This paper analyses and expands the concept of smart destination and its characteristics using stakeholder theory and the multiple perspectives of the various agents involved: managers, researchers, tourists, and locals. In adopting a holistic focus to conceptualise smart destinations, its review and analysis fill a current vacuum in the academic literature. The study also provides in-depth analysis of both tourists' and locals' perceptions. Two consecutive studies using computer-aided text analysis and grounded theory were performed. Firstly, we obtained a common image of a smart destination that combines the following elements: space, quality of life, agents, infrastructure, and technology. Secondly, the text analysis identified two distinctive characteristics: technology and sustainability. Thirdly, we identified differences in tourists' and locals' perceptions of smart destinations. These findings represent an important conceptual advance and have implications for management of smart destinations.