Digital Governance Model for Tourism Management, Promotion, and Dissemination in Antonio Ante Canton

Abstract

Introduction: This research addresses the design of a digital tourism platform and a digital governance model for the management, promotion, and dissemination of the attractions of the Antonio Ante canton (Imbabura, Ecuador). This is in response to the gap between the value of its tourism heritage (textile traditions, gastronomy, pre-Hispanic mounds) and its limited digital visibility, which keeps it lagging behind neighboring destinations such as Otavalo and Cotacachi. Materials and methods: A mixed-methods approach was adopted, with a descriptive and propositional scope, and a non-experimental, cross-sectional design. The sample included 384 visitors (systematic sampling), a census of service providers, 10 municipal officials, a panel of 9 experts with doctoral training who evaluated the proposal on six criteria using a scale of 1 to 10 points, and a focus group of 11 specialists from the Ministry of Tourism. Results: The diagnostic assessment confirmed fragmented tourism information, a lack of georeferencing, a lack of systematic data on visitors, and uncoordinated promotional channels. The expert panel awarded an average rating of 8.90/10 (category "very adequate"); the correlation between digital transformation and expected impact was positive and significant (r = 0.75; p = 0.020), while the correlation between platform functionality and integration of the smart tourism destination model was negative (r = -0.80; p = 0.010). Discussion: The findings confirm the approaches regarding the interdependence between information, connectivity, and governance in smart destinations, and coincide with the findings in Cuenca regarding digital divides in Ecuadorian destinations; the tension between the expectations of visitors, service providers, and officials guided the design toward a tool that serves both the external public and the institutional capacity of the municipality. Conclusions: The digital platform and the governance model constitute management tools and not a mere image expenditure, as they allow for evidence-based decision-making, improve the visitor experience, and offer a replicable model for other intermediate cantons; the quantitative and qualitative validation confirmed the relevance, viability, and sustainability of the proposal.