Secure Smart Mountain Tourism in Complex Terrain: Integrating Satellite Monitoring, GPS, Communication Technologies and Cybersecurity for Sustainable Tourism and Regional Economic Development

Mountain areas attract about 9 to 16 percent of all international tourists worldwide. However, the very features that make these places beautiful and interesting can also bring challenges. For example, steep slopes may become unstable, weather can change quickly, roads and paths can be fragmented or hard to navigate, and in some cases, there are areas where it's difficult to communicate with the outside world. This is a major problem. This paper presents a single framework that combines satellite monitoring, GIS spatial analysis, GPS/GNSS positioning, hybrid communication systems, and cybersecurity measures into one secure smart mountain tourism system. The goal is to support sustainable tourism and local economic growth. The Shahdag–Qusar–Khinalig area in northeastern Azerbaijan is used as an example. The study uses open satellite data, elevation data, tourism data, and printed coverage details to construct this framework. The results show that areas with limited accessibility and poor communication are in close proximity to the most valuable tourism sites, primarily due to a noticeable lack of safety. Digitalisation without security is not helpful because location data, bespeaking platforms, and IoT wearables bring opportunities for attacks that can be constrained just like the services they support. A six-layer framework is implied, including data collection, communication, data processing, cybersecurity, smart tourism services, and sustainable outcomes, along with three structured risk and technology matrices