The tourism industry in Malaysia is a key contributor to the national economy, accounting for 15.1% of GDP in 2023. However, the sector faces significant challenges in adopting technologies that can enhance operational efficiency and improve the tourist experience. This paper explores the perspectives of tourism service providers regarding the implementation of smart tourism technologies, focusing on their motivations, initiatives and the challenges they encounter. Interviews with stakeholders—three government-run handicraft exhibition centres and three privately owned handicraft businesses shed some light on their struggle. The paper also reviews the literature on smart tourism technology, including smart information systems and intelligent tourism management. Based on the result, we suggest emerging technological opportunities to add more value to their stakeholders’ mission and vision towards embracing more emerging smart tourism technologies. Despite the potential benefits discovered in the literature, many tourism service providers, especially in rural areas, face barriers such as high costs, technological complexity and limited awareness of digital solutions. The study concludes that a collaborative framework involving government, private enterprises, academia and local communities is crucial to successfully integrating smart tourism technologies in Malaysia’s tourism sector.