Museus como dispositivos sociotécnicos em destinos turísticos inteligentes: entre o protagonismo cultural e a subordinação tecnológica

Abstract

The increasing digitalization of urban life has consolidated the concept of smart cities, which has expanded into the tourism sector, giving rise to Smart Tourism Destinations (STDs), models that seek to integrate technological solutions, innovation, and visitor experience into local development. However, cultural and symbolic dimensions, particularly the role of institutions such as museums, remain marginalized in the main indices and evaluation models, occupying a peripheral position in relation to technocratic imperatives. In this context, the objective of this dissertation is to critically assess the role of museums as sociotechnical devices in the constitution of STDs, investigating how these institutions are recognized, integrated, or rendered invisible by hegemonic models. The methodological approach, qualitative, interpretive, and comparative in nature, included a systematic literature review (SPAR-4-SLR and PRISMA protocols), content analysis of international frameworks, the application of multicriteria AHP-TOPSIS methods to evaluate smart city indices, and documentary analysis of case studies. The results demonstrate that the technocratic rationality structuring smart city and smart destination models tends to marginalize the cultural dimension and render museums invisible as strategic agents of mediation and territorial intelligence, reproducing symbolic inequalities through algorithmic systems. It is concluded that, despite institutional omission, museums hold the potential to lead alternative forms of territorial intelligence, challenging instrumental logic and promoting more inclusive and culturally sensitive STD models, reaffirming that culture is a structural axis of a destination’s true intelligence.