Esports Tourism as an Urban Tourism Opportunity: A Literature Review
Keywords:
urban tourism,, city tourism, smart city, esports tourismAbstract
Background: Electronic sports, better known as esports, open up new opportunities to create destinations that can be explored through a type of unconventional sports tourism known as esports tourism.
Objectives: This study concludes that esports tourism is a strategic opportunity in the development of city tourism as tourists increasingly demand technology-based experiences and digital entertainment.
Methods: This article uses a literature review research method. The collection of articles constitutes secondary data. The databases used were Web of Science (WoS), Scopus, SINTA, and Google Scholar. The SINTA database was specifically used to collect domestic literature not found in WoS or Scopus. The collection of articles was limited to publications from 2020 to 2025.
Results: Esports tourism shows significant potential for destinations to attract tourist flows and expand their contribution to the local economy. The literature confirms that the esports tourist experience is shaped by service quality, event atmosphere, staff communication, and emotional engagement in live attendance. These factors influence the image of the destination and the intention to return, making them key components in the success of esports tourism.
Conclusion: The study's findings also emphasize that the success of esports destinations depends on the readiness of digital infrastructure, including the availability of venues with esports technical standards, low-latency networks, and integrated broadcast production systems. In addition, digital marketing through social media has proven to be a key instrument in attracting interest, expanding reach, and building sustainable community engagement. Platforms like Instagram and TikTok play a crucial role in creating a cycle of attention leading to tourist action.
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Copyright (c) 2025 Denaz Karuma Hijriansyah, Hadiono Hadiono, Pratik Hari Yuwono
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