Besides much research on social media-based smart tourism applications, the authors introduce a novel approach to research focusing on cultural tourism. They effectively present the base of their research through an introduction section and relevant works in this sector. Further, the definitions of tag, location, and their relation are given in the context of geotagged photos used for ranking, and the best cultural heritage location is found. It is done within a social media environment where a huge set of tags exists thanks to GPS/GLONASS/Gallileo-equipped smartphones. Thus, the authors try to find the best selection process through the use of a set of frequent tags in a location to build a set of common tags. This process integrates time and space, providing users points of interest (POI) through geotagged resources combined with the social media data making the portfolio for smart tourism. Hence, the authors define smart tourism and briefly explore the workflow of smart cultural tourism consisting of four key phases: collecting, processing, ranking, and recommending cultural heritage for active tourists’ trips.

In the process of making smart environments for geotagged resources, the authors also successfully introduce a method for classifying and clustering geotagged photos, and present data clustering, data filtering, and data (geotagged node) ranking algorithms. Based on this assumption presented by the evaluation method, real experimental results are presented and analyzed using tag analyzing and ranking to build a set of important tags within stated categories that imply cultural heritage. Further, the process of identifying and ranking cultural heritage places is presented in an excellent way, providing readers with information on social media services’ role in ranking cultural heritage places by tourists’ favorite tagged photos uploaded on social media services.

Most relevant findings are presented explicitly within the discussion section, which is the basis for the final conclusions. The authors use location services to acquire information on cultural heritage places using social network services containing dynamic tourist information, although some obstacles exist when asking tourists to find useful solutions within social network services. Thus, the authors are conscious about the limitations of social network services in the context of interchanging geotagged photos. Most of the findings in this research are really novel and of value in the field.

This is recommended reading for everyone dealing with smart tourism, especially geotagged smart cultural tourism that makes tourist trip design more effective and familiar for tourists. Here we find how information technology becomes a facilitator of interactions and connections between tourists, to enhance trip experiences and provide users with tools to learn more effectively about culture.