The growing popularity of smart tourism destinations (STDs) has increased the need to investigate their potential impact on sustainable development. This systematic literature review (SLR) aims to analyse the past achievements and future directions of smart tourism destinations in the context of sustainable development. The review was conducted through a systematic literature review that examined 20 papers using a rigorous framework of the research problem, the primary delimitation of the research, and the definition of the data collection and extraction tools. The review focuses on identifying and analysing the current state of the research on SLRs in smart tourism destinations and their implications for sustainable development. This includes the research questions, methods, journals, dates of publications, and key themes. The review also examines the implications and limitations of SLRs in this field, and it identifies gaps in the literature and areas for future directions. The review found that SLRs have been used to examine the impacts of smart tourism destinations on various aspects of sustainable development, such as economic, social, and environmental aspects. Additionally, the review found that there is a growing interest in smart cities, with a focus on reducing the environmental footprint of tourism and promoting sustainable tourism development. The review also identified the emerging research areas in the literature, such as the achievement of the sustainable development goals, the adoption of green IT, smart energy, and waste management.