**1. Introduction**

The information and knowledge society, internet, e-commerce, connectivity breakthroughs or the generalization of mobile devices and applications have prompted a new technological framework that has greatly impacted all social, economic, and cultural activities. One of the sectors affected most heavily has been tourism, as it aims to adapt to generalized hyperconnectivity and highly interactive tourists.

Visits to former industrial sites are increasingly linked to the expansion of communication channels and the generalization of increasingly sustainable and effective management models. The digital transformation of industrial heritage sites boosts the influx of tourists and their degree of satisfaction which, in turn, encourages the conservation of other historical industrialization sites. This reinforces the role of industrial heritage as an emerging cultural resource of great potential for tourism.

The legacy of industrialization must now be re-read from an integrated, scientific, and innovative perspective: (i) Integrated, because you cannot interpret isolated objects from each other or outside the environment in which they are located, and this implies a territoriality of unquestionable geographical value; (ii) Scientific, because there can be no more purely descriptive approaches to heritage resources, as occurs in a first phase of discovering and cataloguing the industrial heritage, without explanatory causal references; and (iii) Innovative, because a new information and communication technologies-based framework must be built around industrial heritage as a vehicle for the promotion

of the destinations, dissemination of associated values, and active interpretation of exhibition contents. At the same time, this threefold aspect serves to ensure resources are managed better.

Through the advanced application of digital techniques, a traditional destination can be turned into a smart destination [1–4]. All these authors consider that these spaces are always linked to technological competitiveness and to improving tourists' experience. Innovative places supported by cutting-edge technological structures that allow for the sustainable development of resources and the integration of visitors with the architectural, environmental, and socioeconomic environment [5].

The application of new technologies in the management of industrial heritage areas and buildings differs from one case to another, but progress, in general, has been positive. New applications and platforms have created great opportunities to bring the legacy of industrialization to the attention of the general public by letting them interact easily and permanently with the resources offered. In this respect, instead of only considering a few issues, like energy efficiency, the sustainability of the retrieved mining and industrial landscapes, the environmental regeneration of the sites, new local employment opportunities, and now, other, more technological aspects linked to information and communication are also taken into account. The spotlight has switched from the place to the visitor, through a multiple sequence of intelligent interpretation of resources.

By creating a complete and effective information system, all involved players can be better coordinated, and goals can be defined more soundly, fostering broader collaboration networks [3,6].

The implications of using ICTs (information and communication technologies) to manage destinations and the strategic, technological, and innovation-oriented vision that presides over new tourism are at the heart of some of the research carried out so far [7–9]. Innovation has been always very significant in relation to competitiveness. It entails processes that affect all players in different contexts and must rely on the development of ICTs to maintain an active interdependence between people and technology. This creates an ecosystem in which multiple human, technical, and economic resources are combined in the form of essential components of tourism intelligence [10].

Cultural tourism could stand to benefit the most from technological advances and the proliferation of new communication tools. Cultural resources are basic for heritage destinations or even complementary for other destinations and, in some cases, heritage preservation is a fundamental precondition for developing the tourist function of the territory and conceptualizing the so-called "territorial heritage system" [11]. Their online promotion and dissemination is an extraordinary opportunity to boost their appeal [12].

Some authors suggest that despite the advantages that ICTs bring by connecting tourists and resources, cultural tourists like to contemplate the original version of the material or intangible item and experience it first-hand. In this regard, new information and communication technologies are not really interpreted as a substitute but, rather, as a complement to the personal experiences recorded during the trip and an instrument to better understand the contents [13,14].

The connection through digital dialogue between institutions, visitors, and objects implies a collaborative approach that increases the opportunities for personal interpretation of resources. This is what underlies a new concept, namely, smart cultural heritage spaces [15,16]. These authors reckon that these spaces can shorten the distance between cultural heritage and visitors and, to a certain extent, overcome the remaining idea that cultural objects are to be enjoyed in a purely aesthetic and essentially passive way.

For all these reasons, new ICTs have unquestionably taken center stage in many of the most recent projects which base their interventions on offering more information, more efficient management, more active visitor participation, and generally reshaping their strategies. It is not simply a matter of replacing heritage resources with digital tools, but of offering more data and participatory services online [17].

Industrial heritage is an emerging cultural resource, although it is still not appreciated enough. The enhancement of its different components has prompted an extensive process of opening up of museums, interpretation centers, cultural parks, ecomuseums, and museum territories [18]. It is

essential that all these proposals regarding the exhibition, visualization, and interpretation of industrial heritage be adapted to the powerful existing technological framework. Technological development has created a new cultural reality in industrial heritage. It is a reality defined by ICTs. Digital tools make industrial heritage an intelligent heritage. The most important ones are the following: websites; 3D models; geolocation systems; generation and management of digital representations of physical and functional characteristics of buildings and areas (BIM models); social networks; podcasting; mobile phone apps; QR codes; augmented reality; and multimedia guides.

To date, there has yet to be an in-depth study of the opportunities that new technologies can afford in the industrial heritage field. There are practically no references in this regard, and those that do exist are not very precise and limited to the use of a few general concepts and management models. In some cases, they spotlight industrialization's legacy in the so-called smart territories and the possible advantages of applying innovative techniques [19].

In the field of geography, there are very few investigations related to the new technologies applied to industrial heritage. The studies have basically focused on the analysis of post-industrial landscapes and the transformations experienced from an aesthetic and functional point of view, as well as on the territorial representation of the built elements inherited from industrialization.

As already mentioned, there is some concrete reference to the advantages that the application of technological innovation could have in the management of industrial heritage, all within the framework of the so-called smart territories. It is a geographical vision of undoubted interest that only represents a small approximation to the subject in question.

More specifically, the application of new technologies in the field of heritage education has been addressed, with specific references to industrial heritage [20]. These authors focus on the interpretation of cultural itineraries of industrial heritage, with several case studies in the city of Madrid. The design of a mobile app and its valuation by users becomes the main objective of the research, with an obvious geographical meaning and promotion of the values associated with industrial heritage.

The challenges posed to tourism by the new trends in demand and consumption are based, above all, on the use of new technologies at the service of the best tourist lending. In recent times, the so-called smart destinations have been configured, a new tourism paradigm of deep geographical connotations due to their characteristics of innovative spaces supported by a cutting-edge technological structure, which guarantees the sustainable development of the tourist territory [5].

The particularities of each tourist territory require the implementation of the most appropriate digital solutions [3]. In some cases, the complicated relationships that exist around the large number of local agents involved in tourist destinations (including industrial heritage) are discussed, which makes it difficult to apply digital tools for configuration as smart destinations [21,22]. In any case, the territorial scale of the local type is the most appropriate to promote the digital challenge and overcome the limitations of tourist sites [23]".

Other times, industrial heritage is regarded as a very specific legacy with a great capacity for coordinating territories and resources. The main goal of some authors is to try to define a conceptual model of smart or technological industrial heritage tourism [24]. That task involves developing far more complex forms of management that can be adapted to digital techniques.

These authors define what they call the smart industrial tourism business ecosystem (SITBE) model. It is based on the premise that industrial heritage, considered as a cultural resource, not only calls for investments in the physical recovery of the elements, but also in a range of actions designed to create collaborative organizational structures; involving the local business fabric; boosting technological competitiveness; interacting with the local community; and building a technological model based on intelligent information and communication.

This study mainly aims to ascertain the level of technological innovation at certain industrial heritage sites, chosen on account of their special significance as cultural and tourist resources, and to determine the extent to which digitization enhances efficient management. Another albeit secondary objective is to identify the problems and opportunities found when configuring technically smart industrial heritage destinations.

The lack of specific studies in this field makes it essential to conceptualize what one could refer to as smart industrial heritage spaces; innovative places equipped with technological infrastructure that facilitates permanent access to information, visitor interaction, and sustainable management. Applying digital techniques and platforms in the industrial heritage environment increases the quality of destinations, improves and promotes visitors' active and shared tourist experience, and drives the environment's cultural, environmental and socioeconomic factors as economic development drivers.
