Tourists' Perceptions of Smart Tourism Services in a Chinese Theme Park: An Ipa-Based Study of Ningbo Fangte Oriental Dawn

Smart tourism has become an important means of enhancing the competitiveness and service quality of theme parks. However, limited research has explored how visitors perceive the importance and performance of specific smart service components in Chinese theme parks. This study assesses tourists' perceptions of smart tourism services at Ningbo Fangte Oriental Dawn using a case study approach, a questionnaire survey, and the Importance-Performance Analysis (IPA) framework. A total of 387 valid responses from actual park visitors were analyzed. The results indicate that contactless payments, electronic map updates, ticketing convenience, social media publicity, and intelligent parking were perceived as both important and satisfactory. In contrast, mobile tourism services, online ticket discounts, and visitor-flow diversion were placed in the "Concentrate Here" quadrant, highlighting areas that require managerial attention. The findings provide clear decision-making references for theme park managers to optimize operations and allocate resources effectively, offering valuable practical implications for aligning smart tourism service investments with tourists' perceived value.