single tourist cards given above. It appears that the category of people belonging to the income range 10,000–20,000 chose, in the majority, the single tourist card B with a percentage of 11.25% (18 people), while potential users belonging to the category of 20,000–30,000 showed their preference for the single tourist card C. As we move up the income scale, the percentage opting for the Single Tourist Card C increases compared to the lower income categories.

It is obvious, however, that the two middle income categorizations that capture the largest percentage of our sample would choose the B or C.

Moreover, it is interesting that of the three possible market value card cost prices, most chose those with 35 euros across all salary scale categories. It is obvious that the people participating in this survey believe that a smart tourist card should cost less than 50 euros, regardless of the services that may be included, and range from 35–40. This is a useful conclusion for the host countries, which will be able to know the market value of this product in the first place. The price of a tourist card is of paramount importance and has a multi-faceted impact because the services included will be proportional to the final cost of a destination card. In addition, a destination card is intended to be accessible to all levels of society, so the desired cost of a destination card will lead both existing and new cards to optimize supply and demand.

In addition, regarding the digital services to be integrated into a smart destination card, users were asked about the costs they would expect to pay for virtual/visual audio/visual walking or cycling tour services in the city, for 60 min virtual/visual audio/visual tours of key tourist attractions and for live broadcast services of concerts and theatre performances.

The above result correlates with the third wish expressed by respondents regarding digital material. Thus, 64.9% chose the service ‘material with virtual/visual/audio tour on foot or by bicycle in the city’, a requirement that highlights the visitor’s desire to get to know the destination quickly and easily. Services related to virtual guided tours of museums (50.3%) and service proposals related to the profile of the visitor in question are also quite high (47%). Therefore, a smart destination card manufacturer should limit itself in the beginning to digital material about the city’s events, and to virtual/visual/audiovisual tours.

4.2. Statistical Significance Analysis

Following the frequency analysis of the main characteristics of the respondents, the results of the significance analysis of the characteristics of a single destination card are presented. The data were analyzed with One Sample T-Test, which enables the study to determine the mean value of each variable whose responses are placed on a Likert scale. The mean value will determine the importance of each response, thus making it possible to distinguish which of the features offered are the ones considered of highest importance by the visitors, which are the ones ranging in the unimportant features, and finally which are the features that are unimportant.

The next interesting result produced through this important analysis is that visitors described Thessaloniki as a city with an excellent history in gastronomy, showing an average value of 4.413. Therefore, food offers, gastronomic itineraries, and, more generally, information regarding places of interest with food will optimize a smart destination card, as this sample turned out to be very important, with a mean value variation of 4.31–4.52. In terms of entertainment, the next characteristic they added to Thessaloniki as a tourist destination is that it has a lively nightlife.

Regarding the historical features of the city, many people wish to visit the Byzantine monuments of Thessaloniki during their trip, with an average value of 4.275. This result, combined with the above, gives very important information about how many and what kind of monuments are the ones that will optimize a smart destination card. Finally, the characteristic that seems to give an edge to the destination is its geographical location. Most respondents agreed that Thessaloniki has nearby coastal destinations that they would like to visit during their stay in the city. Therefore, it would be important that a destination card should give the possibility to travel to nearby coastal destinations.

The other characteristics of the city ranged in a mean value variation of 3.44 to 3.99, putting them at the neutrality level. Therefore, through such an analysis it is possible to create a product based on the importance given by the visitors and, therefore, meet a wide range of tourism needs. Moreover, through the difference in average price, it is possible to identify both the characteristics that are of the highest importance, which if missing may cause negative feelings in the consumer about the product, and those of particularly low importance, which if present may again cause negative feelings about the product. Finally, ‘neutral’ characteristics are defined but, depending on their variation, they may give rise to either positive or negative thoughts about the product.