In order to advance smart city tourism development and improve the visitor experience in Enugu State, Nigeria, this study looks at the role of mobile app-enabled tourism services, particularly transportation, hotel booking, and food ordering. The study also looks into the moderating impact of digital literacy and the mediating influence of visitor satisfaction. 412 tourists were surveyed cross-sectionally as part of a quantitative study approach. Structured questionnaires were used to gather data, which were then analysed using SmartPLS 4’s Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM). Direct, mediating, and moderating interactions between the constructs were examined in the study. The findings show that tourist pleasure is greatly impacted by digital hotel booking, mobile transportation, and food ordering services, with food ordering having the biggest impact. The relationship between digital tourism services is substantially mediated by visitor satisfaction. and destination attractiveness. In turn, the attractiveness of a destination has a big impact on word-of-mouth and the inclination to return. The correlations between digital services and satisfaction are strongly moderated by digital literacy, suggesting that technologically proficient tourists get more out of smart tourism systems. By offering concrete data from a developing African location, this study adds to the body of knowledge on smart tourism. It emphasises the significance of digital literacy in the adoption of smart tourism and unifies Smart Tourism Ecosystem Theory, Technology Acceptance Model, and Service-Dominant Logic into a single paradigm. The results indicate that while encouraging digital literacy to improve travel experiences, authorities should give priority to investments in digital tourist infrastructure, such as integrated booking platforms, smart mobility systems, and digital gastronomy services.
Keywords: Nigeria, Smart tourism, Tourist satisfaction, destination attractiveness, digital hospitality services, mobile applications
