latest technology in tourism industry

The future of tourism: Bridging the labor gap, enhancing customer experience

As travel resumes and builds momentum, it’s becoming clear that tourism is resilient—there is an enduring desire to travel. Against all odds, international tourism rebounded in 2022: visitor numbers to Europe and the Middle East climbed to around 80 percent of 2019 levels, and the Americas recovered about 65 percent of prepandemic visitors 1 “Tourism set to return to pre-pandemic levels in some regions in 2023,” United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), January 17, 2023. —a number made more significant because it was reached without travelers from China, which had the world’s largest outbound travel market before the pandemic. 2 “ Outlook for China tourism 2023: Light at the end of the tunnel ,” McKinsey, May 9, 2023.

Recovery and growth are likely to continue. According to estimates from the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) for 2023, international tourist arrivals could reach 80 to 95 percent of prepandemic levels depending on the extent of the economic slowdown, travel recovery in Asia–Pacific, and geopolitical tensions, among other factors. 3 “Tourism set to return to pre-pandemic levels in some regions in 2023,” United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), January 17, 2023. Similarly, the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) forecasts that by the end of 2023, nearly half of the 185 countries in which the organization conducts research will have either recovered to prepandemic levels or be within 95 percent of full recovery. 4 “Global travel and tourism catapults into 2023 says WTTC,” World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), April 26, 2023.

Longer-term forecasts also point to optimism for the decade ahead. Travel and tourism GDP is predicted to grow, on average, at 5.8 percent a year between 2022 and 2032, outpacing the growth of the overall economy at an expected 2.7 percent a year. 5 Travel & Tourism economic impact 2022 , WTTC, August 2022.

So, is it all systems go for travel and tourism? Not really. The industry continues to face a prolonged and widespread labor shortage. After losing 62 million travel and tourism jobs in 2020, labor supply and demand remain out of balance. 6 “WTTC research reveals Travel & Tourism’s slow recovery is hitting jobs and growth worldwide,” World Travel & Tourism Council, October 6, 2021. Today, in the European Union, 11 percent of tourism jobs are likely to go unfilled; in the United States, that figure is 7 percent. 7 Travel & Tourism economic impact 2022 : Staff shortages, WTTC, August 2022.

There has been an exodus of tourism staff, particularly from customer-facing roles, to other sectors, and there is no sign that the industry will be able to bring all these people back. 8 Travel & Tourism economic impact 2022 : Staff shortages, WTTC, August 2022. Hotels, restaurants, cruises, airports, and airlines face staff shortages that can translate into operational, reputational, and financial difficulties. If unaddressed, these shortages may constrain the industry’s growth trajectory.

The current labor shortage may have its roots in factors related to the nature of work in the industry. Chronic workplace challenges, coupled with the effects of COVID-19, have culminated in an industry struggling to rebuild its workforce. Generally, tourism-related jobs are largely informal, partly due to high seasonality and weak regulation. And conditions such as excessively long working hours, low wages, a high turnover rate, and a lack of social protection tend to be most pronounced in an informal economy. Additionally, shift work, night work, and temporary or part-time employment are common in tourism.

The industry may need to revisit some fundamentals to build a far more sustainable future: either make the industry more attractive to talent (and put conditions in place to retain staff for longer periods) or improve products, services, and processes so that they complement existing staffing needs or solve existing pain points.

One solution could be to build a workforce with the mix of digital and interpersonal skills needed to keep up with travelers’ fast-changing requirements. The industry could make the most of available technology to provide customers with a digitally enhanced experience, resolve staff shortages, and improve working conditions.

Would you like to learn more about our Travel, Logistics & Infrastructure Practice ?

Complementing concierges with chatbots.

The pace of technological change has redefined customer expectations. Technology-driven services are often at customers’ fingertips, with no queues or waiting times. By contrast, the airport and airline disruption widely reported in the press over the summer of 2022 points to customers not receiving this same level of digital innovation when traveling.

Imagine the following travel experience: it’s 2035 and you start your long-awaited honeymoon to a tropical island. A virtual tour operator and a destination travel specialist booked your trip for you; you connected via videoconference to make your plans. Your itinerary was chosen with the support of generative AI , which analyzed your preferences, recommended personalized travel packages, and made real-time adjustments based on your feedback.

Before leaving home, you check in online and QR code your luggage. You travel to the airport by self-driving cab. After dropping off your luggage at the self-service counter, you pass through security and the biometric check. You access the premier lounge with the QR code on the airline’s loyalty card and help yourself to a glass of wine and a sandwich. After your flight, a prebooked, self-driving cab takes you to the resort. No need to check in—that was completed online ahead of time (including picking your room and making sure that the hotel’s virtual concierge arranged for red roses and a bottle of champagne to be delivered).

While your luggage is brought to the room by a baggage robot, your personal digital concierge presents the honeymoon itinerary with all the requested bookings. For the romantic dinner on the first night, you order your food via the restaurant app on the table and settle the bill likewise. So far, you’ve had very little human interaction. But at dinner, the sommelier chats with you in person about the wine. The next day, your sightseeing is made easier by the hotel app and digital guide—and you don’t get lost! With the aid of holographic technology, the virtual tour guide brings historical figures to life and takes your sightseeing experience to a whole new level. Then, as arranged, a local citizen meets you and takes you to their home to enjoy a local family dinner. The trip is seamless, there are no holdups or snags.

This scenario features less human interaction than a traditional trip—but it flows smoothly due to the underlying technology. The human interactions that do take place are authentic, meaningful, and add a special touch to the experience. This may be a far-fetched example, but the essence of the scenario is clear: use technology to ease typical travel pain points such as queues, misunderstandings, or misinformation, and elevate the quality of human interaction.

Travel with less human interaction may be considered a disruptive idea, as many travelers rely on and enjoy the human connection, the “service with a smile.” This will always be the case, but perhaps the time is right to think about bringing a digital experience into the mix. The industry may not need to depend exclusively on human beings to serve its customers. Perhaps the future of travel is physical, but digitally enhanced (and with a smile!).

Digital solutions are on the rise and can help bridge the labor gap

Digital innovation is improving customer experience across multiple industries. Car-sharing apps have overcome service-counter waiting times and endless paperwork that travelers traditionally had to cope with when renting a car. The same applies to time-consuming hotel check-in, check-out, and payment processes that can annoy weary customers. These pain points can be removed. For instance, in China, the Huazhu Hotels Group installed self-check-in kiosks that enable guests to check in or out in under 30 seconds. 9 “Huazhu Group targets lifestyle market opportunities,” ChinaTravelNews, May 27, 2021.

Technology meets hospitality

In 2019, Alibaba opened its FlyZoo Hotel in Huangzhou, described as a “290-room ultra-modern boutique, where technology meets hospitality.” 1 “Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba has a hotel run almost entirely by robots that can serve food and fetch toiletries—take a look inside,” Business Insider, October 21, 2019; “FlyZoo Hotel: The hotel of the future or just more technology hype?,” Hotel Technology News, March 2019. The hotel was the first of its kind that instead of relying on traditional check-in and key card processes, allowed guests to manage reservations and make payments entirely from a mobile app, to check-in using self-service kiosks, and enter their rooms using facial-recognition technology.

The hotel is run almost entirely by robots that serve food and fetch toiletries and other sundries as needed. Each guest room has a voice-activated smart assistant to help guests with a variety of tasks, from adjusting the temperature, lights, curtains, and the TV to playing music and answering simple questions about the hotel and surroundings.

The hotel was developed by the company’s online travel platform, Fliggy, in tandem with Alibaba’s AI Labs and Alibaba Cloud technology with the goal of “leveraging cutting-edge tech to help transform the hospitality industry, one that keeps the sector current with the digital era we’re living in,” according to the company.

Adoption of some digitally enhanced services was accelerated during the pandemic in the quest for safer, contactless solutions. During the Winter Olympics in Beijing, a restaurant designed to keep physical contact to a minimum used a track system on the ceiling to deliver meals directly from the kitchen to the table. 10 “This Beijing Winter Games restaurant uses ceiling-based tracks,” Trendhunter, January 26, 2022. Customers around the world have become familiar with restaurants using apps to display menus, take orders, and accept payment, as well as hotels using robots to deliver luggage and room service (see sidebar “Technology meets hospitality”). Similarly, theme parks, cinemas, stadiums, and concert halls are deploying digital solutions such as facial recognition to optimize entrance control. Shanghai Disneyland, for example, offers annual pass holders the option to choose facial recognition to facilitate park entry. 11 “Facial recognition park entry,” Shanghai Disney Resort website.

Automation and digitization can also free up staff from attending to repetitive functions that could be handled more efficiently via an app and instead reserve the human touch for roles where staff can add the most value. For instance, technology can help customer-facing staff to provide a more personalized service. By accessing data analytics, frontline staff can have guests’ details and preferences at their fingertips. A trainee can become an experienced concierge in a short time, with the help of technology.

Apps and in-room tech: Unused market potential

According to Skift Research calculations, total revenue generated by guest apps and in-room technology in 2019 was approximately $293 million, including proprietary apps by hotel brands as well as third-party vendors. 1 “Hotel tech benchmark: Guest-facing technology 2022,” Skift Research, November 2022. The relatively low market penetration rate of this kind of tech points to around $2.4 billion in untapped revenue potential (exhibit).

Even though guest-facing technology is available—the kind that can facilitate contactless interactions and offer travelers convenience and personalized service—the industry is only beginning to explore its potential. A report by Skift Research shows that the hotel industry, in particular, has not tapped into tech’s potential. Only 11 percent of hotels and 25 percent of hotel rooms worldwide are supported by a hotel app or use in-room technology, and only 3 percent of hotels offer keyless entry. 12 “Hotel tech benchmark: Guest-facing technology 2022,” Skift Research, November 2022. Of the five types of technology examined (guest apps and in-room tech; virtual concierge; guest messaging and chatbots; digital check-in and kiosks; and keyless entry), all have relatively low market-penetration rates (see sidebar “Apps and in-room tech: Unused market potential”).

While apps, digitization, and new technology may be the answer to offering better customer experience, there is also the possibility that tourism may face competition from technological advances, particularly virtual experiences. Museums, attractions, and historical sites can be made interactive and, in some cases, more lifelike, through AR/VR technology that can enhance the physical travel experience by reconstructing historical places or events.

Up until now, tourism, arguably, was one of a few sectors that could not easily be replaced by tech. It was not possible to replicate the physical experience of traveling to another place. With the emerging metaverse , this might change. Travelers could potentially enjoy an event or experience from their sofa without any logistical snags, and without the commitment to traveling to another country for any length of time. For example, Google offers virtual tours of the Pyramids of Meroë in Sudan via an immersive online experience available in a range of languages. 13 Mariam Khaled Dabboussi, “Step into the Meroë pyramids with Google,” Google, May 17, 2022. And a crypto banking group, The BCB Group, has created a metaverse city that includes representations of some of the most visited destinations in the world, such as the Great Wall of China and the Statue of Liberty. According to BCB, the total cost of flights, transfers, and entry for all these landmarks would come to $7,600—while a virtual trip would cost just over $2. 14 “What impact can the Metaverse have on the travel industry?,” Middle East Economy, July 29, 2022.

The metaverse holds potential for business travel, too—the meeting, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions (MICE) sector in particular. Participants could take part in activities in the same immersive space while connecting from anywhere, dramatically reducing travel, venue, catering, and other costs. 15 “ Tourism in the metaverse: Can travel go virtual? ,” McKinsey, May 4, 2023.

The allure and convenience of such digital experiences make offering seamless, customer-centric travel and tourism in the real world all the more pressing.

Three innovations to solve hotel staffing shortages

Is the future contactless.

Given the advances in technology, and the many digital innovations and applications that already exist, there is potential for businesses across the travel and tourism spectrum to cope with labor shortages while improving customer experience. Process automation and digitization can also add to process efficiency. Taken together, a combination of outsourcing, remote work, and digital solutions can help to retain existing staff and reduce dependency on roles that employers are struggling to fill (exhibit).

Depending on the customer service approach and direct contact need, we estimate that the travel and tourism industry would be able to cope with a structural labor shortage of around 10 to 15 percent in the long run by operating more flexibly and increasing digital and automated efficiency—while offering the remaining staff an improved total work package.

Outsourcing and remote work could also help resolve the labor shortage

While COVID-19 pushed organizations in a wide variety of sectors to embrace remote work, there are many hospitality roles that rely on direct physical services that cannot be performed remotely, such as laundry, cleaning, maintenance, and facility management. If faced with staff shortages, these roles could be outsourced to third-party professional service providers, and existing staff could be reskilled to take up new positions.

In McKinsey’s experience, the total service cost of this type of work in a typical hotel can make up 10 percent of total operating costs. Most often, these roles are not guest facing. A professional and digital-based solution might become an integrated part of a third-party service for hotels looking to outsource this type of work.

One of the lessons learned in the aftermath of COVID-19 is that many tourism employees moved to similar positions in other sectors because they were disillusioned by working conditions in the industry . Specialist multisector companies have been able to shuffle their staff away from tourism to other sectors that offer steady employment or more regular working hours compared with the long hours and seasonal nature of work in tourism.

The remaining travel and tourism staff may be looking for more flexibility or the option to work from home. This can be an effective solution for retaining employees. For example, a travel agent with specific destination expertise could work from home or be consulted on an needs basis.

In instances where remote work or outsourcing is not viable, there are other solutions that the hospitality industry can explore to improve operational effectiveness as well as employee satisfaction. A more agile staffing model  can better match available labor with peaks and troughs in daily, or even hourly, demand. This could involve combining similar roles or cross-training staff so that they can switch roles. Redesigned roles could potentially improve employee satisfaction by empowering staff to explore new career paths within the hotel’s operations. Combined roles build skills across disciplines—for example, supporting a housekeeper to train and become proficient in other maintenance areas, or a front-desk associate to build managerial skills.

Where management or ownership is shared across properties, roles could be staffed to cover a network of sites, rather than individual hotels. By applying a combination of these approaches, hotels could reduce the number of staff hours needed to keep operations running at the same standard. 16 “ Three innovations to solve hotel staffing shortages ,” McKinsey, April 3, 2023.

Taken together, operational adjustments combined with greater use of technology could provide the tourism industry with a way of overcoming staffing challenges and giving customers the seamless digitally enhanced experiences they expect in other aspects of daily life.

In an industry facing a labor shortage, there are opportunities for tech innovations that can help travel and tourism businesses do more with less, while ensuring that remaining staff are engaged and motivated to stay in the industry. For travelers, this could mean fewer friendly faces, but more meaningful experiences and interactions.

Urs Binggeli is a senior expert in McKinsey’s Zurich office, Zi Chen is a capabilities and insights specialist in the Shanghai office, Steffen Köpke is a capabilities and insights expert in the Düsseldorf office, and Jackey Yu is a partner in the Hong Kong office.

Explore a career with us

• Promising Startups 2022
• Boarding Pass
• Startup: Confidential
• Appointments  
• CTalk   
• Tech Gateways
• 2022 VC Survey
• Ctech Testimonials 

• Terms Of Use
• Privacy Policy

Opinion The top travel-tech trends set to revolutionize tourism in 2023

Technology-driven innovations are reshaping the travel industry, with smart hotels, ar/vr experiences, contactless solutions, and ai-powered personalization leading the way towards a more seamless and efficient travel journey.

• FairFly rebrands as Oversee, adds Rapyd CEO Shtilman to board
• HyperGuest raises $23 million Series A to connect hotels, suppliers, and travel distributors
• Travel insurtech startup Faye lands $10 million in Series A

11 Travel Technology Trends Emerging in the Tourism Industry in 2024

With widely available vaccines and lower numbers of Covid-19 cases, travel is slowly returning to its pre-pandemic levels , although travel risks and disruptions are still present. Extreme weather conditions, political instabilities, and hardware malfunctions. With the emergence of artificial intelligence and mobile devices, customers expect a much greater level of personalization than ever before. These are the main reasons why the travel industry is consistently striving to find new and innovative ways of integrating breakthrough technologies into its operations.

What is travel technology?

Impact of technology on the travel industry, why is technology important in the tourism and travel industry, key statistics and forecasts for travel technology in 2024, what are the latest technology trends used in the travel industry, 1. advanced travel search engines, 2. ai dynamic pricing engines, 3. dynamic scheduling systems.

• 4. Internet of Things
• 5. Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality

6. Contactless payments

• 7. AI chatbots

8. Big Data

9. 5g and fast wi-fi networks, 10. recognition technology, 11. cybersecurity practices, future of travel technology, building a travel application or extending your development team.

🚀 We're here to assist you in accelerating and scaling your business. Send us your inquiry, and we'll schedule a free estimation call .

Travel technology is an umbrella term to describe the multitude of different uses of modern technology such as artificial intelligence, augmented reality and mobile technology within the fields of tourism, travel, and hospitality industry.

Technology solutions can be deployed at virtually every point of travel in one form or another, significantly influencing the overall customer experience.

Do you remember buying an airline ticket from a real human being?

Neither do we.

We all got used to the presence of modern technological advancements in the travel industry.

There are many more ways in which modern digital technology influences and improves the travel industry.

The ultimate motivation behind implementing these technologies is pretty straightforward. It as always boils down to increasing profits and expanding business, which in turn has a positive impact on customer experience.

First and foremost, it leads to improved efficiency and decreased operating costs.

In fact, it is a win-win situation for online travel agencies, airlines, as well as the travelers.

For companies, digital transformation in travel industry means better margins and healthier cash flows. For customers, in turn, it means many more attractive tourist destinations and lower prices.

[Read also: What’s the Future of Digital Transformation and Its Trends? An Expert’s Point of View ]

These days, almost everyone has a smartphone or other mobile device, granting access to an immense choice of online services.

It is thus crucial for travel companies to allow their customers to book their trips, check-in for their flights, and find information about their destinations online.

Even though we are taking all of these modern utilities for granted, they are still a key factor for improving user experience in the travel industry. As a result, they have to be improved and optimized consistently.

Latest travel technology trends refer to the innovations and digital solutions that are transforming the travel and tourism industry. Some of the trends include online travel booking, virtual tourism, mobile travel apps, chatbots and artificial intelligence. Here are some of the latest quantitative statistics and forecasts on travel technology trends:

• Generative AI tools like ChatGPT will become more popular for trip planning, as half of travelers surveyed are interested in using them to find the perfect stay.
• Destination “dupes” and “set-jetting” will continue to be in vogue as travelers seek affordable alternatives to crowded or expensive places, or follow the locations featured in their favorite shows or movies¹.
• Global travel app revenues will grow by 17 percent in 2024, reaching nearly $400 million.
• The share of digital ad spending in the travel and leisure industry will reach 14.5 percent in the United States and 13.9 percent in the United Kingdom in 2024.
• The world’s leading online travel agencies (OTAs) will spend $2.3 billion on Google advertising in 2024.
• The global travel and tourism market will shift from 66 percent offline sales channels to 54 percent online sales channels from 2017 to 2027.
• The global travel technology market will grow by approximately 45 percent from 2020 to 2026, reaching $12.5 billion.
• The Asia-Pacific region’s recovery will be evident as travelers flock to destinations such as Taiwan, Thailand, and Australia, which have successfully contained the pandemic and reopened their borders.
• Travelers will need to be more creative and flexible in their destination choices, as travel restrictions and regulations may change frequently due to the ongoing health crisis.
• Travelers will opt for carry-on only luggage with a twist: they will use smart luggage that can track their location, charge their devices, and weigh themselves.
• Travelers will rely more on their travel advisors, who can offer more than just flights and hotels, but also personalized experiences, insider tips, and access to exclusive benefits.

Sources: Statista , Travel + Leisure , Smart Flyer .

There are plenty of different technology trends that are shaping the future of the travel industry.

Below, we’ve listed 11 of the most important travel industry trends.

Let’s compare here travel search engines to the Google search engine.

On the surface it is a pretty simple concept. A user introduce certain keywords of their interest and the search engine matches the most relevant results.

But what if you are looking for a hotel room in a specific location with certain room facilities? A simple Google search won’t be able to compute so many details.

This is where metasearch engines enter.

Metasearch engines are the tools that send search queries to many sources and organize results in a comprehensive list.

The main objective of such sites is to aggregate results in a unified way, so that the client can access the maximum number of available options on the market. It allows users to have a reliable source of objective information and to compare offers with one another.

Results presented by metasearch engines are obtained with less amount of exertion on the end user side.

Instead of searching one single search engine to find a specific website or browsing through different services, the right amount of data can be obtained by a metasearch engine.

It definitely improves the user experience. Ans save their precious time.

In the tourism industry, metasearch engines are used to search through and compare travel agencies’ offers to provide clients with as many suitable options as possible.

Nowadays, these services have grown quite robust. Many provide smart price alerts or tempting last-minute deals.

When developing a metasearch engine for an online travel agency , lodging reservation service, hotel booking engine , or a hotel inventory management software key factors are performance and scalability .

A team of Stratoflow Java developers when tasked with improving the travel search engine for a major hotel bookings aggregator decided to extract the availability search into a separate cache layer based on an in-memory data grid (IMDG) platform. It allowed for a major decrease in SQL database usage, as well as improved efficiency.

Interestingly, our client saw almost an immediate commercial effect right after the initial implementation.

Higher overall throughput of the travel search engine allowed the existing customer base to query the platform more frequently, generating higher revenues in the process.

[Read also: Introduction to a hotel channel manager ]

Airlines such as Ryanair or Southwest are known for their extremely low price model.

You can hop anytime you want on a plane from Warsaw to London for less than 30 dollars.

You may have been wondering – how are airlenes able to break even, and run a successful business model with such low prices?

The answer is artificial intelligence.

These days, the pricing of airline tickets is completely automated and run by advanced systems that aim to fill a plane with passengers at the most optimal prices.

These systems take into consideration different types of clients. Those can be either business travelers who value convenience and comfort the most or leisure travelers who are more cost-conscious regardless of long layovers.

All of these factors are summed up by the pricing system. The goal is to fill as many seats on each plane as possible. But at the same time to avoid situations of complete tickets’ unavailability for potential clients in a very complex balancing act.

Airlines’ pricing systems have to process an immense amount of customer data as well as travel trends about local destinations.

It is worth mentioning that during the COVID-19 pandemic pricing systems of many popular airlines were pretty severely disrupted. This led to a rather peculiar situation when we could book flights from Europe to the US for less than 200 dollars.

How was that possible? The dynamic pricing engines weren’t prepared for such an exceptional situation.

Nevertheless, as pandemic restrictions loosen, and airlines worldwide resume their normal routes and operations, dynamic pricing systems continue to play a vital role in their business model .

[Read also: Benefits of Digital Transformation for Your Business ]

Airlines are characterized by their large involved capital and incredibly slim average profit margins hovering around 5% (ignoring COVID-19 disruptions).

What does it mean for travel technology trends?

It’s simple. For an airline to make money, it has to adapt fast and consistently search for profitable routing opportunities.

This task has to be handled by automatic scheduling systems .

Aside from the cost, the major factor for customers determining which flight they will choose is the overall travel time.

Airlines, therefore, put an enormous effort into assembling the most optimal schedule that they can offer in the shortest travel time possible.

Modern dynamic scheduling systems have to take into account these three factors pointed by Nawal Taneja :

• Scheduling optimization system – An automated solution created by a team of experienced developers that process operational data and identify the set of possible routing and scheduling changes. These have to be both profitable and operationally feasible.Such a system works based on all the possible arrangements of feasible schedule changes. Then it sorts them by their profitability.
• Access to reliable market data – A dynamic scheduling system uses only reliable and accurate data on the routes popularity and its profitability.Considering a fairly short time horizon of flight scheduling operation, the best source for booking and revenue data is an internal Revenue Management system .
• Knowledge about potential operational constraints – Many factors dictate whether a certain route is feasible operationally or not.These include maintenance costs at airports, gate availability, and miscellaneous aircraft-specific constraints.Only understanding all of them can ensure that a dynamic scheduling system can return positive results.

In terms of profitability, it is estimated that dynamic scheduling can result in a 1-3% increase in revenue , depending on its utilization rate.

It constitutes a substantial amount when it comes to the airline industry.

Stratoflow developers have a great deal of experience in this particular field.

They were tasked by a global flight information company to improve their existing system.

Stratoflow proposed a replacement of major calculation logic with an open-source, high-performance framework that dramatically lowered TCO when compared with the existing code.

4. Internet of Things (IoT)

Another emerging technology that is slowly being adopted by the tourism industry is the Internet of Things (IoT)

This concept refers to the network of physical devices —“things”—that are equipped with various sensors in order to connect and exchange data with other systems within the network over the internet.

Depending on the use case, these “things” can range from ordinary household devices to sophisticated industrial machinery.

When it comes to its role in the tourism industry, we’ve already seen some practical implementations beginning to appear.

Some airports, using IoT devices, tag passengers’ bags to alert them of their luggage’s current whereabouts and send them a notification when it arrives at the carousel.

Hotels are also starting to leverage some IoT-enabled sensors and voice control devices to adjust things like air conditioning. Using an in-room tablet, hotel guests can seamlessly control the temperature, music, lighting, and curtains, changing the atmosphere of the room and personalizing their experience to a whole new level.

5. Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR)

Virtual reality (VR) has recently once again come into the spotlight when Facebook rebranded itself and announced Metaverse. It’s a conceptual virtual universe that will be a future replacement for well-established social networks.

These visions seem exciting and a little eerie at times. But can virtual and augmented reality also influence the tourism industry in the future? As it turns out, the answer is “yes”.

Virtual Reality allows people to explore new places without leaving the comfort of their homes.

Virtual tours will enable people to have a glimpse of a certain exotic place before their visit in person. What’s more, popular travel platforms like Booking.com can set up virtual hotel room previews in order to better manage customer expectations.

Contactless payment methods take pride of place among recent tourism technology trends.

As the pandemic forced people to shy away from physical coins and banknotes, contactless payment options like GooglePay and Apple Pay have gained a lot of popularity.

When using them, the user’s device with a payment app communicates with the reader using RFID technology.

To see how it works in practice let’s take a look at the contactless payment method designed by The Walt Disney Company.

Disney offers Disney World guests custom wristbands, known as MagicBands. Visitors can link their credit card to their MagicBand to make purchases with a simple and effortless swipe of a wrist.

From a business standpoint, this solution offers Disney an unmatched opportunity to track customer behavior in order to optimize its operations even further. It is a trend that is undoubtedly gaining traction in various sectors of the travel industry.

7. AI Integration and AI chatbots

AI is expected to be increasingly used in the hotel and travel industry, creating more seamless travel experiences and supporting new innovations to meet higher guest expectations.

Recently a story has surfaced that, allegedly, an advanced AI chatbot developed by Google has become self-aware.

AI chatbot technology has gone a long way in the last couple of years. It can also play a significant role in the development of the travel and tourism industry.

AI Chatbots stimulates human conversation, mostly using text interactions on various websites and services. Their main objective is to alleviate some congestion in call centers by proving at least basic help for customers 24/7.

When it comes to their usage in the travel and tourism industry, AirAsia is a good example of the use of a successful chatbot. Their advanced chatbot, AVA is able to do a multitude of things from helping travelers to choose seats and book flights to answering more difficult questions about current COVID-19 restrictions.

Data is a company’s most valuable asset.

This is also one of the main reasons why companies in the travel and hospitality industry are investing more and more funds into Big Data solutions.

Put simply, Big Data is a term that refers to large and unstructured data sets obtained from various data sources. These data sets are so voluminous that traditional data processing would have a hard time processing them into useful information.

Modern hotels and travel agents are using big data solutions to more effectively track customer behavior and preferences. This information is later used to improve the guest experience.

Big data measure precisely business performance.

Thanks to receiving data from previously untapped sources, the system allow for better yield management and demand prognosis.

[Read also: Fintech Trends That Shape Financial Future ]

As travel tech trends grow more robust with every passing year, connectivity develops at the same rapid pace.

A couple of years ago, 5G made its debut in some of the largest cities around the world, offering up to 20 times faster download speeds than before.

Even though that might not be such a big deal for an ordinary person, the connection between smart devices can now be more efficient than ever allowing more advanced IoT networks.

We have also seen an emergence of other breakthrough communication technologies, such as the Starlink internet.

Thanks to thousands of satellites in low earth orbit, people in virtually every corner of the world can enjoy internet speeds in excess of 100mbit/s and low latency unmatched by any other satellite internet provider.

A poor WiFi or Internet service in a hotel room can lead to bad online reviews for the hospitality and travel industry. With Starlink, even hotels in the most remote places can have a stable and fast internet connection.

[Read also: What is a GDS? ]

Facial recognition is the software that classifies a single face according to its gender, age, emotion, or other characteristics in an attempt to confirm a person’s identity.

It is currently one of the most powerful surveillance tools ever made.

While many people are happy to use it to effortlessly unlock their phones, companies and governments are beginning to use it to a much greater extent.

Facial recognition devices are beginning to appear in various airports across the world as an advanced security measure and potential deterrence.

According to a recent report from the Department of Homeland Security, “U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) plans to dramatically expand its Biometric Exit program to cover 97 percent of outbound air passengers within four years.”

To verify accounts on virtually every major travel and tourism offer aggregator, you would have to provide a photo of your ID card and other sensitive personal data.

It’s natural to feel a bit uneasy to share so much personal information, regardless of the service’s squeaky clean reputation and impressive market share.

Tourism companies and travel businesses understand that. That’s why they dedicate a substantial amount of resources to developing reliable and safe cybersecurity practices.

As virtual reality and augmented reality technologies are becoming more and more advanced, some people speculate that they will negatively influence the tourism industry, but we beg to differ.

We predict that future tech advancements will push the travel industry towards better travel experiences and even more personalized experience.

Travel technology trends – summary

The travel and tourism industry is the one where proper interactions with the consumer are essential. As new technological breakthroughs enter the market, they are letting corporations understand their customers a bit better, and provide them with improved services and experiences.

Related Posts

• How To Build Travel Meta Search Engine: A Step-By-Step Guide
• Best Travel Management Solutions You Must Know
• Yield Management: What It Is and The Best Strategies
• Hotel Inventory Management 101: An Introduction
• How to Choose the Best Travel Agency Software to Maximize Your Revenue

We are Stratoflow, a custom travel software development company . We firmly believe that software craftsmanship, collaboration and effective communication is key in delivering complex software projects. This allows us to build advanced high-performance Java applications capable of processing vast amounts of data in a short time. We also provide our clients with an option to outsource and hire Java developers to extend their teams with experienced professionals. As a result, our Java software development services contribute to our clients’ business growth. We specialize in building bespoke travel solutions like fast search engines, metasearch engines, booking engine services or channel manager integrations.

Testimonials

They have a very good company culture of their own, which gives them a real edge compared to other providers.

Leading UK system integrator

They're very skilled technically and are also able to see the bigger picture.

Managing Partner

Scalable SaaS for healthcare IoT built on Salesforce platform

They've been consistently able to deliver work on time and within budget.

High performance SaaS for financial insitutions

We are seriously impressed by the quality and broader picture of anything they do for us.

Gold trading platform

testowy tekst

• Discovery Platform
• Innovation Scouting
• Startup Scouting
• Technology Scouting
• Tech Supplier Scouting
• Startup Program
• Trend Intelligence
• Business Intelligence
• All Industries
• Industry 4.0
• Manufacturing
• Case Studies
• Research & Development
• Corporate Strategy
• Corporate Innovation
• Open Innovation
• New Business Development
• Product Development
• Agriculture
• Construction
• Sustainability
• All Startups
• Circularity
• All Innovation
• Business Trends
• Emerging Tech
• Innovation Intelligence
• New Companies
• Scouting Trends
• Startup Programs
• Supplier Scouting
• Tech Scouting
• Top AI Tools
• Trend Tracking
• All Reports [PDF]
• Circular Economy
• Engineering
• Oil & Gas

Share this:

• Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)

Top 9 Travel Trends & Innovations in 2024

How are the latest trends in the travel industry reshaping trip planning and enhancing tourist experiences in 2024? Explore our in-depth industry research on the top 9 travel trends based on our analysis of 3500+ companies worldwide. These trends include AI, immersive tourism, IoT, contactless travel & more!

Technological advancements in the travel industry meet the growing demand for personalized experiences, safety, and sustainability. Post the COVID-19 pandemic, emerging travel trends mark a shift towards contactless travel through digital payments, self-check-ins, and more. Additionally, artificial intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things (IoT), and blockchain are automating various hospitality and travel-related operations.

For instance, smart hotels make use of internet-connected devices to remotely control rooms. Further, businesses offer virtual tours by adopting extended reality (XR) technologies like virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR). Travel companies also leverage data analytics to personalize marketing. At the same time, traveler assisting solutions like chatbots and voice technology aid them in booking accommodation and optimizing journeys. These travel trends improve the overall profitability of the tourism industry and enable it to make operations more sustainable and safe.

This article was published in July 2022 and updated in February 2024.

Innovation Map outlines the Top 9 Travel Trends & 18 Promising Startups

For this in-depth research on the Top 9 Trends & Startups, we analyzed a sample of 18 global startups and scaleups. The result of this research is data-driven innovation intelligence that improves strategic decision-making by giving you an overview of emerging technologies & startups in the travel industry. These insights are derived by working with our Big Data & Artificial Intelligence-powered StartUs Insights Discovery Platform , covering 2 500 000+ startups & scaleups globally. As the world’s largest resource for data on emerging companies, the SaaS platform enables you to identify relevant startups, emerging technologies & future industry trends quickly & exhaustively.

In the Innovation Map below, you get an overview of the Top 9 Travel Trends & Innovations that impact travel & tourism companies worldwide. Moreover, the Travel Innovation Map reveals 3 500+ hand-picked startups, all working on emerging technologies that advance their field.

Top 9 Travel Trends

• Artificial Intelligence
• Immersive Tourism
• Internet of Things
• Contactless Travel
• Big Data & Analytics
• Post-Pandemic Tourism
• Tour Premiumization

Click to download

Tree Map reveals the Impact of the Top 9 Travel Trends

Based on the Travel Innovation Map, the Tree Map below illustrates the impact of the Top 9 Travel Industry Trends in 2024. Startups and scaleups are enabling contactless travel using technologies like biometrics, radio-frequency identification (RFID), and near-field communication (NFC). This is due to increasing health and hygiene concerns post the pandemic. The use of AI in tourism ensures hassle-free trip planning while AR and VR allow tourists to virtually visit various locations and excursions. IoT increases visibility into tourism industry operations and allows passengers to track their luggage more efficiently. Further, the demand for personalized and luxurious travel is rising. Several startups enable recreational space travel as well as offer sustainable travel options to passengers.

Global Startup Heat Map covers 3 635 Travel Startups & Scaleups

The Global Startup Heat Map below highlights the global distribution of the 3 635 exemplary startups & scaleups that we analyzed for this research. Created through the StartUs Insights Discovery Platform, the Heat Map reveals that the US, Europe, and India see the most activity.

Below, you get to meet 18 out of these 3 635 promising startups & scaleups as well as the solutions they develop. These 18 startups are hand-picked based on criteria such as founding year, location, funding raised, and more. Depending on your specific needs, your top picks might look entirely different.

Interested in exploring all 3500+ travel startups & scaleups?

Top 9 Travel Trends in 2024

1. artificial intelligence.

Hotels employ intelligent chatbots, powered by AI, to provide quick and personalized responses to traveler inquiries. These chatbots simplify the booking process and gather customer reviews, aiding potential travelers in making informed decisions. Moreover, AI-based robots enhance the customer experience by automating hotel disinfection and delivering room service.

At airports, these robots guide travelers and assist with luggage handling. Facial recognition technology, driven by AI, expedites identity verification at airports, enhancing security and offering a swift alternative to traditional methods. Startups are developing AI-powered trip planning solutions, optimizing journeys, and personalizing travel experiences.

Travel Professor develops a Travel Chatbot

UK-based startup Travel Professor offers an AI-enabled chatbot for travelers. The startup’s chat widget software monitors multiple flight deals and notifies users when their preferences match. It also provides travel destination recommendations and flight price alerts. This allows travelers to book economical flights and have a budget-friendly tourism experience.

Pneuma Travel facilitates Travel Planning

US startup Pneuma Travel develops a voice-assisted digital agent, Sarah , to streamline the process of travel planning. This assistant, powered by AI, excels in arranging flight and accommodation bookings and assists travelers in discovering a variety of activities. Sarah , available round the clock, provides continuous support for all travel-related inquiries.

Moreover, Sarah customizes travel options according to individual preferences and budgetary constraints. The agent further enhances the travel experience by providing insights into local attractions in unfamiliar cities. Importantly, Sarah enables real-time modifications to travel plans, in compliance with specific airline policies, thereby minimizing waiting times for users.

2. Immersive Tourism

Immersive tourism caters to the growing demand for meaningful experiences among travelers, leveraging AR, VR, and mixed reality (MR). VR simulates original locations through a computer-generated environment, allowing tourists to virtually explore destinations. It provides travelers with a comprehensive 360-degree tour of points of interest.

AR enhances the travel experience with interactive elements such as navigation maps and ads. Travel companies employ AR and VR-based gamification to heighten tourist attractions. Moreover, these technologies enable hotels and resorts to present amenities and rooms in an engaging, interactive manner.

VR Travel Expo offers VR-based Travel Plans

US startup VR Travel Expo develops a VR travel application to transform the way people research and book travel. The application enables users to plan their vacations more efficiently. It provides an engaging platform for users to explore and expand their knowledge of the world. Moreover, it employs 3D geospatial technology that creates real-time digital twins of the world. This further enhances the travel planning experience.

AR Tour makes AR Glasses

Italian startup AR Tour offers AR-powered tours. The startup’s AR glasses superimpose reconstructed images of archaeological ruins to show how the site originally was. Its tour informs the tourists about the site’s history and significance via an audio-visual package. Moreover, the startup designs lightweight AR glasses to prevent motion sickness among tourists, improving convenience.

3. Internet of Things

IoT generates ample data that tourism companies leverage to personalize services in their subsequent visits. Hotels use IoT sensors to enable smart rooms that automate room lighting, temperature, and ambiance control, enhancing guest comfort. These sensors adjust appliances in vacant rooms, conserving energy and reducing the building’s carbon footprint.

Startups harness IoT to deliver location-specific information to customers, including real-time luggage tracking via IoT tags, minimizing lost items. Airlines also incorporate IoT-based solutions into seats, monitoring passenger temperature and heart rate for proactive health management.

Altitude enables Smart Hotels

New Zealand-based startup Altitude creates an IoT-based hotel software and hardware to develop smart hotels. The startup makes self-service kiosks to automate reservations, room up-gradation, payments, as well as check-in and check-out. Its hotel management platform further enables contactless engagement with guests. Additionally, Altitude’s mobile keys allow guests to open doors using mobile phones, providing convenience and saving time for travelers.

Smart Tour provides Smart Itineraries

Brazilian startup Smart Tour offers smart itineraries using IoT and quick response (QR) codes. The startup recommends travel routes and destinations based on the user’s preference in real-time. This facilitates a seamless experience for travelers. Besides, the user-generated data enables tourism managers to better understand consumer behavior and indulge in proximity marketing. The startup also offers a contact tracing solution to monitor COVID-19 infected travelers and ensure public safety.

4. Contactless Travel

Travelers benefit from contactless recognition technologies like retina scanning, which replace traditional travel documents, speeding up passenger identification and reducing airport queues. QR codes offered by travel companies allow tourists to access relevant information on their mobile devices, enhancing engagement.

Hotels have introduced contactless self-check-ins, enabling visitors to arrange services before arrival. Additionally, contactless payment modes are available in hotels and restaurants for swift and secure transactions. Moreover, wearable devices are transforming the travel experience by providing real-time notifications and touch-free access to services and information.

Loxe designs Smart Hotel Keys

US-based startup Loxe makes smart mobile keys for hotels. The startup’s smartphone app replaces key cards with contactless mobile keys that allow users to unlock doors using smartphones. It also reduces operational costs incurred in the manufacturing of conventional keys or plastic cards. Moreover, the startup designs a Bluetooth retrofit module that converts normal door locks into mobile-ready door locks. This allows hotel owners to easily convert their existing locks into smart ones without additional expenses while improving guest safety and convenience.

Avendi provides Contactless Payment

Singaporean startup Avendi offers contactless and cashless payments for travelers. The startup allows tourists to accumulate expenses throughout their trip and pay at the end of the journey. Avendi’s app utilizes QR codes to add all the billed expenses and shown through its dashboard. The user settles the tab amount in the preferred currency, preventing the inconvenience of cash withdrawal or credit card payments.

5. Big Data & Analytics

Big data empowers travel companies with customer trends for strategic marketing. Analyzing traveler behavior, they offer tailored recommendations for hotel bookings, cab hires, flight reservations, and ticket purchases.

Predicting future demand is another advantage of big data and analytics, helping hotels and airlines identify peak periods to optimize revenue. Advanced analysis of transactional data aids in detecting cyber fraud, and safeguarding sensitive customer information such as credit card details and biometric data.

CheckandPack creates a Travel Platform

Dutch startup CheckandPack offers a big data travel platform. It runs marketing campaigns to gather traveler data and understand tourism trends. Based on these insights, the platform enables businesses to approach travelers with a customized appeal. It also provides travelers with holiday planning.

3Victors provides Travel Data Analytics

US-based startup 3Victors offers travel data analytics. The startup’s product, PriceEye Suite , proactively monitors the prices of numerous airlines to provide insights into competitor prices. It creates a dashboard to display travelers’ location of interest, allowing travel airlines to better manage their revenue and pricing strategy.

6. Post-Pandemic Tourism

Post-pandemic tourism focuses on safe, sustainable, and flexible travel options, responding to evolving traveler preferences and health guidelines. Enhanced health and safety protocols, including regular sanitization and contactless services, become standard in airlines and hotels, ensuring traveler confidence.

Destinations and operators emphasize outdoor and less crowded experiences, catering to a heightened demand for nature-based and wellness travel. Flexible booking policies and trip insurance gain prominence, offering peace of mind amid uncertainties. Sustainable travel gains traction, with tourists and businesses prioritizing environmental impact and community well-being.

GOPASS Global enables Pre-travel Risk Management

Singaporean startup GOPASS Global provides a travel risk analytics platform against COVID-19. It analyzes the biosecurity risk elements involved in a trip, such as border restrictions, quarantine requirements, airport type, and airline transit points or seating in real-time. This allows travelers to assess risk factors and plan their trips accordingly.

Moreover, the startup creates world maps displaying information regarding COVID-prone areas, testing areas, and vaccine coverage. This provides travelers with a preview of the current situation, allowing them to ensure safety during business and leisure travel.

Workcations enables Work from Anywhere

Indian startup Workcations provides properties at tourist destinations for remote-working individuals. It offers amenities like internet connectivity, food, and a quiet ambiance, allowing tourists to work in a peaceful environment without hindrance. This increases employee productivity, motivation, and retention.

7. Tour Premiumization

Hyper-personalization in travel experiences is on the rise, with tourists eager to immerse themselves in diverse cultures. Luxury travelers enjoy tailored experiences and intuitive services through tour premiumization. Health and wellness packages offered by travel startups help tourists unwind.

These retreats enhance health and offer detoxifying food options. Space tourism is another exciting development, offering leisure or research trips to space. Lastly, travel startups are fostering customer loyalty and building strong relationships through membership or subscription models.

STOKE provides Space Tour

US-based startup STOKE facilitates space travel using everyday-operable rockets. The startup’s rockets are reusable and deliver satellites to any desired orbit. This enables on-demand access to space, paving way for space tours for exploration, recreation, and research. The startup also emphasizes the economical and rapid development of its hardware for feasible spacecraft launches, advancing space tourism.

Origin offers Travel Personalization

Dutch startup Origin provides premium travel personalization to tourists. The startup utilizes machine learning and travel curators to plan creative vacations. It also arranges flights and accommodation for travelers. Further, the startup measures the carbon output of itineraries and offers sustainable tourism options.

8. Ecotourism

Traveling responsibly minimizes tourism’s environmental impact and supports local communities’ well-being. Ecotourists strive to reduce their carbon footprint during their journeys. Startups contribute by developing sustainable transport, ecolodges, and solar-powered resorts.

Airline passengers have the option to offset carbon emissions during flight bookings. Local tourism stimulates small businesses economically and creates job opportunities. It also emphasizes minimum littering, which lowers pollution and the time spent on cleanups.

Jet-Set Offset simplifies Flight Carbon Offset

US-based startup Jet-Set Offset creates a carbon-offsetting platform for air travel. The startup partners with non-profit organizations working against climate change and connects them with travelers. Each time travelers book flight tickets via the startup’s platform, Jet-Set Offset contributes a certain amount per mile for their journey to environmental organizations. This way, the passenger’s journey promotes mileage-based donations to offset carbon emissions.

The Green Stamp facilitates Ethical Wildlife Tour

Dutch startup The Green Stamp provides a platform to book ethical wildlife tours. It curates tours based on the tourists’ inclinations toward certain locations or wildlife. Exploration of these projects allows travelers to indirectly contribute to their cause as these wildlife projects donate to the welfare of local communities and the environment.

9. Blockchain

Blockchain provides the travel industry with operational transparency and security. Traceable payments, particularly for international travel, are a key application, that fosters trust among parties involved in transactions.

Automation and enforcement of agreements in travel insurance and supplier contracts are achieved through smart contracts. This strengthens reliability and cuts administrative costs. Travel firms establish customer loyalty programs where points are exchanged for cryptocurrency. Lastly, blockchain increases data storage security, reducing the risk of information leaks.

Upswing facilitates Guest Profiling

Indian startup Upswing creates AURA , a blockchain-powered platform for guest profiling. It provides a holistic view of guests, their preferences, and purchase patterns. The platform associates a score with each guest and suggests improvements in their service. This facilitates hotels to provide a personalized experience to their guests and, in turn, increase sales.

UIQ Travel develops a Solo Traveling App

US-based startup UIQ Travel develops a blockchain-based app to connect solo travelers. It discovers people with shared interests and suggests tours or attractions. Such hyper-personalized recommendations assist in experience discovery and also increase traveler engagement.

Discover all Travel Trends, Technologies & Startups

Tourism, although severely impacted by the pandemic, now continues to rapidly grow across the globe. Post-pandemic trends indicate an increasing emphasis on hygiene and safety during travel. The industry is witnessing the widespread adoption of disruptive technologies like AI, XR, IoT, and blockchain. The travel industry utilizes big data to understand traveler trends for targeted marketing. The transition to ecotourism is accelerating as businesses integrate zero-emission transit and carbon offset programs to reduce their carbon footprint.

The Travel Trends & Startups outlined in this report only scratch the surface of trends that we identified during our data-driven innovation and startup scouting process. Among others, personalization, decarbonization, and travel safety will transform the sector as we know it today. Identifying new opportunities and emerging technologies to implement into your business goes a long way in gaining a competitive advantage. Get in touch to easily and exhaustively scout startups, technologies & trends that matter to you!

Your Name Business Email Company

Get our free newsletter on technology and startups.

Protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Discover our Free Travel Report

Book a call today!

Mobility 22 pages report

Railway 22 pages report, cleantech 19 pages report.

Leverage our unparalleled data advantage to quickly and easily find hidden gems among 4.7M+ startups, scaleups. Access the world's most comprehensive innovation intelligence and stay ahead with AI-powered precision.

Get started

Your Name Business Email Company How can we support you?   (optional)

Business Email

Protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google  Privacy Policy  and  Terms of Service  apply.

National Geographic content straight to your inbox—sign up for our popular newsletters here

5 pandemic tech innovations that will change travel forever

These digital innovations will make your next trip safer and more efficient. But will they invade your privacy?

In the 20 months since the COVID-19 pandemic began, technological innovations have gone from futuristic to familiar. These days it’s hard to be out in the world without encountering QR-coded menus or supplying digital vaccine passports.

As the tourism industry—which logged a billion fewer international arrivals in 2020 than 2019—sputters back to life, masks may begin to disappear, but many pandemic-era tech tools will continue to factor into your trips.

“Consumers will come to expect technologies that make them more confident about travel,” says Steve Shur, the president of the Travel Technology Association. “Some of these changes are here to stay.”

In fact, a 2021 Pew Research survey of 915 policy leaders, science researchers, and other experts predicts that, by 2025, our daily lives could be even more influenced by algorithms, remote work, and what some call “tele-everything.”  

While novel interventions such as real-time translation devices and facial recognition passport control may make travel safer and more efficient, there are downsides, including concerns about privacy , data security, and biased technology. Here are some of the innovations that travelers will continue to see and use.

Virtual and augmented reality

When the pandemic shut down travel, museums and tourist destinations turned to augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) to create online exhibits and experiences. While some of these experiences are best seen with a VR headset, most can be enjoyed with just a computer or smartphone.

The Xplore Petra app launched in June 2020, allowing users to “visit” Jordan ’s most iconic archaeological site by projecting a scaled-down version of the ruins. Lights over Lapland, an Arctic travel company, launched a VR experience to show off the Northern Lights using VR headsets or computer screens.

( How virtual reality might change your next trip, even after COVID-19. )

Post-pandemic, VR and AR may enhance actual trips by adding experiences such as a simulated climb up the Matterhorn at Lucerne’s Swiss Museum of Transport . The Hunt Museum in Limerick, Ireland, has a VR attraction in which visitors immerse themselves in “ The Garden of Earthly Delights ,” a 500-year-old painting by Hieronymus Bosch.

The Museum of Natural History in Paris has an AR exhibit that brings visitors face to face with extinct animals in digital form. The National Museum of Singapore has an installation called “Story of the Forest,” where sightseers explore a virtual landscape comprised of almost 70 nature drawings from the museum collection. The Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History , in Washington, D.C., has an app that uses AR to show what some of its animal skeletons would look like with skin and muscle over the bones, offering a new view of a collection dating back to the 1880s.

“VR is not going to replace travel and tourism. It is just going to enhance tourism,” says Anu Pillai, who runs the Digital Center of Excellence at Wipro, a technology company.

Crowd control

To help enforce social distancing, cities, airports, and museums tested or rolled out crowd-control technology including Singapore’s roaming, vaguely terrifying robots that announce people are too close together and signs indicating how large crowds are at airport gates . As throngs of travelers return to popular destinations, similar methods and devices may be implemented to prevent overtourism.

In Italy during the pandemic, Venice began tracking visitors using cameras designed to catch criminals. Post-pandemic, it plans to harness them to keep tourist numbers at manageable levels, perhaps in concert with the mayor’s proposal to add electronic gates at major entry points (cruise ship docks, train stations) that can be closed if the city gets overcrowded.

(These tech changes could make your next flight safer.)

“We know minute by minute how many people are passing and where they are going,” Simone Venturini, Venice’s top tourism official, told the New York Times . “We have total control of the city.”

Amsterdam , which also struggles with overtourism, tracks how visitors use Amsterdam’s City Card, a flat-fee pass to museums and public transport. Beach Check UK launched this summer with real-time information on how busy dozens of beaches are along the English coast, guiding travelers away from packed areas.

“Technology can be used to collect data in order to both make better decisions and communicate those decisions,” says Christopher Imbsen, director of sustainability at World Travel & Tourism Council.

UV-C cleaning

Hospitals have used UV-C light to disinfect and kill viruses for more than two decades. Now, indoor public spaces including airports, gyms, and movie theaters are adding UV-C to halt viral spread.

“UV-C is having its heyday right now,” says Peter Veloz, CEO of UltraViolet Devices, which makes UV disinfecting technology.

UV-C has germicidal properties that combat COVID-19 and other nasties, both in the air or on surfaces. Depending on the location, new UV-C installations go into HVACs, on escalator handrails, or through airports and planes via light-equipped robots that disinfect as they go.

If installed and operated correctly, a UV-C system can kill all sorts of bacteria and germs. Even seasonal flu bugs might be zapped before they spread. “COVID-19 could come and go, but what won't disappear are normal pathogens,” Veloz says.

QR codes at restaurants

In the early days of the pandemic, when transmission of the COVID-19 wasn’t yet well understood, restaurants hurried to provide QR codes. The little black boxes of pixelated dots and dashes could be scanned with a smart phone to bring up a menu, let you order from it, and then allow you to pay your bill, all with limited virus-spreading interactions with servers.

While earlier fears that people could catch the virus via menus and other surfaces have been disproven, the codes have proven convenient and will probably stick around, especially with late-pandemic worker shortages.

Such convenience might mean a trade off with privacy, however, since the little codes can potentially gather a large amount of information from users. Some QR programs just take a food order, but others mine data like a patron’s dining history, age, and gender. The restaurant could use that info to send them coupons or event invitations—or sell it to third parties.

“It’s an example of companies exploiting COVID-19 to extend tracking,” says Jay Stanley, a senior policy analyst at the ACLU. “Moving everything to mobile opens people to new ways of tracking and control.”

Travelers should know that QR codes can be hacked; you might scan one, place a dinner order, and wind up compromising your credit card instead. Stanley recommends treating QR codes just as you do links in unknown emails. Either use your phone to look up the restaurant’s menu on the internet or install a protective app like Kaspersky QR Scanner , which will give users a warning if the code isn’t safe.

Contact-tracing tools

Public health groups used contact tracing methods to identify and track down people who were potentially exposed to infectious diseases such as Zika and HIV, and offer counseling, screening, and treatment. These traditional tools were usually based on phone calls to ask individuals about who they were in contact with and to continue researching exposure. The pandemic pushed officials to scale up such efforts and implement new, higher-tech ones to track viral spread and provide information.  

For instance, Apple and Google added contact-tracing functions to new smartphone software, allowing users to opt in and get alerts if they come into close contact with an infected person.

(If you must travel during a pandemic, here’s how to protect your health.)

“There’s been a strong recognition about the value of and the important role of contact tracing for infectious disease prevention and control,” says Elizabeth Ruebush, a senior analyst for infectious disease and immunization policy at the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials. “But we’ve never seen it implemented at the scale of COVID-19.”

Other technologies, such as automated texts, viral heat maps and even CCTV with facial recognition could help track other infectious illnesses or make us ready for the next pandemic.

Even with fancy new apps, however, phone calls and personal outreach will still be at the center of public health. “These tools are aimed to enhance, but not replace, traditional contact tracing,” Ruebush says.

COVID-19 has sped up our adoption of technology . The downside is that this may make it even harder to turn off smartphones while on vacation. Then again, wanderlust is now stronger than ever—and getting lost in the moment still hasn’t been harnessed by a digital code.

Jackie Snow is a Washington, D.C.-based writer specializing in travel and technology. Follow her on Instagram .

Related Topics

• INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS
• SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

You May Also Like

Digital mapmaking innovations are revolutionizing travel

New tools offer peace of mind for pandemic travel

Free bonus issue.

The uncanny valley, explained: Why you might find AI creepy

How is your location data really tracked? You’d be surprised.

It’s harder than ever to identify a manipulated photo. Here’s where to start.

Jet lag doesn’t have to ruin your trip. Here’s what you can do

What life in medieval Europe was really like

• Environment
• Paid Content

History & Culture

• History & Culture
• History Magazine
• Gory Details
• 2023 in Review
• Mind, Body, Wonder
• Terms of Use
• Privacy Policy
• Your US State Privacy Rights
• Children's Online Privacy Policy
• Interest-Based Ads
• About Nielsen Measurement
• Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information
• Nat Geo Home
• Attend a Live Event
• Book a Trip
• Inspire Your Kids
• Shop Nat Geo
• Visit the D.C. Museum
• Learn About Our Impact
• Support Our Mission
• Advertise With Us
• Customer Service
• Renew Subscription
• Manage Your Subscription
• Work at Nat Geo
• Sign Up for Our Newsletters
• Contribute to Protect the Planet

Copyright © 1996-2015 National Geographic Society Copyright © 2015-2024 National Geographic Partners, LLC. All rights reserved

Perspective

Traveling between worlds in the metaverse

5-MINUTE READ

• The next wave of technology disruption driving the future is here, bringing new technologies and worlds of experiences.
• Over the next decade, ambitious travel players will shape new physical and digital realities and transform their businesses. 
• Travel companies need to prepare now to understand how these emerging technologies are critical for future growth and competitiveness. 
• How can travel companies successfully navigate uncertainty about the future, with blurred boundaries between humans and machines? 

Welcome to the “Metaverse Continuum”

The metaverse is evolving the next generation of the internet technologies and creating boundaryless opportunities. Think of it as a continuum, spanning the spectrum of digitally enhanced worlds, realities and business models.   

Expect to see it touch all facets of every business, from consumer to worker and across the enterprise; from reality to virtual and back; from 2D to 3D; and from cloud and AI to extended reality, blockchain, digital twins, edge technologies and beyond. In 2022, this way of life seems surreal, but the Metaverse Continuum is on its way and companies need to prepare now.  

Next-generation traveler experience

The Metaverse Continuum enables people to immerse themselves within a universal shared experience that connects our real world to a fully virtual one—and everything in between.   

The Metaverse Continuum is already transforming travel companies in five ways, changing...

• How travel companies interact with customers 
• How work is done 
• Which services travel companies offer 
• How they make and distribute them 
• How they operate their organizations 

Travel Technology Vision 2022 trends

In the Travel Technology Vision 2022 report, we explore how today’s technology innovations are becoming the building blocks of our collective future. These four trends investigate the entire continuum, from the virtual to the physical, across humans and machines alike, identifying where ambitious travel companies can find rich opportunities by uprooting themselves from today and planting themselves firmly in the future. 

WebMe: The internet is being reimagined as metaverse, and Web3 efforts transform the underpinning and operation of the virtual world.

The Programmable World: Control, customization and automation are being immersed into the world around us, making the physical as programmable as the digital.

The Unreal: As AI-generated data and synthetic content convincingly mimic what is “real,” authenticity is the new north star.

Computing the Impossible: A new generation of computers is solving some of the world’s most intractable problems leading to one of the biggest technological disruptions of our time.

RELATED: Why the metaverse (really) matters for travel. 

Now is the time to shape the future of travel technology

We are at a crossroads. Not only because there are new technologies to master, but rather that competition in the next decade will require much more than technical skills and innovative strength. Travel companies will need a truly competitive vision. A clear vision of what the future worlds will be like and a vision of where the travel business needs to go to thrive. Technology is pointing us in the right direction. Everything else is in your hands.  

The metaverse continuum is waiting for you. 

RELATED: Future borders 2030: From vision to reality

​​Related insights​

• Building a data-driven travel company
• The Guide: Travel industry magazine
• Tech Vision 2022: Meet me in the Metaverse

Sergiy Nevstruyev

Managing Director – Enterprise Architecture & Digital Transformation Lead

Anshul Gupta

Managing Director – Accenture Technology

Luis Aparicio Garcia

Associate Director – Accenture Strategy & Consulting, Travel

The 2024 guide to travel innovation and tech

The most significant innovation trends in travel technology and distribution for 2024 and beyond.

This is a preview of the Phocuswright report Travel Innovation and Technology Trends 2024

By Phocuswright Research

Introduction

By Mike Coletta, Manager of Research and Innovation 

“Uncertainty” may be the one word that best captures the continued disruption we’ve experienced over the past few years, from the pandemic to extreme weather events, inflation, high interest rates and geopolitical tensions. In unsettled times, a deeper understanding of important trends becomes all the more critical. While uncertainty in the world may be increasing, it’s clear that several things in travel are certain: 

• Travel demand is resilient, having shown that it can and will bounce back from even the direst circumstances. 
• More than ever, travel businesses that don’t embrace emerging technologies are on a path toward obsolescence. 

If 2023 was the year that generative artificial intelligence (AI) grabbed all the headlines, 2024 will be the year that companies start operationalizing it. AI has transformed from something esoteric into something nearly everyone has heard of, and every company needs to embrace. And while generative AI may have seemed like the only tech story of late, there are plenty of other developments in travel and technology that will influence how travel businesses operate in the coming years. 

Each year, Phocuswright's expert analysts identify the technology and innovation trends that will significantly influence travel distribution and the wider industry in the coming year and beyond. In 2024, of course we’re giving generative AI the attention it deserves. But we’re also bubbling up underappreciated technologies, preparing for a future of digital identities and currencies, and keeping the focus on sustainability. 

Coming soon: Individual reports on each of the six trends featured in this overview. Check phocuswright.com for updates.

This year’s World Economic Forum conference in Davos, Switzerland convened under the theme of “ Rebuilding Trust ”, citing the need to address “increasing division and uncertainty that continue to destabilize the world.” While this theme may refer primarily to the political and macroeconomic environment, trust is a crucial theme of ever-increasing importance in travel. Consider these questions: 

• Should travel companies trust generative AI to help inform their business decisions? 
• Can generative AI companies and platforms be trusted with proprietary business data? 
• With rapid advances in digital currency, can travel businesses trust that their financial and payment solutions will continue to be secure, efficient and reliable? 
• Do travelers trust the recommendations that generative AI gives them? 
• Are travelers willing to hand over their personally identifiable information in exchange for trip personalization? 
• Given that what’s good for the environment is not always good for business, can travelers trust the industry to do the right thing when it comes to sustainability? 
• Do travelers trust the authenticity of the reviews and other content that suppliers and intermediaries feature on their websites? 

Travel can be a powerful force for good, and we can all do our part to rebuild trust where needed, whether between companies and customers, between nations, or between humans and computers. Generative AI has its share of problems that engender a lack of trust, from bias to hallucinations and copyright infringement. Indeed, all nascent technologies struggle with trust-related issues as they make the journey from marginal to mainstream. Keeping abreast of the latest innovations is the bedrock upon which we can understand how to effectively leverage new technologies while establishing and enhancing trust within our ecosystems. 

The full report features brief introductions to the six Travel Innovation and Technology Trends that Phocuswright will cover in detail in 2024: 

At a Crossroads: Underappreciated Tech in Travel 

Who owns the customer profile how about the customer , how cutting emissions cuts into corporate travel , from buzzword to bottom line: keeping pace with gen ai in travel , autonomous agents in travel are coming , get ready to accept the digital euro, rupee and yuan .

And stay tuned for individual reports on each of the six trends featured in this preview.

By Markus Schreyer, Chairman, META Foundation

Travel is at a tipping point, balancing traditional ways of doing business with an exciting future of emerging technologies. The industry, while not a stranger to technological investment, lags other sectors in adopting and integrating new advancements. According to a McKinsey analysis of Phocuswright and Pitchbook data, in the past 15 years, only about 1% of startup funding across industries has flowed into travel and tourism.  

The main limiting factors to technology adoption stem from concerns about the costs of integrating new tech, fear of wasting time on fads, and not wanting to compromise on travel’s essential human touch.

AI aside, the relative lack of funding points to an underappreciation of new technology in travel, which leads to underutilization in the industry, and ultimately to an underwhelming traveler experience.

The full report covers:

• How travel companies can utilize its accumulated customer data effectively for cutting-edge, personalized campaigns
• The main limiting factors to technology adoption
• Balancing tech implementations with genuine human touch
• How the latest consumer wearables presents a massive opportunity for the travel sector to close the tech gap

Image captions

By Norm Rose, Senior Technology and Corporate Market Analyst  

The very nature of digital identity is changing. Momentum is building to decouple identity from individual vendor-driven profiles by embracing a self-sovereign digital identity (SSI) that is owned and controlled by the individual. This shift would enable travelers to share information as needed with travel vendors while protecting their privacy. While SSI was introduced in 2016 and has gained some momentum over the last few years, it is hardly a universal trend that all have embraced. But the concept is starting to take hold. In the meantime, biometrics are becoming the standard for identifying passengers along the travel journey. How will these two trends work in tandem to remove friction from the travel process?  

Digital identity could play a crucial role in generating more meaningful, personalized quotes from vendors. It also may present an opportunity for forward-thinking businesses to capture market share from competitors.

• Transforming current silos of customer profiles into a more universal view of the traveler
• How digital identity generates more meaningful, personalized quotes from vendors
• The accelerating pace of AI on digital identity
• Various case studies revealing insights

By Lorraine Sileo, Senior Analyst and Founder, Phocuswright Research  

It's hard to predict the exact impact of sustainability actions on corporate travel, but it’s in the billions of dollars if nearly half of companies plan to cut back. Most business trips are driven by sales targets and competitive factors, but sustainability weighs heavily on decision-making as well. Considering pledges from the world’s largest enterprises, what’s good for the environment might not be so good for travel businesses.

By understanding how large corporations plan to achieve sustainability targets, we can better predict corporate travel’s recovery. 

• Several reasons for the slower pace of recovery
• Science-based Targets initiative (SBTi) and Scope 3 emissions
• Leading methods to achieve targets

By Cathy Schetzina Walsh, Senior Research Analyst  and Mike Coletta, Manager of Research and Innovation 

Generative AI dominated travel industry conversation in 2023, promising to revolutionize the way we plan, book and experience travel. Across both leisure and corporate travel, the race is on to implement generative AI in everything from consumer interfaces to backend operations. As the industry moves beyond the initial hype, 2024 will be all about leveraging what has been learned so far to focus on the most beneficial use cases – and avoid wasting resources on those without a clear ROI. 

Travel companies in 2024 are expected to accelerate investment in generative AI applications. But separating the winning use cases from the losers will be an ongoing process of trial and error.

• Separating the winning use cases from the losers
• Backend applications, advertising and SEO and interface evolution
• Results-based approaches

Generative AI is more than simply a technology to build a better chatbot. It increasingly enables the autonomous creation of complex types of content in text, audio and even video format. It has already impacted the travel industry significantly since the launch of ChatGPT in late 2022, from itinerary planning to customer service to the optimization of copy and much more. But how will it affect the industry in the long term? 

The concept of autonomous agents has the promise of truly automating the travel planning and booking process, but what will that interface look like?

• How generative AI can be used to conceive, prioritize and complete tasks
• What an interface looks like
• The companies best positioned to create autonomous agents
• Legal and regulatory concerns about the large language models (LLMs)

Many in the travel industry have dismissed cryptocurrency as a passing fad due to the numerous high-profile failures of exchanges and stablecoins , as well as pending governmental regulation designed to limit cryptocurrency growth. As an ancillary result, something that may be going unnoticed by some in the industry is the fact that central banks around the world have begun issuing digital currencies. These Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) have many characteristics similar to cryptocurrencies, but they are promoted and controlled by existing central banks rather than by companies or decentralized organizations.   

The stated goals of CBDCs are to increase privacy, transferability, convenience, accessibility and security, but the centralized control of CBDCs has sparked major concerns about these same issues.

• What is needed for suppliers and retailers to accept CBDCs as a form of payment
• The different stages of CBDC development and execution
• The stated goals of CBDCs

WEEKLY RESEARCH INSIGHTS

We dig deep to give you the data and trends that drive the travel, tourism and hospitality industry.

Get the latest in travel industry highlights with our free weekly research articles and more. Sign up to get the latest delivered directly to your inbox.

FOR MORE INSIGHTS

See all of Phocuswright's free research insights here .

Sign up to get the latest delivered directly to your inbox.

Open Access Research Subscription

Research is our priority. Our Open Access research subscription puts the world’s most comprehensive library of travel research and data visualization at your fingertips.

Clients have relied on Phocuswright's deep industry knowledge for over 25 years to power great decisions, help justify a pitch, build a strategic plan and elevate any presentation through trusted research and data. When companies and executives reference Phocuswright, they gain the trust of an industry keen on data, trends and analytics.

See the full benefits of an Open Access subscription here .

For any questions you may have, please call or email us at 📱 +1 860 350-4084 📧 [email protected]

About Phocuswright Events FAQ Copyright Contact Us Research News Privacy & Terms Press Room

Email Updates Register for Phocuswright emails about research data, events and more:

A WHOLLY OWNED SUBSIDIARY OF

Copyright © 2023 by Northstar Travel Media LLC. All Rights Reserved. PO Box 760, Sherman, CT 06784 USA | Telephone: +1 201 902-2000

The Phocuswright Conference   •   Phocuswright Europe   •   Global Startup Pitch   •   Travel Tech Fellowship   •   Phocuswire   •   Web In Travel   •   Inntopia   •   Retail Travel   •   Hotel Investment

• Travel, Tourism & Hospitality ›
• Leisure Travel

Impact of technology on travel and tourism - statistics & facts

What are the main technology trends in travel and tourism, travel apps: two countries dominate the market, key insights.

Detailed statistics

Revenue of Amadeus 2010-2022

Amadeus: number of bookings 2010-2022

Revenue of Sabre Corp. worldwide 2012-2023

Company Insights High-Growth Companies Asia-Pacific

• Great Deals E-Commerce Corporation
• Spofeed Co., Ltd.

Editor’s Picks Current statistics on this topic

Current statistics on this topic.

Online Travel Market

Most downloaded travel apps worldwide 2022, by aggregated downloads

IT Services

Tour Operators & Travel Agencies

Travel agencies and tour operators using cloud computing services EU 2016-2021

Related topics

• Online travel market
• Digitalization of the travel industry
• Digitalization of the hospitality industry worldwide

Online travel trends

• Artificial intelligence (AI) use in travel and tourism
• Travel and tourism in the metaverse
• Mobile travel trends

Online travel companies

• Booking Holdings Inc.
• Expedia Group, Inc.
• Trip.com Group
• Tripadvisor

Recommended statistics

Global distribution systems (gdss).

• Basic Statistic Revenue of Amadeus 2010-2022
• Basic Statistic Revenue of Amadeus 2010-2022, by segment
• Basic Statistic Amadeus: number of bookings 2010-2022
• Basic Statistic Revenue of Sabre Corp. worldwide 2012-2023
• Basic Statistic Revenue of Sabre Corp. worldwide 2019-2023, by segment
• Premium Statistic Revenue of Travelport worldwide 2010-2022
• Basic Statistic Revenue of Travelport 2013-2018, by segment

Revenue of Amadeus worldwide from 2010 to 2022 (in billion U.S. dollars)

Revenue of Amadeus 2010-2022, by segment

Revenue of Amadeus worldwide in 2022, by business segment (in million euros)

Number of travel bookings made using the Amadeus distribution platform from 2010 to 2022 (in millions)

Revenue of Sabre Corp. worldwide from 2012 to 2023 (in billion U.S. dollars)

Revenue of Sabre Corp. worldwide 2019-2023, by segment

Revenue of Sabre Corp. worldwide from 2019 to 2023, by business segment (in billion U.S. dollars)

Revenue of Travelport worldwide 2010-2022

Revenue of Travelport Worldwide Limited worldwide from 2010 to 2022 (in billion U.S. dollars)

Revenue of Travelport 2013-2018, by segment

Revenue of Travelport worldwide from 2013 to 2018, by business segment (in million U.S. dollars)

Travel apps

• Premium Statistic Revenue of the travel apps industry worldwide 2017-2027
• Premium Statistic Travel apps revenue in selected countries worldwide 2022
• Premium Statistic Most downloaded travel apps worldwide 2022, by aggregated downloads
• Premium Statistic Number of aggregated downloads of leading online travel agency apps worldwide 2023
• Premium Statistic Average number of reviews of travel and tourism apps worldwide 2022
• Premium Statistic Average number of ratings of travel and tourism apps worldwide 2022
• Premium Statistic Average retention rate of travel and tourism apps worldwide 2022
• Premium Statistic Leading travel apps in the U.S. 2022, by market share
• Premium Statistic Leading travel apps in Europe 2022, by market share

Revenue of the travel apps industry worldwide 2017-2027

Revenue of the travel apps market worldwide from 2017 to 2027 (in billion U.S. dollars)

Travel apps revenue in selected countries worldwide 2022

Revenue of travel apps in selected countries worldwide in 2022 (in million U.S. dollars)

Most downloaded travel apps worldwide in 2022, by aggregated number of downloads (in millions)

Number of aggregated downloads of leading online travel agency apps worldwide 2023

Number of aggregated downloads of selected leading online travel agency apps worldwide in 2023 (in millions)

Average number of reviews of travel and tourism apps worldwide 2022

Average number of reviews of travel, tourism, and hospitality apps worldwide in 2022

Average number of ratings of travel and tourism apps worldwide 2022

Average number of ratings of travel, tourism, and hospitality apps worldwide in 2022

Average retention rate of travel and tourism apps worldwide 2022

Average retention rate of travel, tourism, and hospitality apps worldwide in 2022

Leading travel apps in the U.S. 2022, by market share

Market share of leading travel apps in the United States in 2022

Leading travel apps in Europe 2022, by market share

Market share of leading travel apps in Europe in 2022

Artificial Intelligence (AI)

• Premium Statistic Number of companies using ChatGPT within their business 2023, by industry
• Premium Statistic Share of travel firms that implemented AI strategies worldwide 2021, by AI maturity
• Premium Statistic AI-influenced revenue share of travel companies worldwide 2018-2024
• Premium Statistic Travelers expecting to use AI to plan trips in 2033 worldwide 2022, by aspect
• Premium Statistic Expected usage of ChatGPT to plan next trip in the U.S. 2023
• Premium Statistic U.S. adults that thought a Chat-GPT text on travel was AI/human-made 2023
• Basic Statistic Interest in AI-related products among U.S. adults 2023

Number of companies using ChatGPT within their business 2023, by industry

Amount of companies using ChatGPT in their business function in 2023, by industry

Share of travel firms that implemented AI strategies worldwide 2021, by AI maturity

Share of travel companies that implemented Artificial Intelligence (AI) strategies worldwide as of September 2021, by maturity of AI strategies

AI-influenced revenue share of travel companies worldwide 2018-2024

Share of travel companies' revenue that was influenced by Artificial Intelligence (AI) worldwide in 2018 and 2021, with a forecast for 2024

Travelers expecting to use AI to plan trips in 2033 worldwide 2022, by aspect

Share of travelers that would trust using Artificial Intelligence (AI) to plan travel in 2033 worldwide as of August 2022, by travel aspect

Expected usage of ChatGPT to plan next trip in the U.S. 2023

Likelihood of using ChatGPT in the process of planning the next trip among respondents in the United States as of April 2023

U.S. adults that thought a Chat-GPT text on travel was AI/human-made 2023

Share of adults that believed a ChatGPT-generated text about travel was made by an Artificial Intelligence (AI) or a human in the United States as of March 2023

Interest in AI-related products among U.S. adults 2023

Share of adults in the United States who are interested in artificial intelligence (AI) related products as of February 2023

Metaverse and extended reality (XR)

• Basic Statistic Leading business sectors already investing in the metaverse 2022
• Premium Statistic U.S teens and adults on enhanced experiences in the metaverse 2022
• Premium Statistic Interest in metaverse travel activities of Gen Z in the U.S. and the UK 2022
• Premium Statistic Interest in AR in the U.S. 2022, by use case
• Premium Statistic Interest in VR in the U.S. 2022, by use case

Leading business sectors already investing in the metaverse 2022

Leading business sectors worldwide that have already invested in the metaverse as of March 2022

U.S teens and adults on enhanced experiences in the metaverse 2022

Experiences expected to be better in a virtual or metaverse environment according to teens and adults in the United States as of May 2022

Interest in metaverse travel activities of Gen Z in the U.S. and the UK 2022

Interest in metaverse travel activities of Gen Z in the United States and the United Kingdom (UK) as of February 2022

Interest in AR in the U.S. 2022, by use case

Interest in augmented reality (AR) in the United States as of October 2022, by use case

Interest in VR in the U.S. 2022, by use case

Interest in virtual reality (VR) in the United States as of October 2022, by use case

Use of technology

• Premium Statistic Travelers' expected use of selected planning tools for trips in 2033 worldwide 2022
• Premium Statistic Expected comfort level with selected payment methods for trips in 2033 worldwide 2022
• Premium Statistic Global consumer and merchant acceptance of crypto payments 2021, by industry
• Basic Statistic Popular goods and services to buy with crypto 2022, by gender and income group
• Premium Statistic Travel agencies and tour operators using cloud computing services EU 2016-2021

Travelers' expected use of selected planning tools for trips in 2033 worldwide 2022

Share of travelers expecting to use selected planning tools for trips in 2033 worldwide as of August 2022

Expected comfort level with selected payment methods for trips in 2033 worldwide 2022

Share of travelers expecting to be comfortable in using selected payment methods for trips in 2033 worldwide as of August 2022

Global consumer and merchant acceptance of crypto payments 2021, by industry

Willingness to use/accept cryptocurrencies for payments by consumers/merchants across various industries worldwide as of 2021

Popular goods and services to buy with crypto 2022, by gender and income group

Most popular goods and services bought by consumers worldwide when using cryptocurrencies for online shopping in 2022, by gender and income group

Use of cloud computing services among travel agencies, tour operators, and related activities in the European Union (EU 27) from 2016 to 2021, by cloud service

Further reports Get the best reports to understand your industry

Get the best reports to understand your industry.

Mon - Fri, 9am - 6pm (EST)

Mon - Fri, 9am - 5pm (SGT)

Mon - Fri, 10:00am - 6:00pm (JST)

Mon - Fri, 9:30am - 5pm (GMT)

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

• View all journals
• My Account Login
• Explore content
• About the journal
• Publish with us
• Sign up for alerts
• Review Article
• Open access
• Published: 07 October 2023

A ten-year review analysis of the impact of digitization on tourism development (2012–2022)

• Chunyu Jiang   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-6072-8365 1 &
• Seuk Wai Phoong   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-9925-0901 1  

Humanities and Social Sciences Communications volume  10 , Article number:  665 ( 2023 ) Cite this article

5130 Accesses

1 Citations

1 Altmetric

Metrics details

• Development studies
• Science, technology and society

Many tourism-related activities have been suspended due to the nationally enforced lockdown to combat the Coronavirus pandemic. The tourism industry suffered immensely from the lockdown, and as a result of this, digital tourism began gaining traction and attracted public attention. This study analyses the impact of digitalization on the social and economic sustainability of the tourism industry via systematic literature network analysis. The findings indicated that digitalization impacts economic sustainability, encompassing economic benefits in tourism product development, tourism consumption, and industrial development. Moreover, digitalization fosters social development, cultural awareness, and tourism participation in digital technology and cultural heritage. This study identified publication trends and research hotspots using bibliometric analysis, and it was confirmed that Sustainability was the top journal in published digital and tourism sustainability-related articles, followed by the International Journal of Tourism Research, Tourism Management , and Current Issues in Tourism . This study resulted in two implications: identifying the knowledge gap and evidence-based decision-making based on the (previous) literature. Recommendation for future research is also discussed in this study, which is helpful to policymakers, tourism planners, and researchers to develop strategies grounded in research.

Similar content being viewed by others

Bibliometric analysis of trends in COVID-19 and tourism

Alba Viana-Lora & Marta Gemma Nel-lo-Andreu

Knowledge mapping of relative deprivation theory and its applicability in tourism research

Jinyu Pan & Zhenzhi Yang

Analysis of spatial-temporal pattern, dynamic evolution and influencing factors of health tourism development in China

Huadi Wang, Yue Feng, … Nianxing Zhou

Introduction

From 2019 through 2022, the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) wreaked havoc on the world’s tourism business (Navarro-Drazich and Lorenzo, 2021 ). Tourism contributes to many nations’ gross domestic product (GDP) as it is intertwined with various industries (Gössling et al., 2017 ). Examples of tourism products include lodging options such as hotels and Airbnb. Food and drink, theme parks, museum visits, and fashion items such as clothes and bags are additional examples of tourism products that boost the economic health of the individual and the nation.

Tourism is regarded as a complex service-driven industry, one of the characteristics of which is that if external influences disrupt the tourism sector, other industries linked to it will also be directly affected. Tourism development refers to creating and maintaining the tourism industry in a particular location and is closely linked to economic and social progress (Telfer and Sharpley, 2015 ). Over the past four decades, global tourism development has reported intense growth performance and research on tourism development (Capocchi et al., 2019 ). Kreishan ( 2010 ) posited that the impact of tourism development on destination development is a commonly discussed issue, particularly in terms of tourism development improving economic efficiency and local competitiveness. The growth of tourism currently is significant not only from an economic perspective but also from a social perspective, as evidenced by the optimization of the local social structure (Yang et al., 2021 ), increased community participation (W. Li, 2006 ), participation of women (Ferguson, 2011 ), and increased cultural awareness (Carbone, 2017 ). Also, the development of the tourism industry benefits the environment by increasing environmental protection awareness and providing greater funding for initiatives to conserve resources and the environment (Zhao and Li, 2018 ).

However, unmanaged over-tourism can cause serious harm, according to Berselli et al. ( 2022 ). From an economic standpoint, excessive tourism can result in higher prices and imbalanced industrial structure development, which lowers industries’ overall resilience. Social issues arising from over-tourism include the commercialization of culture (Wang et al., 2019 ), the shift in locals’ attitudes from friendliness to hostility towards tourists (Kim and Kang, 2020 ), and the emergence of on-stage authenticity (Taylor, 2001 ). In terms of the environment, issues such as excessive carbon emissions causing global warming (Liu et al., 2022 ), damage to water and soil resources, destruction to flora and fauna (Gössling and Hall, 2006 ), and even harm to cultural heritage (Zhang et al., 2015 ) are some of the effects of over-tourism. Since the development of the tourism industry combines economic, social, and cultural phenomena, as well as the past COVID-19 disruptions, the industry’s suspension for several years presents a significant opportunity for all stakeholders to reposition tourism for sustainable development.

Some studies suggest the tourism industry will recover after COVID-19 (Zhong et al., 2021 ). However, given the abovementioned problems caused by over-tourism, what needs to be considered is the sustainability of the tourism industry post-COVID-19. Researchers and tourism stakeholders are becoming more aware of the importance of the concept of sustainable development (Miceli et al., 2021 ), especially since COVID-19, as the tourism or hospitality industry remains one of the least developed sectors in terms of sustainable tourism practices (Kim and Park, 2017 ). Korstanje and George ( 2020 ) noted that over-tourism is a chronic disease that mere temporary changes cannot treat; it can be minimized via education and training to raise awareness. The tourism industry needs to rethink how to develop in a sustainable and healthy direction (Higgins-Desbiolles et al., 2019 ), not only in terms of ecotourism or green tourism but also in terms of putting the concept of sustainability into practice at a deeper level as it faces multiple pressures and challenges of an overarching environment, economy, and society.

Sustainability is often cited as one of the reasons for improved competitiveness among different tourism destinations (Han et al., 2019 ). The United Nations 2030 (UN, 2030 ) Agenda for Sustainable Development has developed a Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) plan, defined as a set of global goals for fair and sustainable health at every level, from the planetary biosphere to the local community. The aim is to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure that everyone enjoys peace and prosperity now and in the future. The basic concept is that productivity can be preserved for future generations. Due to the general emphasis of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) on sustainable tourism and the industry’s economic importance, the SDGs and its associated millennium development goals (MDGs) have become critical elements for research into tourism’s contribution to sustainable development and overall sustainability (Saarinen et al., 2011 ; Saarinen and Rogerson, 2014 ). Winter et al. ( 2020 ) indicated that as sustainable tourism development needs to take complete account of the combined social, economic, and environmental impacts, stakeholders are expected to integrate scientific management and practice for future sustainability using updated and innovative technologies that can provide more tourism opportunities for groups unable to travel directly while enhancing environmentally-friendly behavior. Bramwell and Lane ( 2011 ) suggested that effective policy support is also crucial to implementing sustainable tourism development, as the path to sustainable development is guided and monitored by excellent and progressive policies. From a postmodernist perspective, social media and place brand authenticity in smart tourism are essential to place trust, place identity, and place brand image, while the development of this brand authenticity is one of the critical indicators of the visitor experience (Handayani and Korstanje, 2017 ). As a result, Korstanje et al. ( 2022 ) contended that new paradigms and strategies must be created to confront risks to tourism in the 21st century and satisfy the SDGs by 2030.

Several studies are underway to determine the impact of various programs and strategies on the environmental component of sustainability practices (Goralski and Tan, 2020 ). Yalina and Rozas ( 2020 ) suggested that a digital workplace can promote environmental sustainability. Although there have been studies on the digitalization of tourism and environmental sustainability, such as Loureiro and Nascimento ( 2021 ), who reviewed digital technology on the sustainability of tourism using bibliometric methods, there is a need for a thorough examination of the impact of digital transformation on sustainable tourism growth, particularly in terms of economic and social dimensions (Feroz et al., 2021 ). Therefore, the objective of this study is to review the impact of tourism digital technology development on the economic and social sustainability of tourism development to offer future research guidance.

With the growing literature and the emergence of cross-disciplinary research related to sustainability and digitalization in tourism development, it is critical to analyze the changes in its research, summarize the focus of previous research content, and predict future research prospects. As a result, this study will address the above research gaps by answering the following three questions.

RQ1: What are the prominent documents, authors, sources, organizations, and keywords in digitalization for the economic and social sustainability of tourism development?

RQ2: What are the linkages based on bibliographic coupling, co-authorship, co-occurrence, and citation in digitalization for the economic and social sustainability of tourism development?

RQ3: What is the future research agenda based on the results of this study?

Literature review

Several review papers on tourism research are now available and relevant to this study. Ülker et al. ( 2023 ) assumed that there are currently 136 bibliometric studies in the tourism and hospitality industry, of which the literature review studies on overall trends in the tourism and hospitality industry are continuously being updated (Chang and Katrichis, 2016 ; Wang et al., 2023 ). Also, economic development in the tourism industry (Comerio and Strozzi, 2019 ), tourism marketing (Mwinuka, 2017 ), tourism and education (Goh and King, 2020 ), hospitality (Manoharan and Singal, 2017 ), Airbnb (Andreu et al., 2020 ), and even COVID-19 review articles related to tourism development are available (Bhatia et al., 2022 ).

With the emergence of cross-disciplinary digital-related technologies, the link between tourism and digitalization has become one of the hot topics of research, and as a result, several literature review articles on digitalization and tourism have been published, such as on robotics (Buhalis and Cheng, 2020 ; Ivanov et al., 2019 ; Pizam et al., 2022 ), ICT (Buhalis and Law, 2008 ; Law et al., 2014 ), big data (Li et al., 2018 ; Stylos et al., 2021 ), smart tourism (Buhalis, 2020 ; Mehraliyev et al., 2020 ), social media (Buhalis and Inversini, 2014 ; Mirzaalian and Halpenny, 2019 ), eye-tracking (Muñoz-Leiva et al., 2019 ; Scott et al., 2019 ), AI (Buhalis and Moldavska, 2022 ; Doborjeh et al., 2022 ; Dwivedi et al., 2023 ), VR (Koohang et al., 2023 ; Wei, 2019 ), AR (Jingen Liang and Elliot, 2021 ; Tscheu and Buhalis, 2016 ; Yovcheva et al., 2012 ), MR (Buhalis and Karatay, 2022 ), and the Metaverse (Ahuja et al., 2023 ; Buhalis et al., 2022 , 2023 ; Go and Kang, 2023 ).

Due to the rise of sustainability research, the literature review on sustainability research in tourism has seen a stark increase (León-Gómez et al., 2021 ; Ruhanen et al., 2018 ; Streimikiene et al., 2021 ). The proliferation of studies related to digitalization and sustainable tourism development has led to a considerable number of review articles (Elkhwesky et al., 2022 ; Gössling, 2017 ; Loureiro and Nascimento, 2021 ; Nascimento and Loureiro, 2022 ; Rahmadian et al., 2022 ). Feroz et al. ( 2021 ) conducted a literature study on the environmental aspects of tourism sustainability and digitalization; however, there is a distinct lack of studies on the economic and social dimensions.

Therefore, the study’s unique value is that it presents the first literature review in the field of digitalization and social and tourism economic sustainability development using a novel method of systematic literature network analysis (SLNA), filling a gap in the literature review landscape and addressing the need for more comprehensive, detailed, and up-to-date research endeavor.

Methodology

Colicchia and Strozzi ( 2012 ) proposed a systematic literature review analysis (SLNA) to identify past research trends more sophisticatedly, integrated, and scientifically. This method is currently used in reviews of sustainable development research (Afeltra et al., 2021 ) but is rarely used in reviews of tourism sustainability; therefore, SLNA is used in this study.

Systematic literature review (SLR) and bibliographic network analysis (BNA) are the two phases of SLNA. These actions comprise the first phase of SLR, which includes choosing the study’s final selection, conducting a dialectical examination of the most pertinent articles, and evaluating the results. Next, citation analysis and bibliographic coupling of BNA are also included in this paper to investigate the relationship between the previous literature, assess the research trends, and aid in uncovering future research innovation opportunities. Bibliographic coupling is a scientific mapping technique regarding two articles with a common citation contentedly comparable. This technique permits the segmentation of publications into thematic clusters utilizing published references to understand the most recent developments in current research issues (Donthu et al., 2021 ). Citation analysis reveals which papers are influential and their authors and journals and aids in comprehending what past literature has contributed (Pilkington and Meredith, 2009 ).

First phase: systematic literature review (SLR)

Introduction of slr.

The most widely used and reputable databases are the Web of Science (WOS) and Scopus (Garrigos-Simon et al., 2018 ); thus, both were used in this study to eliminate data search omissions, broaden the search scope, and improve the accuracy of data outputs.

Figure 1 shows the flow diagram for systematic bibliometric analysis. Firstly, this paper takes “virtual reality or augmented reality or artificial intelligence or big data or mobile technology or internet of technology or social platform technology) and (sustainable tourism development or sustainability of tourism or green tourism or ecotourism” as keywords. The search process began by searching topics (including article titles, abstracts, and keywords). The language of the articles was set to English and had to be published between 2012 and 2022. The search process resulted in 91 articles. The data were extracted on February 15, 2022, per Fig. 2 .

This figure shows the overall process of this study from database selection until suggestions for future research. Source: Own elaboration.

The criteria and steps used to identify the selected target literature are explained in this diagram. Source: Own elaboration.

A review article with scholarly worth and contribution is required to describe the literature’s links and contents and examine and critique it precisely (Hart, 2018 ). As seen in Fig. 3 , the following research topics are divided into two categories: economic sustainability (which includes topics such as economic benefit, industry development, and tourist consumption) and social sustainability (which includes topics such as tourist behavior, social development, cultural awareness, and participation).

The research topics are divided into two categories: economic sustainability (which includes topics such as economic benefit, industry development, and tourist consumption) and social sustainability (which includes topics such as tourist behavior, social development, cultural awareness, and participation. Source: Own elaboration.

The SLRs are used to locate, appraise, and synthesize existing, completed, and documented work (Cocchia, 2014 ), facilitating classification and summarization, particularly for micro-profiling within macro-level fields of study.

Digitalization’s impact on economic sustainability

Digitalization’s impact on economic benefits.

Adequately improving the economic development of tourism is also one of the sustainable needs for developing tourism. At a time when tourism has been devastated by COVID-19, the tourism industry has almost ceased to exist. Therefore, one of the most popular research topics is maintaining substantial economic benefits while allowing the tourism industry to flourish sustainably.

Digital technology has piqued researchers’ interest due to its potential benefit to the tourism industry. Technologies that directly improve the economic situation are classed as economic benefits, and per many studies, digitization positively impacts local economic development and may bring objective revenue to tourism (Tables 1 – 7 ).

Digital technology promotes economic development. The growth of information communication technologies (ICT) positively impacts China’s tourism industry while promoting economic growth (Shehzad et al., 2019 ). As a rapidly evolving digital technology, mobile technology has significantly minimized asymmetric information, enhanced local GDP growth, and increased citizens’ financial capital through tourism (Kim and Kim, 2017 ; Phoong et al., 2022 ). Technologies such as 3D virtual, mixed reality (MR), virtual reality (VR), or augmented reality (AR) applied in heritage tourism can effectively increase local economic income and the added value of tourism (Manglis et al., 2021 ; Martinez-Grana et al., 2019 ). Furthermore, marketing tools such as small programs and network technologies confer several advantages to tourism stakeholders, such as the ability to help local communities contribute value and support the tourism economy (Caciora et al., 2021 ; Lin et al., 2020a , b ). Also, smart heritage city tourism technology tools can drive the tourism economy to inaccessible areas (Gomez-Oliva et al., 2019 ).

The increase in income is proportional to increased economic benefits. ICT is often used in the tourism industry, which has an essential impact on the tourism service industry, one of which is the improvement of tourism income (Gomez-Oliva et al., 2019 ; Koukopoulos and Koukopoulos, 2019 ). Virtual tourism technologies, such as AR and VR, are digital tools that can help overcome cultural heritage tourism challenges, such as reviving the tourism industry and resolving funding shortages (Lu et al., 2022 ). Mobile money, such as electronic traveler’s checks and credit cards, can assist low-income people in taking advantage of their marginal savings and encourage implementing a cashless economy for tourism sustainability (Singh, 2017 ).

Second, digital marketing technologies are frequently utilized by hotels to improve hotel performance, which increases profit (Theocharidis et al., 2020 ; Vitezic et al., 2015 ). Another example is Muslim-friendly apps promoting the international trade of products during the tourism process (Cuesta-Valiño et al., 2020 ),

Digitalization’s impact on tourism industrial development

Technological development has driven the tourism industry in local tourist cities, organizations, businesses, and governments. From the perspective of industrial market development, ICT, extensive data network marketing, and other virtual tourism technologies can create market development potential and improve market positioning for companies (Ammirato et al., 2021 ; Filipiak et al., 2020 ; Ma et al., 2021 ).

Adopting and applying information in the tourism industry are commonly regarded as a source of corporate innovation. The implementation of ICT can increase the profitability of tourism enterprises while also increasing organizational productivity (Croitoru and Manoliu, 2016 ; De Lucia et al., 2021 ; Duy et al., 2020 ; Obonyo et al., 2018 ). VR, AR, 3D digital technology, and mobile technology can all be used to improve a company’s performance and competitiveness in the tourism industry (Cranmer et al., 2021 ; Koukopoulos and Koukopoulos, 2018 ; Pavlidis et al., 2022 ; Yuce et al., 2020 ), and these technologies have made significant economic contribution to economic sustainability.

The application and implementation of ICT play an essential role in developing the tourism industry (Adeola and Evans, 2020 ; Tan et al., 2019 ; Zhou and Sotiriadis, 2021 ). Also, digital advanced technologies, such as MR technology adopted by museums, AR technology adopted by destinations, and smart tourism products and tourism ecological reservation systems have made significant contributions in the front-end development stage, providing opportunities to monitor the future development of tourism, as well as being beneficial to the formulation and implementation of tourism industry strategies at later stages (Graziano and Privitera, 2020 ; Tsai et al., 2018 ). The abovementioned electronic environment is an excellent lubricant for tourism’s active and healthy development (Maiorescu et al., 2016 ). Moreover, apps can help customers understand legacy cities more from the standpoint of heritage preservation and help cities promote tourist city development (Briciu et al., 2020 ).

From the perspective of products sold and variations in product types, online services in Muslim-friendly apps can be helpful for market segmentation and promotion of product positioning and sales (Cuesta-Valiño et al., 2020 ). Furthermore, virtual multi-sensory technologies can improve the company’s potential, increase public awareness, and sell products (Martins et al., 2017 ). Undeniably, the development of digitalization enriches the cultural service products of museums in developing heritage tourism (Palumbo, 2021 ), and AR technology also increases the diversification of products in water tourism (Kaźmierczak et al., 2021 ).

Digitalization’s impact on tourism consumption

Tourists’ spending power can reflect the overall economic development of the tourism industry as one of the contributing variables, and the number of tourists and the value of tourist flow are two measurement criteria of tourism consumer spending. Tourism apps, for example, can make traveling more convenient for tourists, increasing tourism consumption (Lin et al., 2020a , b ). Virtual tourism products or augmented reality technology allow tourists to spend more leisure time, increasing consumption (da Silva, 2021 ; Pehlivanides et al., 2020 ).

The application of virtual tourism technology is also helpful in improving the attractiveness of tourists (Cai et al., 2021 ; Manglis et al., 2021 ; Martins et al., 2017 ). Meanwhile, big data analytic tools, e-marketing (WOM), and mobile applications positively influence customers’ intention to travel and contribute to improving tourism sustainability (Gajdosik, 2019 ; Kim and Chang, 2020 ; Pica et al., 2018 ). With the application and construction of ICT, the demand for tourism has increased, and the number of tourists has also increased (Adeola and Evans, 2020 ; Kabassi, 2017 ; Kumar and Kumar, 2020 ). In addition to enhancing tourists’ imagination, virtual tourism technology and 3D digital technology can also be used as practical tools to further develop tourism and increase the number and flow of tourists (Bae et al., 2020 ; Graziano and Privitera, 2020 ; Pavlidis et al., 2022 ). Word-of-mouth marketing has increased the number of tourists (Fernandez-Lores et al., 2022 ; Wang et al., 2020 ).

Digitalization’s impact on social sustainability

Digitalization’s impact on tourist behavior.

Virtual tourism technology is gradually being implemented in the tourism industry, focusing on increasing the satisfaction of the elderly and disabled (Lu et al., 2022 ). Artificial intelligence and virtual reality are integrated into human-computer interaction system equipment, boosting service quality and increasing tourist satisfaction (Van et al., 2020 ). The mixed experience helps enrich tourists’ feelings about the surroundings, thereby boosting tourists’ contentment (Bae et al., 2020 ), and the succinct information and dependable system offered by VR can promote tourists’ satisfaction (Yuce et al., 2020 ). 3D digital technology to build innovative and appealing tourism items can help boost consumer satisfaction and positive feedback (Pavlidis et al., 2022 ).

Tourism stakeholders’ use of tourism apps is critical to increasing tourist satisfaction (Lin et al., 2020a , b ). For example, tourism management in Ho Chi Minh City’s use of Web 4.0 can increase customer satisfaction and loyalty in the long run (Duy et al., 2020 ). The mobile usability and ease of use of social media as a suitable medium directly impact satisfaction (Sharmin et al., 2021 ). It can also serve as a platform for tourists to communicate and contribute to increased satisfaction (Jamshidi et al., 2021 ). Simultaneously, tourism safety is an essential factor that influences tourist satisfaction, and the use of closed-circuit television (CCTV) and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) can help to improve tourism safety (Ko and Song, 2021 ). The use of mobile technologies and payment mechanisms in the tourism process is also a fascinating study. Through electronic technology, two-dimensional code payment techniques improve tourists’ pleasure (Lou et al., 2017 ). Furthermore, incorporating digital innovation into hotel management structures increases hotel performance and client satisfaction (Vitezic et al., 2015 ).

Tourism satisfaction is directly related to tourism experience, and tourism experience is one of the most important criteria to measure in the tourism process. The findings suggest that using virtual immersion technologies such as AR, VR, and MR in the tourism process can significantly improve the tourist experience (Bae et al., 2020 ; Fernandez-Lores et al., 2022 ; Franco and Mota, 2021 ; Lee and Kim, 2021 ; Yin et al., 2021 ).

Additionally, the intention and motivation of tourism drive tourism behavior from the psychological aspect. Digital innovative technology can boost tourists’ interest in tourism products and locations, enrich their understanding of tourism culture, attract more tourists, enhance tourists’ preferences, and strengthen their desire to visit (Caciora et al., 2021 ; Cranmer et al., 2021 ; Gajdosik, 2019 ; Kang, 2020 ; Kaźmierczak et al., 2021 ; Manglis et al., 2021 ; Monterroso-Checa et al., 2020 ;). Digital marketing tools can ramp up customers’ desires and habits (Theocharidis et al., 2020 ), and digital mobile programs can increase tourists’ attention, influencing their overall view of the tourism experience (Wang et al., 2020 ). Big data can also be utilized to foresee client wants and expectations, allowing for a better understanding of customer needs (Del Vecchio et al., 2018 ). For example, Internet of Things technology can scientifically guide and divert tourists to alleviate the problem of local saturation and overload in scenic sites, thus improving the tourist experience (Xie and Zhang, 2021 ). It can also provide various cultural tourism content to enhance and support the experience of active tourists (Ammirato et al., 2021 ).

Digitalization’s impact on social development

Tourism planners and governments can use the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and geographic information system-remote sensing (GIS-RS) technology to accurately select sites, develop eco-tourism activities, relieve the burden of tourism in the region, and thus help the locals create new employment opportunities (Chaudhary et al., n.d. ). Virtual tourism technology, such as AR, can also aid in analyzing tourist flow and conditions, improve safety, and expand job chances (Franco and Mota, 2021 ). Advances and innovations in tourism ICT can benefit enterprises enough to increase job prospects (De Lucia et al., 2021 ). Virtual tourism, ICT, mobile technology, smart heritage tourism technology, and innovative marketing methods improve stakeholders’ quality of life, increasing the tourism system and community awareness (Lemmi and Deri, 2020 ).

Digitalization’s impact on cultural awareness

Virtual technologies, such as AR, VR, and mobile augmented reality (MAR), are now widely used in cultural heritage tourism, with the potential to protect cultural heritages and enhance the potential of heritage management, thereby contributing to cultural communication (Bec et al., 2019 ; Caciora et al., 2021 ; Graziano and Privitera, 2020 ). Some studies indicate that online engagement platforms, mobile application technologies, and smart tourism models can all support the socially sustainable growth of culture (Bonacini et al., 2018 ; Pica et al., 2018 ; Zubiaga et al., 2019 ).

AR, VR, and other techniques can promote tourists’ behavior in underwater cultural tourism and raise public awareness of natural heritage protection among tourists (Manglis et al., 2021 ). Research on low-carbon travel modes is frequently concerned with tourism sustainability, and big data marketing technology can supply tourists with more low-carbon transport schemes, thus increasing tourists’ environmental consciousness (Ma et al., 2021 ). As a common medium for cultural communication, social media can raise tourists’ awareness of environmental protection (Haque et al., 2021 ).

Digitalization’s impact on participation

Tourists’ active participation in cultural heritage can be enhanced by digital technology, as can people’s feeling of belonging and responsibility to society (Koukopoulos and Koukopoulos, 2019 ; Permatasari et al., 2020 ). Virtual technology can also encourage public participation in preserving and promoting cultural heritages (Caciora et al., 2021 ), while digital media can help tourism businesses improve public relations and social participation (Camilleri, 2018 ; Haque et al., 2021 ). Increased smart tourism destinations optimize the potential for these communities to involve the destinations’ residents and impact their lives due to the improved urban tourism experience.

Stakeholders are closely linked to the sustainable development of tourism. Innovative applications of digital technology can better manage destination stakeholders, strengthening their linkages (Camilleri, 2018 ), help promote their participation in the development of tourist destinations (del Vecchio et al., n.d. ; Gajdosik, 2019 ), and create a democratic and sustainable system when promoting cultural heritage, which balances the opinions of different stakeholders.

The interactive network platform empowers local communities and encourages local inhabitants and tourists to communicate, which promotes the healthy growth of resident-tourism relationships (Dionisio et al., 2019 ). Also, ICT tourism apps influence the ultimate perception of older tourists’ travel experiences, stimulate tourists’ interest in world cultural heritage sites (WCHS), and increase contact and understanding between tourists and destinations (Ramos-Soler et al., 2019 ). Social media can help tourists increase their knowledge of environmental protection, which increases the participation of tourists and citizens and helps formulate sustainable goals (Haque et al., 2021 ).

Second phase: bibliographic network analysis (BNA)

The VOSviewer is the analysis tool used in this work to visualize the impact of digital technology on sustainable tourism development in economic and social aspects. VOSviewer employs the visualization of similarities (VOS) mapping approach to create a map (Moya‐Anegón et al., 2007 ).

Bibliographic coupling network of sources

Bibliographic coupling analysis mainly measures the similarity of documents by the number of identical references cited by documents. Although co-citation refers to the appearance of two documents in the same reference list, bibliographic coupling refers to the number of references that a group of papers share; for example, paper A and paper B are coupled if they both cite document C (Garrigos-Simon et al., 2018 ). In other words, bibliographic coupling happens when two documents quote the same document (Phoong et al., 2022 ; Mulet-Forteza et al., 2018 ), demonstrating the power of one publication in comparison to a group of others (Cavalcante et al., 2021 ). It should be pointed out that the size of the sphere represents the number of similar citations. This paper analyzes the bibliographic coupling network of sources, and the findings are summarized in Fig. 4 . Per Fig. 4 , there are 9 clusters, and the journal source with the highest number of similar citations is Sustainability . It can, therefore, be concluded that this journal has the most citations and published articles on this subject.

This figure refers to the number of references shared by a group of papers. Source: Own elaboration.

Citation network of documents

Citations are formed when two documents cite the same document and are used to illustrate the relation between documents and study fields. Figure 5 shows four clusters, each representing the degree of connection and the extent of influence in size. This study has the highest influence, according to the largest green group. It offers insight into the impact of reality and virtual reality on heritage tourism, stating that these technologies favorably impact tourists’ experiences (Bec et al., 2019 ).

Cluster size indicates the degree of connection and influence of the literature and research area. There are four groups, with the blue (Encalada et al., 2017 ) and green (Bec et al., 2019 ) groups representing the two articles that are relatively most influential. Source: Own elaboration.

This Blue Group study is also prominent, proposing that the widespread use of information and communication technologies, such as cloud computing, the Internet of Things, and data mining with high processing performance, are the key to tourism’s sustainability (Encalada et al., 2017 ).

The number of citations between documents is used in co-citation analysis to determine their relevance. Figure 6 shows which publications are cited most frequently, and it is clear that tourism management and sustainability are the two commanding the most attention. Generally, the closer two journals are located to each other, the stronger their relatedness. For example, according to an article published in Tourism Management , virtual reality has significantly increased tourism intention and consumption (Tussyadiah et al., 2018 ). Simultaneously, this article presents the finding, which illustrates that combining history with cutting-edge technology in immersive spaces can preserve and manage legacy and enrich the visitor experience and, as a result, engagement with history (Bec et al., 2019 ).

This figure represents the citation strength of publications. The circle distance represents relevance. Source: Own elaboration.

Co-occurrence network of Keywords and titles

The significance of keyword co-occurrence analysis in bibliometrics resides in an intuitive understanding of hot subjects in the study field through the frequency and relevance of terms (Phoong et al., 2022 ). Before that, the following considerations must be made.

To begin, each node in the network map indicates a keyword, and the size of the ball represents the number of keywords that appear. The larger the ball, for example, indicates the higher frequency of keywords occurring. Second, the larger the co-occurrence rate between terms, the thicker the curve between the second keywords. In the third, on the network map, different color groups reflect different theme collections, while the same color represents similar subjects (Loureiro and Nascimento, 2021 ).

Figures 7 and 8 illustrate overlay visualization (Fig. 8 ) and network visualization (Fig. 7 ). From Fig. 7 , the keywords of high frequency include tourism (37 occurrences), technology (35 occurrences), tourist (32 occurrences), experience (31 occurrences), information (25 occurrences), application (23 occurrences), data (22 occurrences), analysis (21 occurrences), impact (21 occurrences), sustainability (14 occurrences) and sustainable development (9 occurrences). Some of Red Network Group’s primary keywords are tourism, information, impact, communication technology, virtual reality, new technology, and cultural tourism. The study’s content focuses on the impact of the relationship between information technology and tourism. Yellow Network Group’s primary keywords are destination, tourism destination, environment, and AR, mainly concentrated on destination environment and AR application research. The green network group comprises tourists, analysis, process, big data, management, stakeholders, case studies, innovation, and other topics. This group has conducted more studies on the effect of digital technology on enterprise management from stakeholders’ perspectives. The Blue Network Group focuses on technology, experience, data, service, research, relationships, social media, sustainable development, tourist satisfaction, intention, and other related topics, and this group study is particularly interested in the influence of technology on tourist experience and satisfaction.

The same color indicates a close relationship between the keywords. The red network group focuses on tourism and information technology, the yellow network group concentrates on destinations and the environment, and the blue group emphasizes tourists and technology, the green group concerns tourists and analyses. Source: Own elaboration.

Darker colors indicate older keywords such as tourists, information, data, research, etc. and lighter colors show the recent hot keywords such as big data, AR, VR, sustainable development, etc. Source: Own elaboration.

After conducting a literature review on digital technology’s economic and social implications on sustainable tourism development over the last ten years and creating a density visualization network map, it can be concluded that tourist experience, information technology, augmented reality, and data are research hotspots. As a result, most studies on tourism sustainability in social and economic dimensions focus on the impact of digital technology on the tourist experience.

Even though they are all co-occurrence analyses of keywords in literature, the emphasis in each network map is different. Generally, overlay visualization and network visualization are comparable to a certain extent; however, the color differs in overlay visualization (Fig. 8 ). In the lower right corner, there is also a quantification table. Purple indicates that the keywords are older, while yellow indicates that they are more modern. For example, keywords such as big data, augmented reality, sustainable development, creation, and intention are yellow, indicating a recent research hotspot, but keywords such as communication technology, information, environment, and service are purple, indicating that these themes were formerly popular.

Results and discussion

The data were collected from 2012 until February 2022. Analysis of the published articles shows a significant increase in publications on digitalization and tourism sustainability development. In 2017, seven articles were published, 10 in 2018, 16 in 2019, and 23 in 2020 and 2021. Furthermore, there are 6 published in the first two months of 2022. These findings illustrate a rise in data availability for digitalization and sustainable tourism development research and suggest that researchers are considering this topic more seriously, demonstrating its value to academic research.

According to the findings, Sustainability was the top journal in published digital and tourism sustainability-related articles. This is followed by the International Journal of Tourism Research , Tourism Management , and Current Issues in Tourism . The number of publications on the relevant subject has increased steadily, particularly in recent years, indicating that this form of research is increasingly gaining attention. Research over the last decade has shown the existence of a certain number of empirical studies on the relationship between digitalization and tourism social and economic sustainability, and from the bibliometric analysis, it emerges that the current research direction on tourism social and economic sustainability has shifted from exploring ICT to AR and VR. Moreover, Tourism Management and Sustainability have the highest citation.

In summary, this study answers RQ1 using the bibliometric literature analysis, while a systematic literature review used to answer RQ2 and RQ3 is discussed in the conclusion and further recommendation sections.

The content of relevant articles published in WOS and Scopus in this research area over the last decade was visually analyzed through bibliometric and systematic literature analysis, and a total of 91 articles meeting the research criteria were selected to provide information on the status of the impact of digitalization on the social and economic aspects of sustainable tourism development, as well as to identify specific research fields and research topics. It can be concluded that the digitalization of the social dimension of tourism sustainability is more richly studied and explored from a more diverse perspective, considering not only the tourists’ but also the residents’ perspectives. There are two implications in the present study. The first is that this study pinpointed the knowledge gaps. Systematic literature review analysis is used in this study to identify the gaps in the existing body of research in tourism development. By reviewing the previous literature and synthesizing the findings, researchers can identify the areas receiving limited or much attention. This insight is valuable for policymakers, tourism planners, and researchers when dealing with specific areas where future research is warranted. Furthermore, the publication trend and popular research themes were also discussed in this study. This enables the policymaker and tourism planner to understand tourism development and the potential for improved policies and practices. The second implication is enabling evidence-based decision-making in tourism development. Researchers can identify patterns, trends, and best practices by synthesizing the findings from multiple studies. This evidence-based approach helps policymakers, destination managers, and tourism stakeholders make informed decisions and develop strategies grounded in research. However, there is a lack of a more comprehensive perspective to explore in an integrated manner. For example, social and economic sustainability development sometimes does not increase simultaneously, and perhaps there is a particular imbalance between the two when using certain digital technologies. Therefore, it can be observed from this study that there is a lack of research in the past ten years that has explored both the economic and social sustainability of tourism comprehensively and that future research could emphasize the integration of social and economic sustainability, even a synthesis study of three dimensions: environmental social, and economic.

Therefore, when considering future developments, several challenges were raised.

Lack of integration study of social and economic dimensions.

Lack of cooperative research among other disciplines.

Lack of suitable theory and conceptual model for sustainable development research in the tourism area.

Lack of universality in different regions based on proposed digital technology.

Lack of research from the perspective of subject education or particular population as the research object.

Based on this literature study, relatively few research topics about this research area are suggested, and the following research scope and questions can be referred to as a priority in the future research process so that research trends can be accurately grasped more quickly and efficiently.

What is the impact of digital technologies on the economic and social sustainability of destinations?

How do digital technologies used in cultural heritage tourism impact tourism sustainability?

What is the impact of digital technology on education?

How can tourism companies improve employee satisfaction, loyalty, and sustainable performance through digital technology?

How can we create a globally accessible and digital system for tourism destinations for sustainable development goals?

How does digitalization impact sustainable development from stakeholders’ perspectives?

The above suggestions and research direction recommendations can provide new research inspiration to researchers in the same field for future research, and this study is expected to help other researchers understand the current research trends related to the digitalization of sustainable tourism development.

Adeola O, Evans O (2020) ICT, infrastructure, and tourism development in Africa. Tour Econ 26(1):97–114

Google Scholar  

Afeltra G, Alerasoul SA, Strozzi F (2021) The evolution of sustainable innovation: from the past to the future. Eur J Innov Manag 26(2):386–421. https://doi.org/10.1108/EJIM-02-2021-0113

Article   Google Scholar  

Ahuja AS, Polascik BW, Doddapaneni D, Byrnes ES, Sridhar J (2023) The digital metaverse: applications in artificial intelligence, medical education, and integrative health. Integr Med Res 12(1):100917

PubMed   Google Scholar  

Ammirato S, Felicetti AM, Linzalone R, Carlucci D (2021) Digital business models in cultural tourism. Int J Entrep Behav Res Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJEBR-01-2021-0070

Andreu L, Bigne E, Amaro S, Palomo J (2020) Airbnb research: an analysis in tourism and hospitality journals. Int J Cult Tour Hosp Res 14(1):2–20

Anser M, Adeleye B, Tabash M, Tiwari A (n.d.) Services trade–ICT–tourism nexus in selected Asian countries: new evidence from panel data techniques. Curr Issues Tour. https://doi.org/10.1080/13683500.2021.1965554

Bae S, Jung T, Moorhouse N, Suh M, Kwon O (2020) The influence of mixed reality on satisfaction and brand loyalty in cultural heritage attractions: a brand equity perspective. Sustainability 12(7). https://doi.org/10.3390/su12072956

Balakrishnan J, Dwivedi Y, Malik F, Baabdullah A (n.d.) Role of smart tourism technology in heritage tourism development. J Sustain Tour. https://doi.org/10.1080/09669582.2021.1995398

Bec A, Moyle B, Timms K, Schaffer V, Skavronskaya L, Little C (2019) Management of immersive heritage tourism experiences: a conceptual model. Tour Manag 72:117–120. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2018.10.033

Berselli C, Pereira LA, Pereira T, Limberger PF (2022) Overtourism: residents’ perceived impacts of tourism saturation. Tour Anal 27(2):161–172

Bhatia A, Roy B, Kumar A (2022) A review of tourism sustainability in the era of Covid-19. J Stat Manag Syst 25(8):1871–1888

Boboc R, Duguleana M, Voinea G, Postelnicu C, Popovici D, Carrozzino M (2019) Mobile augmented reality for cultural heritage: following the footsteps of ovid among different locations in Europe. Sustainability 11(4). https://doi.org/10.3390/su11041167

Bonacini E, Tanasi D, Trapani P (2018) Digital heritage dissemination and the participatory storytelling project #iziTRAVELSicilia: the case of the Archaeological Museum of Syracuse (Italy). Acta IMEKO 7(3):31–41. https://doi.org/10.21014/acta_imeko.v7i3.584 . Scopus

Bramwell B, Lane B (2011) Critical research on the governance of tourism and sustainability. J Sustain Tour 19(4–5):411–421

Briciu A, Briciu V, Kavoura A (2020) Evaluating how “smart” Brasov, Romania can be virtually via a mobile application for cultural tourism. Sustainability 12(13). https://doi.org/10.3390/su12135324

Bruno F, Ricca M, Lagudi A, Kalamara P, Manglis A, Fourkiotou A, Papadopoulou D, Veneti A (2020) Digital technologies for the sustainable development of the accessible underwater cultural heritage sites. J Mar Sci Eng 8(11):955. https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse8110955

Buhalis D (2020) Technology in tourism-from information communication technologies to eTourism and smart tourism towards ambient intelligence tourism: a perspective article. Tour Rev 75(1):267–272

Buhalis D, Cheng ESY (eds) (2020) Exploring the use of chatbots in hotels: technology providers’ perspective. In: Information and communication technologies in tourism 2020: proceedings of the international conference in Surrey, United Kingdom, January. Springer International Publishing, 8–10. pp. 231–242

Buhalis D, Inversini A (eds) (2014) Tourism branding, identity, reputation co-creation, and word-of-mouth in the age of social media. In: Tourism management, marketing, and development: vol I: the importance of networks and ICTs. pp. 15–40

Buhalis D, Karatay N (eds) (2022) Mixed reality (MR) for generation Z in cultural heritage tourism towards metaverse. In: Information and communication technologies in tourism 2022: Proceedings of the ENTER 2022 ETourism conference, Springer, Cham, January 11–14, 2022. pp. 16–27

Buhalis D, Law R (2008) Progress in information technology and tourism management: 20 years on and 10 years after the Internet—the state of eTourism research. Tour Manag 29(4):609–623

Buhalis D, Leung D, Lin M (2023) Metaverse as a disruptive technology revolutionising tourism management and marketing. Tour Manag 97:104724

Buhalis D, Lin MS, Leung D (2022) Metaverse as a driver for customer experience and value co-creation: implications for hospitality and tourism management and marketing. Int J Contemp Hosp Manag 35(2):701–716

Buhalis D, Moldavska I (2022) Voice assistants in hospitality: using artificial intelligence for customer service. J Hosp Tour Technol 13(3):386–403

Caciora T, Herman GV, Ilieș A, Baias, Ștefan, Ilieș DC, Josan I, Hodor N (2021) The use of virtual reality to promote sustainable tourism: a case study of wooden churches historical monuments from Romania. Remote Sens 13(9):1758. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs13091758

Article   ADS   Google Scholar  

Cai Z, Fang C, Zhang Q, Chen F (2021) Joint development of cultural heritage protection and tourism: the case of Mount Lushan cultural landscape heritage site. Herit Sci 9(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40494-021-00558-5

Camilleri MA (2018) The promotion of responsible tourism management through digital media. Tour Plan Dev 15(6):653–671. https://doi.org/10.1080/21568316.2017.1393772

Capocchi A, Vallone C, Pierotti M, Amaduzzi A (2019) Overtourism: A literature review to assess implications and future perspectives. Sustainability 11(12):3303

Carbone F (2017) International tourism and cultural diplomacy: a new conceptual approach towards global mutual understanding and peace through tourism. Tourism 65(1):61–74

Cavalcante WQ, de F, Coelho A, Bairrada CM (2021) Sustainability and tourism marketing: a bibliometric analysis of publications between 1997 and 2020 using VOSviewer software. Sustainability 13(9):4987

Chang W-J, Katrichis JM (2016) A literature review of tourism management (1990–2013): a content analysis perspective. Current Issues Tour 19(8):791–823

Chaudhary S, Kumar A, Pramanik M, Negi M (n.d.) Land evaluation and sustainable development of ecotourism in the Garhwal Himalayan region using geospatial technology and analytical hierarchy process. Environ Dev Sustain https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-021-01528-4

Cocchia A (2014) Smart and digital city: a systematic literature review. Smart City p 13–43

Colicchia C, Strozzi F (2012) Supply chain risk management: a new methodology for a systematic literature review. Supply Chain Manag 17(4), 403–418

Comerio N, Strozzi F (2019) Tourism and its economic impact: a literature review using bibliometric tools. Tour Econ 25(1):109–131

Cranmer E, Urquhart C, Dieck M, Jung T (2021) Developing augmented reality business models for SMEs in tourism. Inf Manag 58(8). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.im.2021.103551

Croitoru A, Manoliu A (2016) BIG DATA—a new tool shaping the future of the tourism industry. In: Pamfilie R, Dinu V, Tachiciu L, Plesea D, Vasiliu C (eds) Basiq international conference: new trends in sustainable business and consumption, pp. 69–74

Cuesta-Valiño P, Bolifa F, Núñez-Barriopedro E (2020) Sustainable, smart and muslim-friendly tourist destinations. Sustainability 12(5):1778. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12051778

da Silva A (2021) In quest of a new AR technology application to enhance the sustainability of cultural tourism: the Olive Heritage in Madeira through the looking glass of a “Sandbox” approach. Eur J Tour Hosp Recreation 11(1):66–76. https://doi.org/10.2478/ejthr-2021-0007

De Lucia C, Pazienza P, Balena P (2021) How does ICT influence residents’ attitudes towards tourism as a driver of development? A generalised ordered logistic regression analysis: ICT for tourism as driver of development in lagging behind regions. Int J Tour Res jtr.2473. https://doi.org/10.1002/jtr.2473

del Vecchio P, Malandugno C, Passiante G, Sakka G (n.d.) Circular economy business model for smart tourism: the case of Ecobnb. Euromed J Bus. https://doi.org/10.1108/EMJB-09-2020-0098

Del Vecchio P, Mele G, Ndou V, Secundo G (2018) Open innovation and social big data for sustainability: evidence from the tourism industry. Sustainability 10(9). https://doi.org/10.3390/su10093215

Dionisio M, Silva C, Nisi V (2019) Fostering interaction between locals and visitors by designing a community-based tourism platform on a touristic island. In: Lamas D, Loizides F, Nacke L, Petrie H, Winckler M, Zaphiris P (eds) Human-Computer Interaction–INTERACT 2019: 17th IFIP TC 13 International Conference, Paphos, Cyprus, September 2–6, 2019, Proceedings, Part II 17, Springer International Publishing. vol 11747, pp. 768–787

Doborjeh Z, Hemmington N, Doborjeh M, Kasabov N (2022) Artificial intelligence: a systematic review of methods and applications in hospitality and tourism. Int J Contemp Hosp Manag 34(3):1154–1176

Donthu N, Kumar S, Mukherjee D, Pandey N, Lim WM (2021) How to conduct a bibliometric analysis: an overview and guidelines. J Bus Res 133:285–296. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2021.04.070

Duy N, Mondal S, Van N, Dzung P, Minh D, Das S (2020) A study on the role of web 4.0 and 5.0 in the sustainable tourism ecosystem of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Sustainability 12(17). https://doi.org/10.3390/su12177140

Dwivedi YK, Kshetri N, Hughes L, Slade EL, Jeyaraj A, Kar AK, Baabdullah AM, Koohang A, Raghavan V, Ahuja M (2023) “So what if ChatGPT wrote it?” Multidisciplinary perspectives on opportunities, challenges and implications of generative conversational AI for research, practice and policy. Int J Inf Manag 71:102642

Elkhwesky Z, El Manzani Y, Elbayoumi Salem I (2022) Driving hospitality and tourism to foster sustainable innovation: a systematic review of COVID-19-related studies and practical implications in the digital era. Tour Hosp Res 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/14673584221126792

Encalada L, Boavida-Portugal I, Ferreira C, Rocha J (2017) Identifying tourist places of interest based on digital imprints: towards a sustainable smart city. Sustainability 9(12). https://doi.org/10.3390/su9122317

Ferguson L (2011) Promoting gender equality and empowering women? Tourism and the third Millennium Development Goal. Current Issues Tour 14(3):235–249

Fernandez-Lores S, Crespo-Tejero N, Fernández-Hernández R (2022) Driving traffic to the museum: the role of the digital communication tools. Technol Forecast Soc Change Scopus 174. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2021.121273

Feroz AK, Zo H, Chiravuri A (2021) Digital transformation and environmental sustainability: a review and research agenda. Sustainability 13(3):1530. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13031530

Filipiak BZ, Dylewski M, Kalinowski M (2020) Economic development trends in the EU tourism industry. Towards the digitalization process and sustainability. Qual Quant Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11135-020-01056-9

Franco M, Mota L (2021) Reopening for business post-COVID-19: augmented reality as a strategy for attracting visitors to a tourist destination. Eur J Tour Hosp Recreation 11(1):54–65. https://doi.org/10.2478/ejthr-2021-0006

Gajdosik T (2019) Big data analytics in smart tourism destinations. a new tool for destination management organizations ? In: Katsoni V, SegarraOna M (eds) Smart Tourism as a Driver for Culture and Sustainability: Fifth International Conference IACuDiT, Athens 2018, Springer International Publishing, pp. 15–33

Garrigos-Simon FJ, Narangajavana-Kaosiri Y, Lengua-Lengua I (2018) Tourism and sustainability: a bibliometric and visualization analysis. Sustainability 10(6):1976

Garzon J, Acevedo J, Pavon J, Baldiris S (2018) ARtour: Augmented Reality-based game to promote agritourism. In: DePaolis L, Bourdot P (eds) Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality, and Computer Graphics: 5th International Conference, AVR 2018, Otranto, Italy, June 24–27, 2018, Proceedings, Part I 5, Springer International Publishing, vol 10850, pp. 413–422

Giaccone SC, Bonacini E (2019) New technologies in smart tourism development: The #iziTRAVELSicilia experience. Tour Anal 24(3):341–354. https://doi.org/10.3727/108354219X15511864843867

Go H, Kang M (2023) Metaverse tourism for sustainable tourism development: tourism agenda 2030. Tour Rev 78(2):381–394

Goh E, King B (2020) Four decades (1980–2020) of hospitality and tourism higher education in Australia: developments and future prospects. J Hosp Tour Educ 32(4):266–272

Gomez-Oliva A, Alvarado-Uribe J, Parra-Merono M, Jara A (2019) Transforming communication channels to the co-creation and diffusion of intangible heritage in smart tourism destination: creation and testing in Ceuti (Spain). Sustainability 11(14). https://doi.org/10.3390/su11143848

Goralski MA, Tan TK (2020) Artificial intelligence and sustainable development. Int J Manag Educ 18(1):100330. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijme.2019.100330

Gössling S (2017) Tourism, information technologies and sustainability: an exploratory review. J Sustain Tour 25(7):1024–1041

Gössling S, Hall CM (eds) (2006) An introduction to tourism and global environmental change. In: Tourism and global environmental change. Routledge, pp. 1–33

Graziano T, Privitera D (2020) Cultural heritage, tourist attractiveness and augmented reality: Insights from Italy. J Herit Tour 15(6):666–679. https://doi.org/10.1080/1743873X.2020.1719116

Hammady R, Ma M, AL-Kalha Z, Strathearn C (2021) A framework for constructing and evaluating the role of MR as a holographic virtual guide in museums. Virtual Real 25(4):895–918. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10055-020-00497-9

Han H, Eom T, Al-Ansi A, Ryu HB, Kim W (2019) Community-based tourism as a sustainable direction in destination development: an empirical examination of visitor behaviors. Sustainability 11(10):10. https://doi.org/10.3390/su11102864

Handayani B, Korstanje ME (2017) Place brand authenticity in social media interaction: a postmodern perspective. Études Caribéennes 37–38, Article 37–38. https://doi.org/10.4000/etudescaribeennes.11182

Haque E, Sungsuwan T, Sanglimsuwan S (2021) Can social media be a tool for increasing tourists’ environmentally responsible behavior? Geoj Tour Geosites 38(4):1211–1222. https://doi.org/10.30892/gtg.38428-762

Hart C (2018) Doing a literature review: releasing the research imagination. Doing a Literature Review, p 1–352

Higgins-Desbiolles F, Carnicelli S, Krolikowski C, Wijesinghe G, Boluk K (2019) Degrowing tourism: rethinking tourism. J Sustain Tour 27(12):1926–1944. https://doi.org/10.1080/09669582.2019.1601732

Huang T, Liu B (2021) Augmented reality is human-like: how the humanizing experience inspires destination brand love. Technol Forecast Soc Change 170. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2021.120853

Ivanov S, Gretzel U, Berezina K, Sigala M, Webster C (2019) Progress on robotics in hospitality and tourism: a review of the literature. J Hosp Tour Technol 10(4):489–521

Jamshidi D, Rousta A, Shafei R (2021). Social media destination information features and destination loyalty: does perceived coolness and memorable tourism experiences matter? Curr Issues Tour Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1080/13683500.2021.2019204

Jingen Liang L, Elliot S (2021) A systematic review of augmented reality tourism research: what is now and what is next? Tour Hosp Res 21(1):15–30

Kabassi K (2017) Evaluating websites of museums: state of the art. J Cult Herit 24:184–196. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.culher.2016.10.016

Kang H (2020) Impact of VR on impulsive desire for a destination. J Hosp Tour Manag 42:244–255. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhtm.2020.02.003

Kaźmierczak R, Szczepańska A, Kowalczyk C, Grunwald G, Janowski A (2021) Using AR technology in tourism based on the example of maritime educational trips—a conceptual model. Sustainability (Switzerland) Scopus 13(13). https://doi.org/10.3390/su13137172

Kim D, Kim S (2017) The role of mobile technology in tourism: patents, articles, news, and mobile tour app reviews. Sustainability 9(11):2082. https://doi.org/10.3390/su9112082

Kim H, Chang B (2020) A study on the effects of crowdfunding values on the intention to visit local festivals: focusing on mediating effects of perceived risk and e-WOM. Sustainability 12(8). https://doi.org/10.3390/su12083264

Kim K-H, Park D-B (2017) Relationships among perceived value, satisfaction, and loyalty: community-based ecotourism in Korea. J Travel Tour Mark 34(2):171–191. https://doi.org/10.1080/10548408.2016.1156609

Kim S, Kang Y (2020) Why do residents in an overtourism destination develop anti-tourist attitudes? An exploration of residents’ experience through the lens of the community-based tourism. Asia Pac J Tour Res 25(8):858–876

Ko Y, Song B (2021) Complementary cooperation of CCTV and UAV systems for tourism security and sustainability. Sustainability 13(19). https://doi.org/10.3390/su131910693

Koohang A, Nord JH, Ooi K-B, Tan GW-H, Al-Emran M, Aw EC-X, Baabdullah AM, Buhalis D, Cham T-H, Dennis C (2023) Shaping the metaverse into reality: a holistic multidisciplinary understanding of opportunities, challenges, and avenues for future investigation. J Comput Inf Syst 63(3):735–765

Korstanje ME, George BP (2020) Education as a strategy to tackle over tourism for overtourism and inclusive sustainability in the twenty-first century. In: Séraphin H, Gladkikh T, Thanh TV (eds) Overtourism: causes, implications and solutions. Springer International Publishing, pp. 341–359

Korstanje ME, Seraphin H, Maingi SW (eds) (2022) Tourism through troubled times: emerging issues and new pathways for the 21st century tourism. In: Tourism through troubled times. Emerald Publishing Limited, pp. 1–5

Kotsopoulos KI, Chourdaki P, Tsolis D, Antoniadis R, Pavlidis G, Assimakopoulos N (2019) An authoring platform for developing smart apps which elevate cultural heritage experiences: a system dynamics approach in gamification. J Ambient Intell Humaniz Comput Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12652-019-01505-w

Koukopoulos Z, Koukopoulos D (2018) Intelligent management of outdoor cultural events promoting exploitation in smart city environments. In: Katsoni V, Velander K (eds) Innovative Approaches to Tourism and Leisure: Fourth International Conference IACuDiT, Athens 2017, Springer International Publishing, pp. 303–319

Koukopoulos Z, Koukopoulos D (2019) Evaluating the usability and the personal and social acceptance of a participatory digital platform for cultural heritage. Heritage 2(1). https://doi.org/10.3390/heritage2010001

Kreishan FM (2010) Tourism and economic growth: the case of Jordan. Eur J Soc Sci 15(2):63–68

Kumar N, Kumar RR (2020) Relationship between ICT and international tourism demand: a study of major tourist destinations. Tour Econ 26(6):908–925

Law R, Buhalis D, Cobanoglu C (2014) Progress on information and communication technologies in hospitality and tourism. Int J Contemp Hosp Manag 26(5):727–750

Lee W, Kim Y (2021) Does VR tourism enhance users’ experience? Sustainability 13(2). https://doi.org/10.3390/su13020806

Lemmi E, Deri M (2020) A new model for the “tourism renaissance”: the case study of the Tuscan Village of San Pellegrino in Alpe. Almatourism—J Tour Cult Territ Dev 11(22):19–43. https://doi.org/10.6092/issn.2036-5195/12345

León-Gómez A, Ruiz-Palomo D, Fernández-Gámez MA, García-Revilla MR (2021) Sustainable tourism development and economic growth: bibliometric review and analysis. Sustainability 13(4):2270

Li J, Xu L, Tang L, Wang S, Li L (2018) Big data in tourism research: a literature review. Tour Manag 68:301–323

Li W (2006) Community decisionmaking participation in development. Ann Tour Res 33(1):132–143

Lim C, Mostafa N, Park J (2017) Digital Omotenashi: toward a smart tourism design systems. Sustainability 9(12). https://doi.org/10.3390/su9122175

Lin M, Li F, Zhou H (2020a) A research on the combination of oblique photography and mobile applications based on the sustainable development of tourism. Sustainability 12(9). https://doi.org/10.3390/su12093501

Lin S, Juan P, Lin S (2020b) A TAM framework to evaluate the effect of smartphone application on tourism information search behavior of foreign independent travelers. Sustainability 12(22). https://doi.org/10.3390/su12229366

Liu Z, Lan J, Chien F, Sadiq M, Nawaz MA (2022) Role of tourism development in environmental degradation: a step towards emission reduction. J Environ Manag 303:114078

CAS   Google Scholar  

Lopes R, Malik O, Kumpoh A, Keasberry C, Hong O, Lee S, Liu Y & IEEE (2019) Exploring digital architectural heritage in Brunei Darussalam: towards heritage safeguarding, smart tourism, and interactive education. 2019 IEEE Fifth International Conference on Multimedia Big Data (BigMM) At: Singapore Proceedings. p 383–390. https://doi.org/10.1109/BigMM.2019.00067

Lou L, Tian Z, Koh J (2017) Tourist satisfaction enhancement using mobile QR code payment: an empirical investigation. Sustainability 9(7). https://doi.org/10.3390/su9071186

Loureiro SMC, Nascimento J (2021) Shaping a view on the influence of technologies on sustainable tourism. Sustainability 13(22):12691. https://doi.org/10.3390/su132212691

Lu J, Xiao X, Xu Z, Wang C, Zhang M, Zhou Y (2022) The potential of virtual tourism in the recovery of tourism industry during the COVID-19 pandemic. Current Issues Tour 25(3):441–457. https://doi.org/10.1080/13683500.2021.1959526

Ma D, Hu J, Yao F (2021) Big data empowering low-carbon smart tourism study on low-carbon tourism O2O supply chain considering consumer behaviors and corporate altruistic preferences. Comput Ind Eng 153. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cie.2020.107061

Maiorescu I, Negrea M, Popescu D, Sabou G (2016) Best practices regarding the use of electronic environment for Romanian tourism development. Amfiteatru Econ 18(42):474–486

Manglis A, Fourkiotou A, Papadopoulou D (2021) A roadmap for the sustainable valorization of accessible underwater cultural heritage sites. Heritage 4(4):4700–4715. https://doi.org/10.3390/heritage4040259

Manoharan A, Singal M (2017) A systematic literature review of research on diversity and diversity management in the hospitality literature. Int J Hosp Manag 66:77–91

Martinez-Grana A, Goy J, Gonzalez-Delgado J, Cruz R, Sanz J, Cimarra C, de Bustamante I (2019) 3D Virtual itinerary in the geological heritage from natural areas in Salamanca-Avila-Caceres, Spain. Sustainability 11(1). https://doi.org/10.3390/su11010144

Martins J, Gonçalves R, Branco F, Barbosa L, Melo M, Bessa M (2017) A multisensory virtual experience model for thematic tourism: a Port wine tourism application proposal. J Destin Mark Manag 6(2):103–109. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jdmm.2017.02.002 . Scopus

Mehraliyev F, Chan ICC, Choi Y, Koseoglu MA, Law R (2020) A state-of-the-art review of smart tourism research. J Travel Tour Mark 37(1):78–91

Miceli A, Hagen B, Riccardi M, Sotti F, Settembre-Blundo D (2021) Thriving, not just surviving in changing times: how sustainability, agility and digitalization intertwine with organizational resilience. Sustainability 13(4). https://doi.org/10.3390/su13042052

Mirzaalian F, Halpenny E (2019) Social media analytics in hospitality and tourism: a systematic literature review and future trends. J Hosp Tour Technol 10(4):764–790

Mohd NS, Ismail HN, Jaafar SMRS, Isa N (2020) Experience co-creation of city visitors from the perspective of technological engagement. IOP Conf Ser Earth Environ Sci Scopus 447(1). https://doi.org/10.1088/1755-1315/447/1/012002

Monterroso-Checa A, Redondo-Villa A, Gasparini M, Hornero A, Iraci B, Martin-Talaverano R, Moreno-Escribano J, Munoz-Cadiz J, Murillo-Fragero J, Obregon-Romero R, Vargas N, Young S, Yuste R, Zarco-Tejada P (2020) A heritage science workflow to preserve and narrate a rural archeological landscape using virtual reality: the Cerro del Castillo of Belmez and its surrounding environment (Cordoba, Spain). Appl Sci-Basel 10(23). https://doi.org/10.3390/app10238659

Moya‐Anegón SGFde, Vargas‐Quesada B, Chinchilla‐Rodríguez Z, Corera‐Álvarez E, Munoz‐Fernández FJ, Herrero‐Solana V (2007) Visualizing the marrow of science. J Am Soc Inf Sci Technol 58(14):2167–2179

Mulet-Forteza C, Martorell-Cunill O, Merigó JM, Genovart-Balaguer J, Mauleon-Mendez E (2018) Twenty five years of the Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing: a bibliometric ranking. J Travel Tour Mark 35(9):1201–1221

Muñoz-Leiva F, Hernández-Méndez J, Gómez-Carmona D (2019) Measuring advertising effectiveness in Travel 2.0 websites through eye-tracking technology. Physiol Behav 200:83–95

Muthuraman S, Al Haziazi M & IEEE (2019) Smart tourism destination—new exploration towards sustainable development in Sultanate of Oman. In 2019 5th International Conference on Information Management (ICIM). p 332–335

Mwinuka OH (2017) Reviewing the role of tourism marketing in successful sustainable tourist destinations. Afr J Hosp Tour Leis 6(2):1–11

Nascimento J, Loureiro SMC (2022) The impact of augmented and virtual reality for sustainable tourism. In: Jung T, Dieck MCT, Loureiro SMC (eds) International XR conference. Springer, pp. 148–156

Navarro-Drazich D, Lorenzo C (2021) Sensitivity and vulnerability of international tourism by covid crisis: South America in context. Res Glob 3:100042. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resglo.2021.100042

Obonyo G, Okeyo D, Kambona O (2018) Effect of management practices on actual ICT application in Kenyan hotels: a PLS-SEM approach. Int J Hosp Tour Adm 19(2):142–166. https://doi.org/10.1080/15256480.2017.1305311

Palumbo R (2021) Enhancing museums’ attractiveness through digitization: an investigation of Italian medium and large-sized museums and cultural institutions. Int J Tour Res Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1002/jtr.2494

Pavlidis G, Solomou A, Stamouli S, Papavassiliou V, Kritsis K, Kiourt C, Sevetlidis V, Karetsos G, Trigas P, Kougioumoutzis K, Goula K, Proutsos N, Pistikos G, Theodoridis Y, Galanopoulos E, Paraskevas N, Foskolou U, Papadopoulos M (2022) Sustainable ecotourism through cutting-edge technologies. Sustainability 14(2). https://doi.org/10.3390/su14020800

Pehlivanides G, Monastiridis K, Tourtas A, Karyati E, Ioannidis G, Bejelou K, Antoniou V, Nomikou P (2020) The virtualdiver project. Making Greece’s underwater cultural heritage accessible to the public. Appl Sci (Switzerland) 10(22):1–22. https://doi.org/10.3390/app10228172

Article   CAS   Google Scholar  

Permatasari P, Qohar A, Rachman A (2020) From web 1.0 to web 4.0: the digital heritage platforms for UNESCO’s heritage properties in Indonesia. Virtual Archaeol Rev 11(23):75–93. https://doi.org/10.4995/var.2020.13121

Phoong SW, Phoong SY, Ho ST (2022) Technology, organisation and environment factor on mobile payment implementation: focus on SMEs in Malaysia. Int J Mob Commun 20(5):519–540. https://doi.org/10.1504/IJMC.2022.125420

Phoong SW, Phoong SY, Khek SL (2022). Systematic Literature Review With Bibliometric Analysis on Markov Switching Model: Methods and Applications, Sage Open 12(2). https://doi.org/10.1177/21582440221093062

Pica A, Reynard E, Grangier L, Kaiser C, Ghiraldi L, Perotti L, Del Monte M (2018) GeoGuides, urban geotourism offer powered by mobile application technology. Geoheritage 10(2):311–326. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12371-017-0237-0

Pilkington A, Meredith J (2009) The evolution of the intellectual structure of operations management—1980–2006: a citation/co-citation analysis. J Oper Manag 27(3):185–202

Pitoska E (2013) E-tourism: the use of internet and information and communication technologies in tourism: the case of hotel units in peripheral areas. In: Jankovic S, Jurdana D (eds) Tourism in Southern and Eastern Europe. vol 2. WOS:000323235000025, pp. 335–344

Pizam A, Ozturk AB, Balderas-Cejudo A, Buhalis D, Fuchs G, Hara T, Meira J, Revilla MRG, Sethi D, Shen Y (2022) Factors affecting hotel managers’ intentions to adopt robotic technologies: a global study. Int J Hosp Manag 102:103139

Rahmadian E, Feitosa D, Zwitter A (2022) A systematic literature review on the use of big data for sustainable tourism. Current Issues Tour 25(11):1711–1730

Ramos-Soler I, Martinez-Sala A, Campillo-Alhama C (2019) ICT and the sustainability of world heritage sites. Analysis of senior citizens’ use of tourism apps. Sustainability 11(11). https://doi.org/10.3390/su11113203

Ruhanen L, Moyle C, Moyle B (2018) New directions in sustainable tourism research. Tour Rev 74(2):138–149. https://doi.org/10.1108/TR-12-2017-0196

Saarinen J, Rogerson CM (2014) Tourism and the millennium development goals: perspectives beyond 2015. Tour Geogr 16(1):23–30. https://doi.org/10.1080/14616688.2013.851269

Saarinen J, Rogerson C, Manwa H (2011) Tourism and millennium development goals: tourism for global development? Current Issues Tour 14(3):201–203. https://doi.org/10.1080/13683500.2011.555180

Scott N, Zhang R, Le D, Moyle B (2019) A review of eye-tracking research in tourism. Current Issues Tour 22(10):1244–1261

Shafiee M, Shafiee M, Shams H, Yahai M, Golchin H & IEEE (2013) ICT capacities in creating sustainable urban tourism and its effects on resident quality of life (WOS:000326046500028). In: Shafiee MM, Shafiee MM, Shams H, Yahai MR, Golchin H (eds) 2013 7th international conference on E-commerce in developing countries: with focus on E-Security (ECDC), IEEE

Sharmin F, Sultan M, Badulescu D, Badulescu A, Borma A, Li B (2021) Sustainable destination marketing ecosystem through smartphone-based social media: the consumers’ acceptance perspective. Sustainability 13(4). https://doi.org/10.3390/su13042308

Shehzad K, Liu X, Rauf A, Arif M, Mazhar S, Sohail N, Amin W (2019) Revolutionising tourism development in China: an effective role of ICT and Western Silk Road project. Asia Pac J Tour Res 24(9):965–977

Singh S (2017) Mobile money for promoting conservation and community-based tourism and ecotourism in underdeveloped regions. Tour Recreation Res 42(1):108–112. https://doi.org/10.1080/02508281.2016.1251011

Streimikiene D, Svagzdiene B, Jasinskas E, Simanavicius A (2021) Sustainable tourism development and competitiveness: the systematic literature review. Sustain Dev 29(1):259–271

Stylos N, Zwiegelaar J, Buhalis D (2021) Big data empowered agility for dynamic, volatile, and time-sensitive service industries: the case of tourism sector. Int J Contemp Hosp Manag 33(3):1015–1036

Talafubieke M, Mai S, Xialifuhan N (2021) Evaluation of the virtual economic effect of tourism product emotional marketing based on virtual reality. Front Psychol 12. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.759268

Tan W, Shrestha D, Jeong S (2019) Digital tourism development and sustainability model for Nepal. In: Shen W, Paredes H, Luo J, Barthes J (eds) 2019 IEEE 23rd International Conference on Computer Supported Cooperative Work in Design (CSCWD). IEEE, pp. 182–187

Taylor JP (2001) Authenticity and sincerity in tourism. Ann Tour Res 28(1):7–26

ADS   Google Scholar  

Telfer DJ, Sharpley R (2015) Tourism and development in the developing world. Routledge

Theocharidis A, Argyropoulou M, Karavasilis G, Vrana V, Kehris E (2020) An approach towards investigating factors affecting intention to book a hotel room through social media. Sustainability 12(21). https://doi.org/10.3390/su12218973

tom Dieck MC, Jung T, Han D-I (2016) Mapping requirements for the wearable smart glasses augmented reality museum application. J Hosp Tour Technol 7(3):230–253. https://doi.org/10.1108/JHTT-09-2015-0036 . Scopus

Tsai T-H, Chang H-T, Lin Y-W, Yu M-C, Lien P-J, Yan W-C, Ho W-L (2018) Emerging social media and social networks analysis transforms the tourism industry: living green smart tourism ecosystem. In: Antona M, Stephanidis C (eds) Universal Access in Human-Computer Interaction. Virtual, Augmented, and Intelligent Environments, Springer International Publishing, vol. 10908, pp. 583–590

Tscheu F, Buhalis D (eds) (2016) Augmented reality at cultural heritage sites. In: Proceedings of the international conference on information and communication technologies in tourism, Bilbao, Spain, Springer, Cham, February 2–5. pp. 607–619

Tussyadiah IP, Wang D, Jung TH, Tom Dieck MC (2018) Virtual reality, presence, and attitude change: empirical evidence from tourism. Tour Manag 66:140–154

Ülker P, Ülker M, Karamustafa K (2023) Bibliometric analysis of bibliometric studies in the field of tourism and hospitality. J Hosp Tour Insights 6(2):797–818

Um T, Jia J, Xiaorui T, Chung N (2021) Technology readiness as moderator for satisfaction and destination loyalty in augmented reality environments. Asia Pac J Inf Syst 31(2):220–235. https://doi.org/10.14329/apjis.2021.31.2.220

United Nations Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. https://sdgs.un.org/2030agenda

Van NTT, Vrana V, Duy NT, Minh DXH, Dzung PT, Mondal SR, Das S (2020) The role of human–machine interactive devices for post-COVID-19 innovative sustainable tourism in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Sustainability 12(22):9523. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12229523

Vitezic V, Car T, Simunic M (2015) Managing innovative technology in the hotel industry—response to growing consumer preferences. In: Jankovic S, Jurdana D (eds) Tourism in Southern and Eastern Europe, vol 3, pp. 467–478

Wang F, Liu Z, Shang S, Qin Y, Wu B (2019) Vitality continuation or over-commercialization? Spatial structure characteristics of commercial services and population agglomeration in historic and cultural areas. Tour Econ 25(8):1302–1326

Wang G, Wang H, Wang L (2023) Research trends in tourism and hospitality from 1991 to 2020: an integrated approach of corpus linguistics and bibliometrics. J Hosp Tour Insights 6(2):509–529

Wang Y, Lin Y-J, Lin B-S (2020) The factors that affect usage intentions and travel intentions of travel-related WeChat official accounts. Sustainability (Switzerland) 12(15). https://doi.org/10.3390/su12156108

Wei W (2019) Research progress on virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) in tourism and hospitality: a critical review of publications from 2000 to 2018. J Hosp Tour Technol 10(4):539–570

Winter PL, Selin S, Cerveny L, Bricker K (2020) Outdoor recreation, nature-based tourism, and sustainability. Sustainability 12(1):1. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12010081

Xie X, Zhang W (2021) Regulation mechanism of spatial capacity of tourist resources in scenic spots based on Internet of things technology. Complexity https://doi.org/10.1155/2021/3934894

Yalina N, Rozas IS (2020) Digital workplace: digital transformation for environmental sustainability. IOP Conf Ser: Earth Environ Sci 456(1):012022. https://doi.org/10.1088/1755-1315/456/1/012022

Yang J, Yang R, Chen M-H, Su C-HJ, Zhi Y, Xi J (2021) Effects of rural revitalization on rural tourism. J Hosp Tour Manag 47:35–45

Yin C, Jung T, Dieck M, Lee M (2021) Mobile augmented reality heritage applications: meeting the needs of heritage tourists. Sustainability 13(5). https://doi.org/10.3390/su13052523

Yovcheva Z, Buhalis D, Gatzidis C (2012) Smartphone augmented reality applications for tourism. E-Rev Tour Res 10(2):63–66

Yuce A, Arasli H, Ozturen A, Daskin M (2020) Feeling the service product closer: triggering visit intention via virtual reality. Sustainability 12(16). https://doi.org/10.3390/su12166632

Zhang C, Fyall A, Zheng Y (2015) Heritage and tourism conflict within world heritage sites in China: a longitudinal study. Current Issues Tour 18(2):110–136

Zhao J, Li S-M (2018) The impact of tourism development on the environment in China. Acta Sci Malays 2(1):1–4

MathSciNet   ADS   Google Scholar  

Zhong L, Sun S, Law R, Li X (2021) Tourism crisis management: evidence from COVID-19. Current Issues Tour 24(19):2671–2682. https://doi.org/10.1080/13683500.2021.1901866

Zhou C, Sotiriadis M (2021) Exploring and evaluating the Impact of ICTs on culture and tourism industries’ convergence: evidence from China. Sustainability 13(21). https://doi.org/10.3390/su132111769

Zubiaga M, Izkara J, Gandini A, Alonso I, Saralegui U (2019) Towards smarter management of overtourism in historic centres through visitor-flow monitoring. Sustainability 11(24). https://doi.org/10.3390/su11247254

Download references

Acknowledgements

This research is supported by the Universiti Malaya International Collaboration Grant, grant number ST013-2022.

Author information

Authors and affiliations.

Department of Decision Science, Universiti Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Chunyu Jiang & Seuk Wai Phoong

You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Seuk Wai Phoong .

Ethics declarations

Competing interests.

The authors declare no competing interests.

Ethical approval

This article does not contain any studies with human participants performed by any of the authors.

Informed consent

Additional information.

Publisher’s note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons license and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ .

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article.

Jiang, C., Phoong, S.W. A ten-year review analysis of the impact of digitization on tourism development (2012–2022). Humanit Soc Sci Commun 10 , 665 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-023-02150-7

Download citation

Received : 25 April 2023

Accepted : 11 September 2023

Published : 07 October 2023

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-023-02150-7

Share this article

Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content:

Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article.

Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative

Quick links

• Explore articles by subject
• Guide to authors
• Editorial policies

Everything about Hotels, Travel & Restaurants

Top 9 Most-Emerging Tourism Technology Trends In 2023

Prior to discussing the latest tourism technology trends in the travel industry in the running year; let?s start a natural conversation – Think about spending your one day – Without Technology and Equipment! It seems quite impossible. Doesn?t it? Right! We literally forget how to live without our mobile phones and gadgets. This statement remains unchanged even when we travel. Whenever we need to move from one place to another, the very first thing we do is ? take out our mobile phones and start scrolling the best options available for us. From direct bookings from airlines to hassle-free accommodation, we usually end up using the latest fintech innovation and other alternative payment methods, right?

Let?s peer into the future- take a look at some latest technology trends in the tourism industry that are emerging this year.

A-List Of 9 Tourism Technology Trends In Travel Industry For 2022

1.   travel apis.

There are many travel APIs available on which you can send and receive data of the destination properties that are listed on those connectivity APIs. No doubt, backed with data power, such travel APIs are the backbone of the travel and tourism industry. The modular design of these interfaces helps travellers to customise their booking journey with a lot of ease by managing room availability, accommodation booking, prices, and many more things in a few minutes.

2.   Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality

Interactive ads with engaging information are augmented reality experiences that are revolutionising the travel industry like never before. These AR and VR technologies and  travel tech trends have boundless potential in introducing more interactive elements in the search results of travellers? mobile phones. In the crux, virtual reality is a powerful marketing tool that offers virtual tours to satiate the wanderlust of travellers.

3.   IOT Things

Reap the rewards by delivering a safe, superior customer experience- Using the Internet of Things (IoT). The primary benefit to add IOTs here is- it leverages the travel industry by saving energy costs and delivering a better guest experience. Connected guest?s room appliances, wearable devices, wireless inventory trackers, biometric cyber security scanners, etc. are some examples of IoT things that we will use in 2022.

4.  Ultra-High-Speed WiFi

Now, coming up too ? the high-speed internet. The best wireless travel is what frequent travelers always wander for. A poor WiFi or internet service can lead to bad online reviews for the hospitality and travel industry. As travellers are leaner to search out a destination where they can enjoy a faster internet speed. Amazingly, tourism technology trends keep upgrading every year but the need for faster internet is going nowhere. It remains a hotshot requirement of all time.

5.   Voice Searches & Voice Control

With products like Google?s Home, Apple?s Siri, Amazon?s Echo, and Microsoft Cortana , voice recognition has become the next-gen travel trend to include in 2022. Imagine how high-quality, multi-lingual interactions offer a huge potential to convert random multi-culture visitors to liable guests of a property. That?s why marketers always pen down this while discussing the travel tourism technology trends.

Also Read : – What?s The Best Approach To Travel Automation?

6.   Big DATA

Although Big Data should lead the chart by offering endless information about the competitors and travelers to businesses. Hotels can pinpoint to spot the market gap between rival competitors and themselves. So that they can anticipate the future demand by optimizing the pricing strategies and doing the target marketing with a lot of precision. Travel companies that believe in the potential of technology trends in the tourism industry use cookies and other third-party technologies to collect technical data.  

7.   Cyber Security Practices

Now, where is DATA, then obviously, there must be high chances of facing vulnerability associated with it i.e. DATA Breaches. For decades, the hospitality and tourism industry have been remaining on the radar of intruders and cybercriminals. Hackers send fraudulent communications using tactics together with deceptive emails, websites links, telephones, and text messages to businesses and high-profile organisations. They can steal confidential personal data for instance login credentials, bank account details, credit card numbers, and other corporate information.

Hence, it?s better to be updated and upgraded with all the latest cyber security practises at all times.

8.   Robot Technology

Robots are one of those interesting technology trends in travel and hospitality industry that offer tourist attractions advantageously. No matter, if hotels and other tourism organisations use them as the receptionist and informational providers or in-room assistants. Robots provide 24/7 support in extremely swift response time. The hospitality and travel industries want to lead the way by offering a memorable trip to the tourists. They should add this quirky and futuristic technology to surprise their travellers.

9.   Contactless Payment Options

Amid the Covid-19 virus and its ever-changing variants coming these days, the demand for contactless payment options has been raised these days. A secure, fast, and hygienic manner accepting and processing credit card payments is getting popular day by day. Regarding the present global health situation, it is a must to go for an extremely convenient, fast, and secure payment method. So it?s better to delve into bespoken smartphone payment applications and end up adopting any of them.

It is excellent that new technology trends in the travel and hospitality industry offer sustainable business transformations like never before. It makes tourism businesses run smoothly and efficiently. If you want to upgrade your travel and hospitality business, then contact our technical assistant today! We at Shoocal are best known to deliver hospitality technologies to hotels, restaurants, and other travel businesses.

Copyright © 2022, Shoocal Ventures Private Limited. All Rights Reserved

Discover more from Shoocal

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Type your email…

Continue reading

• Meet The Dean
• Meet The Staff
• Meet The Faculty
• Dean’s Advisory Board
• Real Estate Advisory Council
• Parent Advisory Council
• Undergraduate Students
• Graduate Students
• Transfer Students
• Request Information
• Undergraduate Degrees
• Graduate Degrees
• Meet Our Alumni
• Connect With Us
• Check In Magazine
• Jobs & Internships
• Career Resources & Forms
• Required Work Experiences
• International Experiences
• Ways to Give
• Highlighted Funds
• Donor Impact
• Donor Roster
• Events Calendar
• Conferences & Industry Talks
• Innovation Competition
• Hospitality Leadership Summit
• Faculty Research Archives
• Faculty In The Press
• Current Students
• Prospective Students
• Faculty & Staff
• Service Learning Experiences
• Spring Break Experiences
• Student Life News

Technology Shaping the Future of the Hospitality Industry

Digital transformation and the leverage of technology play an important role in today’s hospitality industry, especially in the post-pandemic era. Facing the challenges of labor shortage, the rising cost of operation, and the changes in consumer needs and behaviors, hospitality businesses need to pivot their services and products with the latest technology in order to keep their competitive edge.

Whether it’s restaurants, hotels, tourism, or senior living services, staying informed of the industry trend and innovating with the help of technology are necessary to thrive.

What Is Hospitality Technology and Why Is It Important?

Hospitality technology is the application of information technology, such as robotics, big data, cloud computing, and virtual reality, with the goal to solve business problems for organizations in the hospitality field.

There are many benefits that technology can bring to the hospitality industry. For example, technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots can improve guest experience, mobile ordering can increase efficiency, and robots can lower staff workload and minimize costs.

In this article, we will introduce a myriad of technology solutions available to hospitality businesses with real-world examples of the implementation.

Latest Technologies Transforming the Hospitality Industry

Robotics has been pivotal to the hospitality industry and it will continue to play a critical role in shaping the future. Service robots such as robot greeters, housekeeping robots, and cooking robots have become more and more common in restaurants and hotels. Robots are making services smoother and faster while lowering the cost of operation.

However, there are also concerns about robotics being the culprit of the decrease in employment opportunities. Facing this concern, the president of SDS Ventures, Sanjeev Shetty , pointed out that robots relieve human employees from dull and repetitive work.

“The human element, the person-centered element of our business which is hospitality, will never go away with robots or AI,” Sanjeev explained. Instead, robots help us create a happier work environment with higher efficiency and enable us to allocate more time to connect with customers.

Artificial Intelligence

Artificial Intelligence (AI) refers to the simulation of human intelligence in computers, machines, or systems. It empowers machines to process information and perform tasks by collecting data and learning patterns.

Today’s customers expect timely interactions, personalized services, and seamless processes. To address this emerging demand, AI and machine learning can transform the way we serve customers. For example, AI chatbots enable businesses to communicate with customers 24/7 without any language barrier; computer systems can predict and optimize room occupancy based on data; omnichannel customer services can highly personalize guest experiences through an integrated network.

Video Analytics and Virtual Reality

The adoption of video analytics is also growing in the hospitality industry. In a nutshell, video analytics can process digital videos and analyze movement patterns, track objects and motions, and detect spatial events in real time. Related to video analytics, virtual reality is a technology that can create a simulated environment.

In the hospitality industry, video technologies have been utilized in many areas including security,  virtual booking, and virtual travel experience. Users may even meet and interact with others as if they are in the same room through VR.

Mobile Ordering and Point of Sale (POS) System

Since the COVID-19 pandemic greatly disrupted traditional on-premise dining, online orders and mobile pick-ups have become a norm and will only grow faster in the coming years. According to the NPD group , full-service restaurant digital orders jump by 237% in 2021 and the majority of digital orders come from mobile apps.

Mobile ordering systems like Toast transform the ordering process into a seamless experience for guests and vendors. Instead of waiting in long lines, guests simply scan QR codes to read the menu and place orders right at their fingertips. Restaurants are also able to combat the labor crisis and get more incoming orders even with less staff.

In addition to mobile ordering, Point of Sale (POS) systems are also one of the top technologies to leverage in hospitality. POS systems turn mobile devices into cashiers. Whether it’s dining in, curbside pick-up, or online orders, POS enables seamless, fast, and safe transactions that customers seek nowadays.

Examples of Brands Leveraging Technology and Digital Transformation

Boston University School of Hospitality Administration invites industry leaders to share their experiences at the annual Hospitality Leadership Summit . Focusing on the future of hospitality technology and digital transformation, our speakers, Sanjeev Shetty, President of SDS Ventures, and Daniel Iannucci , SHA’12, a Mid-Market Sales Leader at Toast, give us two examples of the impact of technology.

Robotics and AI in Senior Living: Hello Guard and Temi Robots

At the Leadership Summit, Sanjeev Shetty presents how robotics, AI, and video analytics can redefine the future of hospitality, especially in the senior living sector. He introduces Hello Guard and Temi robots.

Hello Guard is a cloud-based workflow solution that solves labor shortages and staff burnout with the ability to perform real-time data communication. Temi is the world’s first personal assistant robotics platform designed to adapt to any setting to address various operational workflow challenges.

These two technology solutions started off in the senior living sector to address the existing void in the labor market. “Employers were grappling, trying to get staff and employees were leaving.” Sanjeev describes. “The great resignation is real and many of the staff are never going to come back to the workplace. “

Another issue that Hello Guard is trying to solve is the need for real-time data. “We have all these data silos but I can’t just ask using voice—what is my occupancy today, what kind of staffing level do I need, how much time is a caregiver spending with the resident? I need that data at my fingertips and I had no way to get that so that’s how Hello Guard was born.”

Temi robots are virtual assistants that can perform tasks such as screening, hands-free temperature capture, automated building sanitation, and virtual engagement with family members. Temi robots also address the need for telehealth and remote patient monitoring technology.

Although Temi was invented for senior living, it started to be used in many other hospitality verticals such as retail, hotels, and restaurants. For example, Temi robots can act as front desk agents at hotels, as tour guides for room showings, or as shopping assistants at malls.

Digital Ordering Systems for Restaurants: Toast & The Melting Pot

BU School of Hospitality Administration’s alumnus, Daniel Iannucci, who is now a Mid-Market Sales Leader at Toast, shares how restaurants can leverage digital ordering systems with an example of The Melting Pot.

The Melting Pot is a premier fondue restaurant franchise that historically had been dine-in-only for over 40 years. Daniel describes that when you think of Melting Pot, you think of going to anniversaries, Valentine’s Day, and graduation parties and it’s an experience you have together with friends as a group.

However, when COVID-19 happened and indoor dining was closed, the dine-in-only model had a shock and Melting Pot had to pivot very quickly. The Melting Pot team predicted that customers would have to stay home in the foreseeable future and the team had to adopt digital orders and take-out in order to generate revenue amidst the pandemic.

Toast’s online ordering system and POS helped Melting Pot launch its takeout business model “The Melting Pot To-Go”. For the first time in 40 years, customers can order online and enjoy the premium fondue experience at home. Today, while Melting Pot continues to serve as the experiential destination as indoor dining revives in the post-pandemic world, the to-go online order system is here to stay and Melting Pot plans to expand by leveraging more restaurant technologies.

How Can Hospitality Businesses Implement Successful Digital Transformation?

“Successful digital transformation is the process of using digital technology to create new or modify existing business processes, culture, and customer experiences to meet the changing business and market requirements” Daniel Iannucci explains.

To do this right hospitality businesses need to focus on four key areas:

• Understanding guest behavior: Identify and analyze the patterns and changes in guest behaviors and needs.
• Clear and measurable strategy: The transformation must tie to a specific business goal that is measurable.
• Strong change management: Develop a clear change road map and engage staff in the change process.
• Technical capability: Make sure the technology is implementable and equip staff with the necessary technical skills to use the new technology.

Learn More about the Future of Hospitality Technologies with Boston University SHA

Watch our 2022 Hospitality Leadership Summit and register for our 2023 Leadership Summit to learn from more industry experts. Boston University School of Hospitality Administration (SHA) also offers a Master of Management in Hospitality and a Master of Science in Hospitality Management to support your career and innovation.

Explore BU SHA’s graduate programs today!

View all posts

app.global.browsehappy.title

app.global.browsehappy.content

Google Chrome

Mozilla Firefox

Microsoft Edge

Internet Explorer

The New Technology and Travel Revolution

Millennials have also played a significant role in this paradigm shift. They love to travel and are also passionate about new technology. This combined interested has given way to a new context where social media, apps, blogs, and so more have an important part to play when it’s time to play a trip. By that same token, the industry, as it becomes increasingly aware of this trend, has followed suit by adapting its business model and product offering to attract this coveted target. 

Who hasn’t gone somewhere just because Ryanair was offering round-trip tickets for 30 euros? If we merely feel like going somewhere, we go online and look for what the budget airlines are providing, we see what destination will be the cheapest, and voilà, let's go! This scenario, so ubiquitous today, was unthinkable some years ago.

Trends and updates in travel and tech 

As we mentioned in our tourism trends report , the industry is in the midst of a deep metamorphosis. There are many mitigating factors but the new technological solutions coming about are some of the main actors. 

Eurecat Tourism Innovation Department Director Salvador Anton Clavé commented during the Forum TurisTIC de Barcelona event that “the change goes beyond improving processes or the tourist experience; it entails transforming the tourism system itself.” We’re participating in making improvements to processes, customer service, relationships with customers, and the creation of new business models. All this naturally leads to benefits for the traveler, letting them simplify, and often enrich, the travel planning process.  

Booking.com Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer Arjan Dijk recently echoed similar sentiments and stated that “in this new decade, we’ll see how the travel industry tries to respond to the needs of a type of a traveler more concerned with sustainability, and with more tech knowledge or curiosity, through developing products, functions, and services make discovering the world easier for all.”

Next, we’ll take a look at some of the technological advances currently leaving their mark on the industry and will, according to various studies, bring significant short-term changes to the sector. 

The seven most important tech solutions for the tourism industry 

1. mobile technology.

This is undoubtedly the main character in the new ways of travel. The cell phone has become our tour guide, travel agency, best restaurant locator, map, and more. It's by our side during the entire purchase journey. In fact, according to TripAdvisor, 45% of users use their smartphone for everything having to do with their vacations.

This is why there’s a need to adapt corporate services and communications to these devices. KLM, for example, has already created an information service for passengers using Facebook Messenger. 

This system, once someone has made a reservation, sends the user information regarding their ticket through Facebook Messenger as well as their boarding pass or updates about the status of their flight. This way, the user has all the pertinent information about their trip in the palm of their hand using an app that they already use , eliminating the need to download anything else.

2. Augmented Reality

Augmented reality (AR) or virtual reality (VR) have also entered the travel world, and the truth is that it’s a trend due to all the possibilities they can offer . More and more companies use it to show users a cabin on a cruise ship or transport them, for a few seconds, to the Great Wall of China. 

Today, it’s possible to “teleport” ourselves to the most remote corners of the globe without getting off the couch . That’s what you can get using Everest’s EVEREST VR app, which lets you see the top of the world without having to climb to the top. Or, if you would prefer, you can cross the Grand Canyon in a kayak enjoying the landmark’s sights and sounds. 

3. Internet of Things (IoT)

The Internet of Things (IoT) promises to bring significant updates to the tourism industry. They include integrating sensors connected to the Internet inside items like cars, suitcases, buildings, and more.  

In fact, Spain’s Hotel Technology Institute (Instituto Tecnológico Hotelero, or ITH) affirmed that the Internet of Things “is going to be the major transformative factor in the personalization of the customer experience over the next few years.” 

Some Virgin Hotel properties offer an app to their clients that lets them interact with the room’s thermostat or control the television in the room. There are also suitcases that have devices that allow users to use their cell phones to follow where their suitcase is at any time to avoid lost baggage at the airport or other public places.

4. Virtual Assistants

We’re all familiar with Siri and Alexa, the virtual assistants that meet all our needs: what’s the weather like today in my city, turn the radio on, open my email, and more. 

Hotels are now starting to enlist this “help” thanks to the arrival of virtual assistants that are specifically designed for this environment. IBM recently launched Watson Assistant, an AI-powered virtual assistant that creates an interactive and personalized experience for consumers.

This is the open technology that firms can employ and adapt to their needs . This way, the virtual assistant won't be called Watson but instead, have the name that the hotel chooses.

5. Big Data

There has been a lot of recent talk about Big Data, but they have yet to show all the opportunities it offers for the travel industry. Nonetheless, many industry players are already using it .

The Meliá hotel chain uses information about their guests to figure out what is the best target for marketing campaigns. Primarily, they examine their database to look at the amount spent, the reason for the trip, the country of origin and cross-checks this information with public data from government sources to develop the most appropriate customer profile and achieve a higher success rate. This way, they make a better segmentation for their campaigns to increase their efficacy and optimize the investment required for these campaigns.

6. Blockchain

Blockchain is a technology poised to transform the world as we know it. Although it’s mainly associated with finance, it also appears that it can impact travel. 

While there has not been that much experimentation with it, it is possible that it will be useful in identifying passengers at the airport, guaranteeing transparency in tourists' opinions, and easy and secure payments.

Travel technology becomes all the more powerful with help from 5G networks. They promise much faster loading and downloading speeds, wider coverage, and more stable connections. Beyond downloading content 20 times faster than before, 5G allows us to develop and deploy technology that 4G limited us. That means the connection between smart devices will be more efficient and we’ll be able to start to truly enjoy the Internet of Things (IoT). 

Immersive tourism, where technology turns travelers into the experience’s protagonist, will be a reality. Plus, augmented reality (AR) or 360° video will be more ubiquitous and accessible.

The BBC ran a test project that used 5G and an AR application at the Roman Baths in Bath, England where users could go back in time to reconstructions of the site in key moments throughout history. This video shows the pilot testing, which saw that over 80% of participants reporting they would be more willing to visit a museum if it had experiences of that caliber:

My personal experience: The techiest Eurotrip

I confess that I am one of those travelers that value the comfort that comes with mobile technology; above all in those “non-stop trips.” That’s why I want to share my experience in how technology has influenced my latest trip to Budapest, Vienna, and Krakow.  

Planning: Online reservations

While planning my trip, I made all the hotel reservations online. I've been doing this for years, but this time I found myself with a different surprise: they gave me the option of downloading a free guide about every city I was going to visit . I like to look for more information about the cities I'm going too, but I also recognize that this is an Inbound tactic that motivates people to reserve using that web portal again the future.

All these reservations, for both flights and hotels, stayed inside my inbox avoiding me having to print everything out and then worry about losing anything.

On the road: My cellphone, the best co-pilot

Traveling with a Smartphone and mobile data (thanks to the end of roaming in Europe) has been a revelation. It reminded me of all my journeys and reservations; it was there to guide me when I got lost (more than I could count) in a city, to keep me busy on long travels, or to help me find out interesting facts about the places I was visiting.

Post-Trip: sharing is living

When I come back from a trip, I always like to review the hotels, restaurants, and activities I’ve been in and done to share with others my experience and help them on their upcoming trip. I am a fan of the Internet philosophy: collaborating and sharing knowledge so everyone can find them. I did it all comfortably with my phone and on the couch at home.

The travel industry is one where interaction with the consumer is becoming more critical, and the technological advances are letting corporations get closer and know their customers a bit better.

Steve Jobs said: "technology is nothing. What's important is that you have a faith in people, that they're basically good and smart, and if you give them tools, they'll do wonderful things with them.”

We have the tools. Now the question is: what are we going to do with them?

Subscribe to our newsletter and stay up to date with the latest digital trends.

Nov 15, 2021

The Importance of Web Analytics to Measure Digital Marketing Results

Sep 23, 2021

What Should a Digital Marketing Report Contain?

Jul 08, 2021

The keys to an intelligent and practical data visualization framework, plus the tools you need to succeed

Immersive technologies for tourism: a systematic review

• Open access
• Published: 22 June 2022
• Volume 24 , pages 181–219, ( 2022 )

Cite this article

You have full access to this open access article

• Eko Harry Pratisto   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-8576-8980 1 , 2 ,
• Nik Thompson   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-0783-1371 1 &
• Vidyasagar Potdar   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-7292-5462 1  

11k Accesses

23 Citations

1 Altmetric

Explore all metrics

This review provides a comprehensive view of immersive technology in tourism by critically analysing prior scholarly work. More specifically, it identifies the recent use of immersive technology in this field and the potential challenges it poses. This systematic review follows PRISMA guidelines and involves four key steps—identifying research questions, defining keywords, selecting studies based on inclusion and exclusion criteria, and synthesising results. It focuses on immersive technology in tourism-related peer-reviewed journal articles published from 2012 to 2020. The papers were selected from ten prominent journal databases. Some databases used combinations of search queries but with inclusion and exclusion criteria. This systematic review builds on the existing reviews by adding knowledge regarding state-of-the-art immersive technology usage in tourism and its integration with other technology. This review additionally identifies the potential challenges of implementing immersive technology in tourism. Finally, it presents a set of directions for future research in this space. In practice, the findings from this review can make both software developers and tourism providers aware of the potential of immersive technology in tourism. Software developers might consider appropriate designs that suit such usage, and tourism providers might consider using immersive technology to promote tourism destinations and provide a support system to maximise the benefits of immersive technology.

Similar content being viewed by others

Impact of Artificial Intelligence in Travel, Tourism, and Hospitality

Smart tourism: foundations and developments.

Ulrike Gretzel, Marianna Sigala, … Chulmo Koo

Artificial intelligence powered Metaverse: analysis, challenges and future perspectives

Mona M. Soliman, Eman Ahmed, … Aboul Ella Hassanien

Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.

1 Introduction

Tourism represents a product of modern, complex society (Walton 2018 ) and is traditionally defined as people travelling to a destination outside of their usual home and work environments for leisure (United Nations World Tourism Organization 2019 ). The tourism industry has been deeply affected by rapid technological change (tom Dieck et al. 2018c ), which has been felt even before the restrictions on personal movement caused by the global COVID-19 pandemic. Technology can offer new experiences in a simulated environment (e.g. immersive technology) without requiring physical travel. Immersive technology thus provides a suitable environment for tourism promotion, experience enhancement, or education (Guttentag 2010 ; Bekele et al. 2018 ). Advances in foundational technology now blur the boundary between the real world and the virtual environment by giving users an experience with a sense of immersion (Lee et al. 2013a , b). From this perspective, immersive technology enables tourism stakeholders to enhance tourists’ satisfaction since consumers can choose and modify such an experience to a degree that was once considered impossible (Williams and Hobson 1995 ).

Immersive technology concepts can be considered on a reality-virtuality continuum (see Fig.  1 ): at the former end is a real environment, and at the latter end is a computer-generated virtual environment. Within that spectrum are two concepts—augmented reality (AR) and augmented virtuality (AV), which fall under the umbrella terminology of mixed reality (MR). In addition, there is virtual reality (VR), which is a fully virtual environment.

Reality–virtuality continuum (Milgram et al. 1995 )

In the context of this study, immersive technology blurs the boundary between the real physical world and the virtual world, letting users experience a sense of immersion (Slater and Wilbur 1997 ). Referring to the reality–virtuality continuum, as the direction from the physical world point moves toward the virtual environment end, the technology delivers more virtual elements on the device’s screen. This means that the number of virtual objects seen by users increase, whereas the number of physical objects they see decreases. Most notably, immersive technology includes AR and VR. Whereas AR can overlay the view of the user’s current environment with digital objects (Azuma 1997 ), VR can create a virtual environment that the user can seamlessly interact with in real time (Guttentag 2010 ). Both AR and VR can increase the quality of visitors’ experience of a destination (Yung and Khoo-Lattimore 2019 ).

The VR industry is proliferating, with a projected increase in market size from 6.2 billion US dollars in 2019 to more than 16 billion US dollars in 2022 (Alsop 2020 ). This is in stark contrast with the tourism industry. The United Nations World Tourism Organization ( 2019 ) reported approximately 180 million fewer international arrivals between January and March 2021 than in the first quarter of 2020. Expressly, the number of international tourist arrivals worldwide in 2020 declined by 73% compared to 2019, and by another 83% in 2021 compared to 2020. Immersive technology is still viable even though the tourism industry in many regions was put on hold in 2020 due to COVID-19 travel restrictions. For example, in Australia, the number of visitor arrivals declined in February 2020 when the Australian Government first introduced travel restrictions. International arrivals fell 99.6% compared to the previous year (Tourism Australia 2020 ). As the global pandemic continues, a higher potential exists for immersive technology to become a viable alternative to travelling.

Immersive technology has been adopted and implemented in various tourism areas. The technology provides a surrogate experience that can be used to convince potential visitors to travel to a tourism destination (Chung et al. 2018 ; Flavián et al. 2019 ; Lee et al. 2019 ; Kim et al. 2020 ). The benefit usage of immersive technology includes navigation systems (Balduini et al. 2014 ; Sommerauer and Müller 2014 ), tourism promotion (Lacka 2020 ; Li and Chen 2019 ; Kim et al. 2020 ), and enhanced user experiences during visitation (Puig et al. 2020 ; Errichiello et al. 2019 ; Rodrigues et al. 2019 ).

Researchers such as Baker et al. ( 2017 ), Beck et al. ( 2019 ), Wei ( 2019 ); and Yung and Khoo-Lattimore ( 2019 ) have conducted reviews on AR and VR in tourism. Wei ( 2019 ) located major key dimensions of user behaviour in prior AR and VR-related studies using a framework representing stimuli, decisions and consequences cause-and-effect relationships. The author also discussed the development of theory and methodology within AR and VR in tourism research. In addition, Yung and Khoo-Lattimore ( 2019 ) reviewed AR and VR usage in the tourism sub-sectors of marketing, education, and tourism experience enhancement. These reviews are valuable for understanding immersive technology adoption in tourism concerning their specific areas of interest. However, questions remain regarding the extent of immersive technology usage in tourism and its potential challenges. Identifying and mapping the recent immersive technology development in tourism will help researchers identify the technology usage trends and determine the important areas for further investigation.

To explore this timely area of technological development and research, we present in this article a systematic review of the current state of research into immersive technology use in tourism. Therefore, this review aims to build knowledge on what has been investigated about immersive technology in tourism from existing literature. Additionally, this review includes suggestions for future research. The systematic review is achieved through the following objectives: (1) extract related existing literature from databases from a specified period, (2) select the literature based on inclusion criteria, (3) synthesise the selected literature to answer the research questions, and (4) identify research gaps for future research recommendations.

2 Existing reviews

This review identified four prior review articles (see Table 1 ). One AR-related review (Baker et al. 2017 ) focused on mobile AR for hard-of-hearing visitors. Beck et al. ( 2019 ) focused on VR, classifying it based on the immersive level. Two reviews (Yung and Khoo-Lattimore 2019 ; Wei 2019 ) addressed how both AR and VR are used in the tourism context in general. This section discusses each of the previous reviews’ scope to highlight their differences.

All the existing reviews had similar methodologies, including searching for articles in selected databases, screening the articles using inclusion and exclusion criteria, and reporting findings. ScienceDirect was the most used database in three reviews (Baker et al. 2017 ; Beck et al. 2019 ; Wei 2019 ), followed by Emerald and EBSCOhost. The studies by Wei ( 2019 ) and Yung and Khoo-Lattimore ( 2019 ) only included peer-reviewed journal articles, in contrast with Beck et al. ( 2019 ), who also included peer-reviewed conference papers. Baker et al. ( 2017 ) did not state which type of articles were included.

The existing reviews revealed interesting findings regarding immersive technology implementation in tourism. For example, Baker et al. ( 2017 ) identified 11 major elements required to provide a mobile AR system for hard-of-hearing visitors. Those elements might be useful to ensure that the targeted user receives the correct information from the AR system. Two other studies were concerned with the terminology surrounding the technology. Yung and Khoo-Lattimore ( 2019 ) highlighted AR and VR-related terminology issues: several terms (virtual environment, VR and virtual world) were used inconsistently.

Similarly, Beck et al. ( 2019 ) focused on VR classification, including non-immersive, semi-immersive, and fully immersive VR in tourism. The authors argued that VR should deliver high-quality images to help users avoid motion sickness and encourage them to visit the destination in real life. Wei ( 2019 ) examined AR and VR research development in hospitality and tourism. The author identified major dimensions and classified them using the stimuli–dimension–consequence framework.

Some suggestions for future research can be derived from the existing reviews. A study is needed that focuses on technical aspects such as content, design, interactivity (Beck et al. 2019 ) and cross-cultural approaches (Wei 2019 ) to understand how users perceptions of immersive technology might vary. A comparison study could also examine the usage of immersive technology such as AR, VR and MR in tourism. Finally, Yung and Khoo-Lattimore ( 2019 ) suggested that future research identify the impact of having AR or VR booths in travel agencies and information centres and the possible applications of VR images or videos produced from 360° cameras.

Based on the existing reviews’ scopes, we identified the distinct new contributions made in our work. First, this review complements the findings on VR and AR presented by Wei ( 2019 ) and Yung and Khoo-Lattimore ( 2019 ) and the use of this technology in tourism sectors, including VR with 360° technology. Second, this study covers all immersive technology applications in tourism research rather than focusing only on AR (Baker et al. 2017 ) or VR (Beck et al. 2019 ). Finally, this review considers the characteristics of immersive technology, its integration with other technology and potential challenges.

3 Methodology

This study utilises a systematic literature review to answer three research questions related to immersive technology in tourism by summarising research findings to obtain a comprehensive view of the state-of-the-art use of immersive technology and identify potential issues for future research. This section details the systematic literature review process by implementing a guideline proposed by Okoli ( 2015 ).

3.1 Identifying the research questions

In the previous section, we distinguished this review’s contribution from that of previous review articles. This review focuses on state-of-the-art immersive technology in tourism to answer several research questions. We followed the PICO framework (Pollock and Berge 2018 ) to develop research questions based on the aim of this review. The research questions are as follows:

Research question 1 (RQ1) : What characteristics of immersive technology are used in tourism research?

Research question 2 (RQ2) : To what extent does immersive technology play a role in the tourism visiting experience?

Research question 3 (RQ3): What are the potential challenges of developing immersive technology for the tourism domain?

3.2 Defining search keywords

Given the objective of this study, keywords needed to be defined to obtain relevant articles from databases. Our article search strategy included all published articles related to AR, VR, and MR since those terms are within the domain of immersive technology. The keywords ‘augmented reality’, ‘virtual reality’, ‘mixed reality’, ‘360 video’, ‘360 panoramic’, and ‘360 degree’ were included since these are present in many VR-related studies. The query also included the keywords ‘tourist’, ‘tourism’, and ‘visitor’ to keep the focus on tourism. The searching technique consisted of combined keywords and Boolean operators such as ‘AND’ and ‘OR’ to narrow the results. We included articles published from 2012 until 2020 to obtain an insight into the use of state-of-the-art immersive technology in tourism. We also only included articles published in peer-reviewed journals in English. Articles from proceedings, conferences, magazines, and books were excluded from this review. The search query was then executed on the following ten electronic databases: ACM Digital Library, EBSCOhost, Emerald Insight, IEEE Xplore, ProQuest, SAGE, ScienceDirect, Taylor and Francis, Web of Science and Scopus, considering the boundaries of the various definitions of immersive technology, time range, keywords, and type of articles. We used ten databases to ensure that we did not miss any relevant articles. Emerald Insight, Web of Science, and Scopus use a slightly different syntax, meaning we changed the search query slightly to suit their characteristics. The search query we developed to guide the literature search is outlined in Table 2 . The search query was applied to titles, abstracts and keywords in selected databases.

3.3 Study selection

As part of the study selection stage, inclusion and exclusion criteria were defined to produce relevant articles to the research questions. This review excluded inappropriate terms, such as ‘non-immersive VR’, often applied during the article evaluation process. For example, we only included articles using applications with a first-person perspective. Articles using applications with a third-person perspective, such as Second Life (Linden Research 2019 ), were excluded. Articles discussing VR technology and covering almost all of the user’s range of vision through, for example, image or video projection on the surrounding walls (Ghadban et al. 2013 ) were included in this study.

Regarding the VR content, 360° images and video are common types of content found in the selected articles. Such content is preferable for promoting tourism destinations because it gives the potential tourist a view of the prospective destination most like real life. The computer-generated virtual environment might be suitable for reconstructing a specific situation or learning context.

Table 3 details a full list of inclusion and exclusion criteria for the screening process of the selected articles. The search query generated 1017 articles from the ten databases (see Table 4 ).

All articles identified in the search result were imported to the Endnote X9 bibliographic database (Clarivative Analytics 2019 ). The screening process followed the Preferred Reporting of Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) flow diagram (Moher et al. 2009 ), as illustrated in Fig.  2 . The articles were then subject to the three-level screening process.

Article selection based on the PRISMA flow diagram

The first level filtered studies to eliminate any (1) duplication, (2) anonymous studies, and (3) studies not published in a peer-reviewed journal as an original article. This reduced the number of articles from 1017 to 587.

In the second level, the titles and abstracts were sorted through to elucidate studies discussing AR, VR or MR in tourism. During this stage, 260 articles were deemed relevant to our study and then needed to be identified and assessed by reading the full text.

The third screening level involved full-text review to ensure that each article met the criteria, as listed in Table 3 . This synthesis resulted in 88 relevant articles. The information from these articles was extracted and coded in Microsoft Excel before being reviewed and examined iteratively.

4 Results and discussion

This study aimed to illuminate some exciting aspects of immersive technology in tourism research. Immersive technology offers enormous potential in this domain. Given the specified inclusion and exclusion criteria, 88 peer-reviewed articles (see Appendix) published over the last nine years were relevant to this research topic. This review categorises the immersive technology from the selected articles into AR and VR based on the technology’s characteristics. Referring to Fig.  1 , the technology used in several studies (Kasinathan et al. 2017 ; Nisi et al. 2018 ; Raptis et al. 2018 ; Hammady et al. 2020 ) might qualify as AR despite being referred to as MR. As seen in Fig.  3 , AR has been a common immersive technology used in tourism research. In 2018, 15 articles on tourism research using AR were published, the highest number of articles to be published in the field in one year. In 2019, the number of articles on VR usage in tourism research peaked with ten articles published.

Article published distribution over time

Table 5 shows the nature of the study in each of the selected articles. Design research and qualitative studies were dominant at 40.9%. A quantitative method, proceeded by experiences in immersive technology, was the most common data collection approach to capture participants’ experiences with and perceptions of the technology. The remaining articles were qualitative (8.0%), conceptual (5.7%) and mixed method (4.5%).

Table 6 focuses on the research locations of 47 empirical studies. Most research on immersive technology in tourism during the time defined in this study took place in Taiwan (14.9%), followed by the United Kingdom (12.8%) and the United States (10.6%). Four out of 47 empirical studies compared immersive technology usage in more than one country.

Most of the articles listed in Appendix focused on tourism destinations and attractions, with few articles on immersive technology usage in tourism support such as hotel (Bogicevic et al. 2019 ; Israel et al. 2019 ; Zeng et al. 2020 ) and cruise ship (Yung et al. 2019 ) promotions. Some other tourism sectors, such as travel agencies (Bush 2022 ) and airlines (Emirates 2022 ), have been using VR to promote their products, but we did not find any articles within the selected literatures. A possible explanation is that some tourism sectors see the value of immersive technology, such as VR, as showing destination or location instead of the journey to the destination. Otherwise, there is still little or no research covering immersive technology usage in those tourism sectors.

We subjected the selected articles to the review process to better understand immersive technology in tourism and discover potential future research. The following sections elaborate on the selected articles' findings to answer the proposed research questions.

4.1 The current state of immersive technology usage in tourism research (RQ1: What characteristics of immersive technology are used in tourism research?)

4.1.1 augmented reality features in tourism research.

Table 7 shows all the devices used in the selected AR-related articles. Mobile devices (smartphone or tablet PC) were the most common device used (76.3%). This is not surprising given that mobile devices are convenient to carry during travel and inexpensive compared to the other AR devices such as Microsoft HoloLens, Google Glass, or Meta One glasses.

AR combines a virtual object with the real environment in real time. The user can interact with the virtual object that blends the real world in three-dimensional perspectives (Azuma 1997 ). An AR system works in the presence of a trigger, which is a stimulus that initiates it to begin the virtual object augmentation on the device screen (Edwards-Stewart et al. 2016 ). Triggers can be a QR code printed on paper, an image, a real object, or a device location. Location-based AR was dominant in 37.3% of studies (see Table 8 ), while a trigger using a camera sensor, either markerless or marker-based, was present in 18.6% and 13.6% of studies, respectively. Four studies (6.8%) used AR with camera and location sensors as the trigger.

Some studies have built on the AR system’s capability to improve the user’s experience while exploring a location or object. Object recognition (markerless or marker-based) with geolocation feature addition is one example. The combined use of object recognition and geolocation provides spatial information for tour route decisions (Chu et al. 2012 ), improves the AR system’s accuracy, and makes it easier for the user to correctly recognise the object or place of interest and use that information in the future (Santos et al. 2017 ). Location-based AR uses a global positioning system (GPS) or beacon as the trigger. However, a beacon is preferable for indoor situations because building structures might block the signal used by GPS (Neumann et al. 1999 ). The combined AR trigger helps users explore a particular cultural site (Nisi et al. 2018 ; Gimeno et al. 2017 ) or city (Han et al. 2018 ; tom Dieck and Jung 2018 ).

The AR system’s integration with other technology is another option to enhance the user’s experience. This is more adaptive than a basic AR system and brings more relevant information to match users’ profiles and interests. Other people’s opinions also influence decision-making. For example, a person can obtain information from social media platforms such as Twitter about a tourism destination based on someone else’s opinion (Balduini et al. 2012 , 2014 ). Social media might influence a person’s interest in visiting a tourism destination.

Several of the selected articles adopted cloud technology in the AR system. García-Crespo et al. ( 2016 ) proposed a framework for cultural entertainment centred on a smart city with AR that employs cloud-based technology. Moreover, two studies used cloud computing for media storage (Lee et al. 2017 ) and speech-based query processing (Lin and Chen 2017 ). Rodrigues et al. ( 2019 ) used an AR system that provides experiences through the five basic human senses. While the AR system delivers visual and audio representing two senses (sight and sound), the attached physical mobile device stimulates other senses: touch, smell and taste. It allows the user to have an immersive five-sense experience during object observation.

Spatial marking offers a different immersive level in AR. Four studies employed Microsoft HoloLens (Raptis et al. 2018 ; Hammady et al. 2020 ) and Meta One glasses (Pedersen et al. 2017 ; Oh et al. 2018 ). These devices take the immersion of AR a step further by overlaying digital objects without a trigger. Instead, the devices track through the user’s environment and anchor the digital object to the real environment on display. Little research exists in the tourism area regarding using these devices, and there are many related academic research opportunities.

4.1.2 Virtual reality features in tourism research

VR typically immerses the user in a computer-produced or alternative environment. The VR experience becomes realistic as the virtual environment blocks the user’s real-world view. Users immerse themselves in the experience and have a sense of belief that they appear in the alternate world through the help of devices such as head-mounted devices (HMDs) or ‘cave’-like rooms (Hobson and Williams 1995 ; Ghadban et al. 2013 ). An HMD unit is a device worn on the head, covering both eyes. HMDs can be low-cost and use a smartphone to show the virtual environment or more advanced, such as the Oculus Rift or HTC Vive. Alternatively, the user can experience VR in a room with a virtual environment projected onto all walls. When VR uses space in this way, it is called cave automatic virtual environment (CAVE).

As illustrated in Table 9 , HMDs were the most popular devices (66.7%) in the reviewed articles. HMD is ideal for experiencing VR since the user’s view of the real-world is blocked entirely and replaced by a virtual environment. In some of the selected articles, VR was used to restore objects and the environment by generating a virtual environment to simulate a specific situation in the past (Kersten et al. 2018 ; Errichiello et al. 2019 ; Ghadban et al. 2013 ), for marketing (Lin et al. 2020 ), and for additional entertainment during visitation (Puig et al. 2020 ). Interestingly, more than half of the selected VR-related articles used VR with 360 O technology content (see Table 10 ). Although this meets VR’s characteristic of immersing the user in another world, it is not a computer-generated environment, and no user interactivity is involved. Instead of interacting with the virtual object, the user can only view the surrounding environment from a defined specific point of view. The 360° technology is a new form of photography and filmmaking recorded with a special camera. However, this has been widely known by most people as VR, due to the large amount of such content on YouTube and Facebook. Nonetheless, the 360° VR content might benefit market tourism destinations by simulating the real environment of a location. Hence, significant potential use of VR remains in certain aspects of tourism, such as planning and management, marketing, entertainment, education, accessibility, and heritage preservation (Guttentag 2010 ).

4.2 Immersive technology applications within the tourism area (RQ2: To what extent does immersive technology play a role in the tourism visiting experience?)

Immersive technology offers academic and tourism stakeholders numerous opportunities in many tourism areas (see Fig.  4 ). Immersive technology usage has potential to improve tourism by increasing the number of visitors. It is also expected to increase awareness of lesser-known tourism destinations. This might be relevant because people are currently not travelling as much as before the global pandemic, and they might be interested in learning of new places. In this review, the tourism areas found in AR-related studies included AR for tour guidance, navigation, education, marketing, heritage preservation, entertainment, and accessibility. Previous studies also used VR for marketing and heritage preservation. The following section details the findings of each of the categories.

Immersive technology usage in tourism areas

4.2.1 Immersive technology as a marketing tool

4.2.1.1 augmented reality.

Marketing is one of the tourism areas where immersive technology was implemented in the selected articles. The technology can serve as a promotional tool or facilitate research focusing on users’ intentions to visit the tourism destination. This review identified four studies that used AR as a promotional tool. Jung et al. ( 2015 ) observed the impact of marker-based AR system quality on the intention of visitors to Jeju Island to recommend others to use the AR system. They argued that the quality of the AR that covers the information content, system quality and service quality positively influences the user’s satisfaction, leading to the intention to recommend the AR system. This view is supported by Chung et al. ( 2015 ), who stated that the visual appeal of the AR system, with the support of adequate technical support, influences the user to use AR and visit the tourism destination. Other studies focused on how AR features promote tourism destinations, such as Lin and Chen ( 2017 ). They found that users engage more with the AR system if they feel that the videos of attractions that they post online can help other users. The next challenge is how the tourism provider persuades visitors to revisit the tourism destination. Lee et al. ( 2017 ) explored how mobile AR can increase tourists’ motivation to revisit a destination by exploring the post-travel experience using the entrance ticket as a scannable souvenir through the AR system.

4.2.1.2 Virtual reality

VR as a marketing tool in tourism research was more common than AR, specifically pre-visit tourism destination promotion. When potential tourists decide to visit a destination, they are likely to search for information about it or consider whether it is worth visiting. VR adoption in tourism creates opportunities to promote destinations (Cheeyong et al. 2017 ; Tussyadiah et al. 2018b ; Adachi et al. 2020 ; Lin et al. 2020 ; Lin and Chen 2017 ). A qualitative study by tom Dieck et al. ( 2018c ) reported that VR influences tourists to use the application, revisit the destination, recommend it to others and experience the destination from a different perspective (e.g. observing it from a helicopter instead of from the street). One of the characteristics of VR is a sense of presence. The users feel that their presence moves from the real world to the virtual world. VR provides a better sense of presence than AR, leading to increasing destination image formation (Yung et al. 2019 ), which leads to visit intention (Tussyadiah et al. 2018b ). Experiencing VR with a HMD was also found to be a better promotion tool and provide better sensory stimulation and a more immersive experience compared to other systems (Flavián et al. 2019 ), such as a computer (Adachi et al. 2020 ), photographs (Yeh et al. 2017 ) or two-dimensional videos (Wagler and Hanus 2018 ). As a marketing tool, VR should provide content that represents the real conditions of the tourism destination. The tourism provider needs to ensure that the visual perspective of a destination they offer is genuine and as realistic as possible from the user’s perspective (Israel et al. 2019 ). However, the VR developer should consider the length of information if the content includes video (Marchiori et al. 2018 ). Additionally, in a recent quantitative study, Zeng et al. ( 2020 ) stressed that VR could add promotional value as an extension to online reviews.

4.2.2 Immersive technology for heritage preservation

One usage of AR and VR systems is reconstructing an object or environment since these systems produce computer-generated objects. AR systems enable the user to experience a three-dimensional virtual object based on the real heritage object, which might no longer exist in one piece or be possible to access. This way, the user can imagine and understand the object’s shape without looking at the real object.

4.2.2.1 Augmented reality

Four of the selected articles used AR for heritage preservation. Madsen and Madsen ( 2015 ) developed a three-dimensional visualisation of a castle chapel. The visitors experience the digital cultural heritage using a tablet connected to a large TV screen or a tablet PC. The authors argued that the AR system should provide more information and storytelling elements since the visitor only spends a short time using the AR system and does not fully explore the chapel. Another study by Gimeno et al. ( 2017 ) examined mobile AR for Casa Batlló, a landmark building in Spain. The AR system uses two approaches. First, it uses the gyroscope sensor and Bluetooth to trigger virtual objects to blend with the real world. As a result, the AR system augments the virtual modelled elements or furniture and blends this with the real world captured by the camera. Second, the user can scan the building’s physical model using the camera to see the virtual building on the screen, including detailed representations of the interior of each room on every floor of the building. Roongrungsi et al. ( 2017 ) designed a marker-based AR system to augment the Wat Phra Sri Rattana Mahathat temple. Panou et al. ( 2018 ) discussed the software architecture of an outdoor AR system that enables the user to experience virtual historical buildings around Chania, Greece. The system implements a gamification concept to let the user engage and interact more with cultural information.

4.2.2.2 Virtual reality

Other researchers have adopted VR to simulate heritage objects or buildings. A lab experiment by Ghadban et al. ( 2013 ) showed VR as an interactive environment to explore Hisham’s Palace in Palestine. The critical challenge of rebuilding the model was the remains of the physical building and the building’s limited history; both need to be right to ensure that the virtual, three-dimensional object is similar as possible to the real object in its time. Another example is a study by Kersten et al. ( 2018 ) that discussed a virtual model of a wooden model of Solomon’s temple at the Hamburg Museum using a VR system. The system enables the user to virtually experience the temple’s environment despite never visiting the temple in real life. Errichiello et al. ( 2019 ) observed the user experience in a past environment, particularly a ship launch during the Grand Tour of Naples and listening to music at San Teodoro Palace Hall Music. They argued that VR might be an effective way for visitors to enjoy a museum tour to obtain comprehensive information from different perspectives. The result showed that the users had a high intention of reusing the VR system and sharing their experience over the Internet. A mixed-method study by Puig et al. ( 2020 ) analysed the impact of a VR simulation of the Neolithic settlement of La Draga. The VR system provides a visual reconstruction of La Draga, where the user can interact with virtual Neolithic and non-Neolithic objects.

4.2.3 Immersive technology for education

This review categorises the usage of immersive technology to improve knowledge learning during visitation to a tourism destination. A crossover study by Sommerauer and Müller ( 2014 ) examined AR’s effect on gaining mathematical knowledge in an informal environment such as a museum. The authors concluded that AR could be a useful learning tool in formal and informal environments. A quasi-experimental study by Chang et al. ( 2015 ) observed mobile AR’s effectiveness in promoting learning performance at heritage sites in Taiwan. The authors stated that AR-guided participants acquired more knowledge about the heritage site than audio-guided and non-guided groups. Pendit et al. ( 2016 ) evaluated how AR might improve people’s enjoyment of learning about cultural heritage. The findings showed that the respondents enjoyed the AR’s cultural heritage learning experience. Tan and Lim ( 2017 ) implemented gamification in an AR system to improve visitors’ interest in exploring and learning about a historical place, Kellie’s Castle, in Malaysia. A study by Oh et al. ( 2018 ) used AR with Meta One glasses to observe how they can help users at a science museum learn about light refraction. The authors concluded that those who experienced game-based performance followed by non-game simulation performed better than a group who experienced these activities in the opposite order. A qualitative study by Yoon et al. ( 2018 ) observed an interactive AR used to learn about different types of scaffolds in a science museum.

4.2.4 Immersive technology as tour guidance

AR enhances the tourism experience in that the interactive virtual information overlays the real world. Our review found that tour guidance studies exclusively adopted AR technology, and it does appear to be the most appropriate technology to adopt when the user is physically located at the tourism destination. AR also provides additional interpretation resources to enhance user engagement with the observed object during visitation, significantly impacting the experience (Damala et al. 2013 ). The previous studies identified two types of devices for AR tour guidance: mobile devices and wearable devices (e.g. smart glasses).

4.2.4.1 Augmented reality with smart glasses

Smart glasses are wearable devices similar to regular eyeglasses equipped with a processing unit, various sensors and transparent lenses. The information displayed on the screen is integrated onto one or both lenses in front of the eyes, as if, from the AR user’s point of view, the digital information overlays the physical environment (Hein et al. 2017 ). Several studies employed wearable devices such as Google Glass (Mason 2016 ; tom Dieck et al. 2016 ; tom Dieck et al. 2018b ; Tussyadiah et al. 2018a ; Han et al. 2019a ), HoloLens (Hammady et al. 2020 ) and Meta One (Pedersen et al. 2017 ). Using wearable devices reflects the relationship between the human body and technology, where the user senses the device as part of their body (Tussyadiah et al. 2018a ). As a result, compared to an AR system that uses a mobile device, smart glasses offer a more immersive experience to the user, attractive and a balanced focus between the physical object and the device screen, while exploring tourism destinations (Mason 2016 ). Users were found to spend more time exploring the environment and engaging with the observed objects compared to without smart glasses (Hammady et al. 2020 ). On the other hand, tom Dieck et al. ( 2018b ) found that some participants, on their first experience using smart glasses, tended to have a stronger recollection of the information provided by the device than the paintings because they tended to pay more attention to the device than the environment.

Some smart glasses have display limitations that might impact the displayed information. Participants in a study by Mason ( 2016 ) emphasised the difficulty in reading text on the Google Glass display due to length limitations. Hence, tom Dieck et al. ( 2016 ) stressed that the application content should provide detailed and suitable information to help users experience tourism. The information also needs to be delivered in real time to pique the user’s interest and allow an uninterrupted leisure experience (Han et al. 2019b ; Choi and Kim 2017 ). Pedersen et al. ( 2017 ) supported the idea of implementing a reward system to lead users to more information and prompt them to proceed to the next object experience, thus making the visitation experience more enjoyable. Further, Damala et al. ( 2013 ) noted that the relevant content results from different stimuli induced during visitation rather than predefined content based on the user’s profile (e.g. adults, families).

4.2.4.2 Augmented reality using a mobile device

Modern mobile devices, such as smartphones or tablet PCs equipped with a camera, provide powerful computing to run AR-based applications. Because most mobile devices are less expensive than smart glasses, enhancing the tourism visitation experience is feasible. Given that so much information can be displayed on the device’s screen, observing how users divide their focus between the mobile device and the real object is interesting. A behavioural pattern study on painting appreciation by Chang et al. ( 2014 ) showed that users still enjoyed observing the real painting and did not look at the device’s screen excessively, although the AR system was considered a new technology for some of the study’s participants. Conversely, some participants in the Nisi et al. ( 2018 ) study reported feelings of isolation. The authors stated that the AR application indirectly made the users focus more on the smartphone screen than on physically interacting with the real object.

tom Dieck et al. ( 2018a ) found that an AR system attached to a place encouraged visitors to engage more with the tourism destination. This view is supported by Nisi et al. ( 2018 ), who reported that the combination of storytelling and the observed physical environment stimulated users’ curiosity and willingness to explore that environment further, making the tourism experience educational and valuable. The information provided in the AR system is critical to providing a simple user interface with personalised information (Han et al. 2018 ) and interaction (tom Dieck and Jung 2018 ). Rather than shrinking an entire computer-based website layout to fit on a mobile device screen, the information must be adapted to suit a mobile layout (Chung et al. 2018 ). Interestingly, different cultural characteristics can result in different technological adaptations. According to Jung et al. ( 2018 ), people who live in cultures that prioritise the group over the individual and rely on social norms showed stronger dependence on social influence. Their decision to use tourism-based AR is likely based on the influence of friends and family.

4.2.5 Immersive technology as a navigation device

Some of the reviewed articles used immersive technology as a navigation device. We found that similar to the tour guidance applications, that navigation also exclusively relied on AR technology due to its connection to the physical realm. An AR system, such as those mainly used in smartphones, uses location sensors such as Bluetooth, GPS and compasses to pinpoint a specific location. Balduini et al. ( 2012 ) and Balduini et al. ( 2014 ) designed BOTTARI, an AR system that provides a point-of-interest recommendation in Seoul based on the social media community’s weighted opinions. The system continuously analyses social media streams and processes the information into personalised recommendations about places in the city. Chu et al. ( 2012 ) evaluated the Yehliu Geopark mGuiding system. The application implements AR using GPS coordinates from the mobile device. A study by Kourouthanassis et al. ( 2015b ) examined eight mobile AR applications from prior studies to determine their design properties. A mobile AR application called CorfuAR implements Layar, an AR browser app, by following the design principles of the reviewed AR applications. The authors argued that the proposed design principles contributed to the mobile AR application’s high usability and performance, leading to better user–system interaction. A follow-up study by the same authors (Kourouthanassis et al. 2015a ) confirmed that the functional properties of the application stimulate a feeling of pleasure, which leads to an increase in the intention to use the application. Siang et al. ( 2016 ) designed both the iMelaka 360 website and the iMelaka AR app to help tourists explore Melaka, Malaysia. Abidin et al. ( 2018 ) suggested an adaptive user interface for a location-based AR system to improve the tourist experience and ease access to Islamic tourism information, specifically in Malaysia.

4.2.6 Immersive technology adoption for other purposes

Another use of immersive technology in tourism was entertainment and accessibility support. A study by Shang et al. ( 2016 ) focused on using AR for post-visits. The mobile AR system used a postcard as a tourist souvenir to provide more information regarding the tourist destination that the user recently visited. Wu et al. ( 2020 ) investigated users’ behavioural intentions related to AR as part of the Avengers League World Tour exhibition in Taiwan. The users experienced the action from the point of view of the hero character.

Despite immersive technology offering many benefits to tourism, little research exists on immersive technology for disabled people. One design study by Baker et al. ( 2020 ) developed an AR tourism prototype for hard-of-hearing visitors. It is based on five conceptual elements: aesthetics, usability, interaction, motivation, and satisfaction. In a follow-up study, Baker et al. ( 2020 ) evaluated the prototype using groups of hard-of-hearing instructors, museum employees and experts. The prototype evaluation covered the interface, multimedia and interactivity.

4.3 The potential challenge in using immersive technology in tourism (RQ3: what are the potential challenges of developing immersive technology for the tourism domain?)

While immersive technology shows significant potential use in tourism, it also has several challenges (see Fig.  5 ). This section discusses the challenges identified in the selected articles.

Challenges in immersive technology for tourism

First, a lack of interoperability exists across device platforms (Kounavis et al. 2012 ). AR cannot be used across all the operating systems, albeit there are many frameworks and toolkits to develop the AR application. Second, some AR applications require an Internet connection to retrieve data from the server (Kasinathan et al. 2017 ). Some tourists consider mobile Internet expensive, and not all tourism areas or cities provide free Internet access (Kounavis et al. 2012 ; tom Dieck et al. 2018b ). The third challenge lies in the physical size of the AR devices. Participants in a study by Chang et al. ( 2014 ) complained about the thick, heavy tablet PC used for painting appreciation. They indicated that a smaller device, like a smartphone, would be more suitable to carry as a tour guide device. In other studies, the drawbacks of tour guides using wearable devices were battery life (tom Dieck et al. 2016 ) and the device cost (Hammady et al. 2020 ).

The fourth challenge is the AR tracking ability when using a camera as a sensor. Camera-tracking AR, whether markerless or marker-based, should consider the amount of light and at what angle the camera faces the marker, picture or object. System responses, or feedback, are the fifth challenge of AR. The system should notify users of feedback errors to indicate the system’s process (Kourouthanassis et al. 2015b ) and create personalised navigation (tom Dieck et al. 2016 ). The fifth challenge is feedback from the AR system. Real-time feedback from AR systems influenced user-system interaction. Users might experience a lower attitude toward using the system if they feel uncertain due to no response from the system (Kourouthanassis et al. 2015a ). Participants in a study by tom Dieck et al. ( 2016 ) concerned about crashing and inadequate response from the system. System designers might need to minimize the possibility of system feedback issues to ensure users feel a smooth experience while using the AR system. The sixth challenge is the application layout. The layout of the annotation system influences the user’s perception of the observed area (Yovcheva et al. 2014 ). One participant in a study by Mason ( 2016 ) argued that it would be preferable for information to be shown via smart glasses rather than a mobile device screen. The seventh challenge identified in AR for tourism is the user’s engagement with the real object or surroundings. In an experimental design study by tom Dieck et al. ( 2018a ), participants experienced a new AR technology that caused them to focus more on the device’s information than the paintings they were observing. This means that the application designer should ensure that the information projected at a specific time is not overloaded and thus does not distract from the leisure experience (Han et al. 2019a ). Finally, user privacy is another concern regarding the use of AR in tourism. The benefit of content personalisation or a context-aware system delivers more related content to the user. However, if the system increasingly requests more personal details about the user, the risk of this data being lost or misused increases.

The challenges posed by VR in tourism are different from those posed by AR. The first challenge of using VR for tourism is device familiarisation. Puig et al. ( 2020 ) argued that familiarising the user with VR devices could be time-consuming. Further, the authors proposed combining the essentials of VR environment design with natural hand–gesture interaction that offers sufficient time flexibility to obtain information. The second challenge lies in the relationship between physical information from the real tourism destination and the virtual information in the VR environment. Puig et al. ( 2020 ) claimed that using information gained from the physical environment should help the user further explore information in a VR environment. Equally, the information from the virtual environment could help users learn about related tourism objects or situations. The third challenge of using VR for tourism is data availability. When presenting a virtual object, environment or scenario from the past, making the image presented in VR as realistic as possible relies on data availability.

5 Conclusions and implications

This review builds on knowledge from existing reviews (Baker et al. 2017 ; Beck et al. 2019 ; Wei 2019 ; Yung and Khoo-Lattimore 2019 ). Findings from another study by Baker et al. ( 2017 ) revealed 11 major elements that need to be considered when designing mobile AR systems for hard-of-hearing individuals. Consideration of those elements could increase user engagement with AR applications in tourism. Findings from another VR-related review study (Beck et al. 2019 ) addressed that VR in tourism can be classified by its immersion level: non-immersive, semi-immersive or fully immersive. The major finding from Wei ( 2019 ) identified major constructs from prior studies and categorised them using the stimuli–dimensions–consequences framework. The framework synthesises key constructs associated with AR and VR in tourism and hospitality. Yung and Khoo-Lattimore ( 2019 ) explored AR and VR usage in the tourism sub-sector and revealed the methodology and theory implemented in prior studies on AR and VR in tourism. Based on the existing review findings, the present study’s findings extend the knowledge on AR/VR usage in tourism. We have identified AR and VR as the immersive technology used in the selected research articles.

The following section elaborates on the potential future research on immersive technology in tourism and recommendations for stakeholders. This section also includes identified limitations of this study that might need improvement in future studies.

5.1 Limitations of the study

Although this review provides detail on immersive technology research in tourism, some limitations would be helpful to consider during future research. First, we found that some articles related to tourist attractions such as cultural heritage and museums did not appear in the search results. Future research might include specific tourism attractions as keywords in the search query. Second, our inclusion was limited to peer-reviewed journal articles. Our findings indicate increasing immersive technology adoption in tourism-related articles. Based on that trend, it could help to expand the findings by including conference proceedings that, to avoid duplication, are not extended to journal articles. Third, immersive technology in tourism indicates an increased number of published articles in line with time. However, the lack of technology adoption by the tourism providers either due to cost or lack of understanding remains unclear. Further study might focus on the challenge of adopting the technology.

Finally, the oldest article included in this review was published in 2012. Current technology has made substantial advances since then, and the potential challenges in technology adoption in tourism might have evolved too over time. For example, AR technology is more mature, with state-of-the-art mobile devices and AR integration with light detection and ranging (LiDAR). Recent VR technology can also deliver high-quality images with recent computation. For further reviews, we suggest that this may be a justification to adopt shorter review windows, for example of 5 years.

5.2 Future works

5.2.1 integrating immersive technology with other technology to enhance the user experience.

This review identified the types of immersive technology used in tourism articles. We observed that only AR and VR appeared in prior studies. Therefore, several potential directions for future research could implement another type of immersive technology under the MR umbrella and another technology integration. AR systems are used dominantly in mobile devices using a trigger to initiate the digital content on the screen, overlaying the real-world view. Modern smart devices are powered with high system specifications that quickly load the AR application. One direction for future research could be to use AR with LiDAR to detect the user’s environment. Using that technique, AR could help promote the tourism destination (Lee et al. 2017 ; Lin and Chen 2017 ) or enhance the user experience during visitation (Rodrigues et al. 2019 ; Yoon et al. 2018 ; Nisi et al. 2018 ). Likewise, another direction for future research with AR could be to use a wearable device to measure visitor responses to an enhanced experience during visitation (Hammady et al. 2020 ; Han et al. 2019a ; Tussyadiah et al. 2018a ). Although AR with wearable devices such as Google Glass and HoloLens is still considered expensive, its usage can deliver a seamless experience without requiring the user to hold the device. A third direction for future research could be to assess visitor responses on a multi-trigger AR system to improve the destination exploration experience using marker and location sensors.

Traditionally, VR visualises a virtual environment fully generated by a computer. The popularity of 360° technology in line with various HMD availability opens the opportunity for tourism providers to create a VR experience using a 360° camera without high-level programming knowledge. The following research agenda could be used to investigate the difference between using a computer modelling VR content and a 360° image or video for different situations, such as pre-visit or promotion, during visitation and post-visitation.

5.2.2 Immersive technology applications within the tourism area

Immersive technology has various uses in tourism. We found that AR is used primarily for tour guidance and navigation, and VR is mainly used to promote tourism destinations. One possible future research direction is to examine AR usage, especially personalisation based on visitor age, to enhance the learning experience during visitation (tom Dieck et al. 2018b ; Yoon et al. 2018 ).

A potential direction for future VR-related research is to assess whether the developed application reflects the expected specific environment, such as VR content that gives the user the sensation that they are experiencing a situation in the past (Puig et al. 2020 ; Errichiello et al. 2019 ). Another potential research agenda focuses on cultural heritage since VR can preserve heritage objects or situations and represent them using digital objects. It could also be interesting to explore immersive technology in areas other than those identified in this study, such as VR applications to support accessibility for disabled people and its potential to replace actual visitation due to physical restrictions.

5.2.3 Potential challenge in using immersive technology in tourism

The selected articles indicate several potential challenges of using immersive technology in tourism. They can give tourism stakeholders, primarily application developers, insight into designing a suitable system to meet users’ needs. Some challenges can be solved using current technology. For example, the interoperability issue (Kounavis et al. 2012 ) can be solved by developing the AR application using Unity (Unity Technologies 2020). Tracking issues that occur while detecting markers (Nisi et al. 2018 ) can be handled by using smartphones with an up-to-date camera sensor and using a new technique for spatial markings, such as LiDAR. Another challenge we found is that users feel disconnected from the real object while using the AR application. Application developers must consider the balance of interactivity between exploring the actual object and using the application. Tourism providers can also support the user’s experience by designing an interactive and attractive display presentation. Future research might focus on the design aspect of immersive technology for tourism and its evaluation. Exploring the impact of content-aware immersive technology on providing information based on the user’s characteristics would also be interesting.

5.3 Recommendations for stakeholders

5.3.1 recommendations for the system developer.

Our research shows that most AR applications use one trigger type to initiate the virtual object. As the user moves around the destination, the application is expected to recognise the user’s preference and recommend the next object that they need to explore. This can be achieved using traditional triggers such as a camera and a location sensor to detect the user’s position. In addition, the user experience can be assessed to improve the application and learn visitor preference. We also found that the visitor may engage with the AR application more than the real object or environment itself. Therefore, the AR application developer might consider designing an interactive application that will let the visitor examine the real object with additional information from the application.

5.3.2 Recommendations for tourism providers

Our research shows that AR is mainly used during actual visitation at the tourism destination. AR can enhance the user experience while the user is exploring the destination. Therefore, it might be helpful for the tourism provider to consider the layout of the destination to ensure that it supports the AR application usage. Infrastructure such as Internet connection, room layout, and booth layout can be developed to achieve this. Users might immerse themselves in the environment with the addition of AR applications and thus focus not only focus on the virtual object that appears on the device screen but also on any objects in the real environment.

To reiterate, we found that VR is mainly used to promote tourism. Undoubtedly, VR is gaining recognition as a solution simulating a realistic environment. Thus, our recommendation for tourism providers is to introduce the destination via VR through a travel agent (Bush 2022 ), meaning that potential visitors can experience the destination before deciding on travel. An alternative is to integrate VR with the destination’s website to help website users gain more information regarding the tourism destination. Another recommendation is to integrate VR with other applications, such as the Conqueror (Home Run Limited 2021 ), a virtual travel application that gained popularity during travel restrictions due to the COVID-19 global pandemic. The application provides many virtual challenges to complete at well-known destinations worldwide. When users join a challenge, they can gain the distance they achieved through their daily exercise such as running, walking or cycling, which translates to distance travelled. The tracked distance can be synchronised with the Conqueror application to travel virtually to the selected destination challenge. Users can explore the route along the virtual trip. Tourism providers can integrate VR about their destinations with the application to enable users to have a VR experience of the promoted destination.

Tourism providers should consider VR adoption since it brings benefits as a virtual tour for users and them. Users may use virtual tours for cost-effectiveness, health safety and time-saving. Specific users such as the elderly or those with physical disabilities would feel safer, secure, and require no special equipment to enjoy the virtual trip (Scott 2020 ). As for tourism providers, VR adoption creates employment opportunities for content creators, videographers and tour guides (Scott 2020 ). Further, VR can be programable (Sussmann and Vanhegan 2000 ) to keep the content and information up-to-date.

6 Conclusion

This review explored the use of immersive technology in the context of tourism through a comprehensive review of 88 articles published between 2012 and 2020. The increasing number of journal articles published in this field reflects the research interest in immersive technology for tourism, primarily in AR. This work advances prior works and reviews through several contributions. We have identified AR and VR combined with other technology can offer potential user experience enhancement. We have also identified immersive technology usage within the tourism sub-sector and potential challenges of using immersive technologies. This review paper generates an overview that both academic and tourism stakeholders can use to understand better the current progress and possible research directions on immersive technology in tourism. Immersive technology, such as AR and VR, has numerous real-world applications and the potential to spark new interest and uptake of travel destinations which have been lagging in recent years. It is hoped that this review stimulates further research both in applying this technology to novel contexts and taking advantage of cutting-edge VR technology which has become increasingly available in the consumer space.

Data availability

We do not analyse or generate any datasets, because our work proceeds within a theoretical approach.

Abidin RZ, Arshad H, Shukri SAiA, Ling MF (2018) Leveraging multimodal interaction and adaptive interfaces for location-based augmented reality Islamic tourism application. Int J Adv Eng Inf Technol 8 (4–2): 1784–1791. https://doi.org/10.18517/ijaseit.8.4-2.6822

Adachi R, Cramer EM, Song H (2020) Using virtual reality for tourism marketing: A mediating role of self-presence. Soc Sci J. https://doi.org/10.1080/03623319.2020.1727245

Article   Google Scholar  

Alsop T (2020) Virtual reality (VR)—Statistics and facts. https://www.statista.com/topics/2532/virtual-reality-vr/ . Accessed August 20, 2020

Aluri A (2017) Mobile augmented reality (MAR) Game as a travel guide: Insights from Pokémon Go. J Hosp Tour Technol 8(1):55–72. https://doi.org/10.1108/JHTT-12-2016-0087

Azuma RT (1997) A survey of augmented reality. Presence Teleoper Virtual Environ 6(4):355–385. https://doi.org/10.1162/pres.1997.6.4.355

Baker EJ, Bakar JAA, Zulkifli AN (2017) Mobile augmented reality elements for museum hearing impaired visitors’ engagement. J Telecommun Electron Comput Eng 9(2–12):171–178

Google Scholar  

Baker EJ, Bakar JAA, Zulkifli AN, Omar AC (2019) Development of the MARHIME app embedding the mobile augmented reality for hearing-impaired museum visitors engagement model. Int J Innov Techno Explor Eng 8(8):363–368

Baker EJ, Bakar JAA, Zulkifli AN, Mat RC, Yusoff MF, Ahmad M, Omar AC (2020) Design, development and expert evaluation of the Marhime prototype for HI museum visitors’ engagement. Int J Adv Sci Eng 29(8):155–165

Balduini M, Celino I, Dell’Aglio D, Valle ED, Huang Y, Lee T, Kim S-H, Tresp V (2012) BOTTARI: an augmented reality mobile application to deliver personalized and location-based recommendations by continuous analysis of social media streams. J Web Semant 16:33–41. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.websem.2012.06.004

Balduini M, Celino I, Dell’Aglio D, Valle ED, Huang Y, Lee T, Kim S-H, Tresp V (2014) Reality mining on micropost streams deductive and inductive reasoning for personalized and location-based recommendations. Semant Web 5(5):341–356. https://doi.org/10.3233/sw-130107

Beck J, Rainoldi M, Egger R (2019) Virtual reality in tourism: a state-of-the-art review. Tour Rev 74(3):586–612. https://doi.org/10.1108/TR-03-2017-0049

Bekele MK, Pierdicca R, Frontoni E, Malinverni ES, Gain J (2018) A survey of augmented, virtual, and mixed reality for cultural heritage. ACM J Comput Cult Herit 11(2):1–36. https://doi.org/10.1145/3145534

Bogicevic V, Seo S, Kandampully JA, Liu SQ, Rudd NA (2019) Virtual reality presence as a preamble of tourism experience: the role of mental imagery. Tour Manag 74:55–64. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2019.02.009

Bogomazova IV, Stenyushkina SG (2017) Excursion tours and the possibility of using augmented reality technologies for improving the local tourist attractiveness. J Environ Manag Tour 8(4):943–951

Bush E (2022) New luxury travel agency features virtual reality cinema room. https://travelweekly.co.uk/news/travel-agents/new-luxury-travel-agency-features-virtual-reality-cinema-room . Accessed 24 February 2022

Chang K-E, Chang C-T, Hou H-T, Sung Y-T, Chao H-L, Lee C-M (2014) Development and behavioral pattern analysis of a mobile guide system with augmented reality for painting appreciation instruction in an art museum. Comput Educ 71:185–197. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2013.09.022

Chang Y-L, Hou H-T, Pan C-Y, Sung Y-T, Chang K-E (2015) Apply an augmented reality in a mobile guidance to increase sense of place for heritage places. J Educ Technol Soc 18(2):166–178

Cheeyong K, Kim J-C, Jung S-H, Kim E-K (2017) Marine leisure sports based on realistic VR system for Bleisure Busan. Int J Grid Distrib Comput 10(10): 69–78. https://doi.org/10.14257/ijgdc.2017.10.10.06

Choi H-s, Kim S-h (2017) A content service deployment plan for metaverse museum exhibitions—centering on the combination of beacons and HMDs. Int J Inf Manag 37 (1, Part B): 1519–1527. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2016.04.017

Chu T-H, Lin M-L, Chang C-H (2012) MGuiding (mobile guiding)—using a mobile GIS app for guiding. Scand J Hosp Tour 12(3):269–283. https://doi.org/10.1080/15022250.2012.724921

Chung N, Han H, Joun Y (2015) Tourists’ intention to visit a destination: the role of augmented reality (AR) application for a heritage site. Comput Hum Behav 50:588–599. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2015.02.068

Chung N, Lee H, Kim J-Y, Koo C (2018) The role of augmented reality for experience-influenced environments: the case of cultural heritage tourism in Korea. J Travel Res 57(5):627–643. https://doi.org/10.1177/0047287517708255

Clarivative Analytics (2019) Endnote X9. https://clarivate.libguides.com/endnote_training/users/enx9 . Accessed 5 March 2019

Cranmer EE, tom Dieck MC, Fountoulaki P (2020) Exploring the value of augmented reality for tourism. Tour Manag Perspect. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tmp.2020.100672

Cushing AL, Cowan BR (2017) Walk 1916: exploring non-research user access to and use of digital surrogates via a mobile walking tour app. J Doc 73(5):917–933. https://doi.org/10.1108/JD-03-2017-0031

Damala A, Schuchert T, Rodriguez I, Moragues J, Gilleade K, Stojanovic N (2013) Exploring the affective museum visiting experience: adaptive augmented reality (A2R) and cultural heritage. Int J Herit Digit Era 2(1):117–142. https://doi.org/10.1260/2047-4970.2.1.117

Damala A, Hornecker E, van der Vaart M, van Dijk D, Ruthven I (2016) The Loupe: tangible augmented reality for learning to look at ancient Greek art. Mediterr Archaeol Archaeom 16(5):73–85. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.204970

Edwards-Stewart A, Hoyt T, Reger GM (2016) Classifying different types of augmented reality technology. Annu Rev CyberTherapy Telemed 14:199–202

Emirates (2022) The Emirates vr experience. https://www.emirates.com/au/english/experience/the-emirates-vr-experience/ . Accessed 24 February 2022

Errichiello L, Micera R, Atzeni M, Del Chiappa G (2019) Exploring the implications of wearable virtual reality technology for museum visitors’ experience: a cluster analysis. Int J Tour Res 21(5):590–605. https://doi.org/10.1002/jtr.2283

Fang Y-M, Lin C (2019) The usability testing of vr interface for tourism apps. Appl Sci. https://doi.org/10.3390/app9163215

Fenu C, Pittarello F (2018) Svevo Tour: the design and the experimentation of an augmented reality application for engaging visitors of a literary museum. Int J Hum-Comput Stud 114:20–35. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhcs.2018.01.009

Flavián C, Ibáñez-Sánchez S, Orús C (2019) Integrating virtual reality devices into the body: effects of technological embodiment on customer engagement and behavioral intentions toward the destination. J Travel Tour Mark 36(7):847–863. https://doi.org/10.1080/10548408.2019.1618781

García-Crespo Á, González-Carrasco I, López-Cuadrado JL, Villanueva D, González Á (2016) CESARSC: framework for creating cultural entertainment systems with augmented reality in smart cities. Comput Sci Inf Syst 13(2):395–425. https://doi.org/10.2298/csis150620006g

Ghadban S, Hassan R, Aboudi O, Khateeb Y (2013) The development of an interactive virtual environment for hisham palace in Jericho, Palestine. Int J Archit Res 7(2): 118–135. https://doi.org/10.26687/archnet-ijar.v7i2.159

Gimeno J, Portalés C, Coma I, Fernández M, Martínez B (2017) Combining traditional and indirect augmented reality for indoor crowded environments. A case study on the Casa Batlló Museum. Comput Graph 69:92–103. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cag.2017.09.001

Grubert J, Pahud M, Grasset R, Schmalstieg D, Seichter H (2015) The utility of Magic Lens interfaces on handheld devices for touristic map navigation. Pervas Mob Comput 18:88–103. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pmcj.2014.08.005

Guttentag DA (2010) Virtual reality: applications and implications for tourism. Tour Manag 31(5):637–651. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2009.07.003

Hammady R, Ma M, Strathern C, Mohamad M (2020) Design and development of a spatial mixed reality touring guide to the Egyptian museum. Multimed Tools Appl 79(5–6):3465–3494. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11042-019-08026-w

Han D-I, tom Dieck MC, Jung T (2018) User experience model for augmented reality applications in urban heritage tourism. J Herit Tour 13(1):46–61. https://doi.org/10.1080/1743873X.2016.1251931

Han D-ID, tom Dieck MC, Jung T (2019a) Augmented reality smart glasses (ARSG) visitor adoption in cultural tourism. Leis Stud 38(5):618–633. https://doi.org/10.1080/02614367.2019.1604790

Han D-ID, Jung T, tom Dieck MC (2019b) Translating tourist requirements into mobile AR application engineering through QFD. Int J Hum-Comput Interact 35(19):1842–1858. https://doi.org/10.1080/10447318.2019.1574099

Hein DWE, Jodoin JL, Rauschnabel PA, Ivens BS (2017) Are wearables good or bad for society?: An exploration of societal benefits, risks, and consequences of augmented reality smart glasses. In: Kurubacak Gulsun and Altinpulluk Hakan (eds) Mobile technologies and augmented reality in open education. IGI Global, pp 1–25. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-5225-2110-5.ch001

Hobson JSP, Williams AP (1995) Virtual reality: a new horizon for the tourism industry. J Vacat Mark 1(2):124–135. https://doi.org/10.1177/135676679500100202

Home Run Limited (2021) The Conqueror virtual challenges. https://www.theconqueror.events/ . Accessed 17 September 2021

Israel K, Zerres C, Tscheulin DK (2019) Presenting hotels in virtual reality: does it influence the booking intention? J Hosp Tour Technol 10(3):443–463. https://doi.org/10.1108/JHTT-03-2018-0020

Jung TH, tom Dieck MC (2017) Augmented reality, virtual reality and 3D printing for the co-creation of value for the visitor experience at cultural heritage places. J Place Manag Dev 10(2):140–151. https://doi.org/10.1108/JPMD-07-2016-0045

Jung T, Chung N, Leue MC (2015) The determinants of recommendations to use augmented reality technologies: The case of a Korean theme park. Tour Manag 49:75–86. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2015.02.013

Jung TH, Lee H, Chung N, tom Dieck MC (2018) Cross-cultural differences in adopting mobile augmented reality at cultural heritage tourism sites. Int J Contemp Hosp Manag 30(3):1621–1645. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJCHM-02-2017-0084

Jung T, tom Dieck MC, Lee H, Chung N (2020) Moderating role of long-term orientation on augmented reality adoption. Int J Hum-Comput Interact 36(3):239–250. https://doi.org/10.1080/10447318.2019.1630933

Kasinathan V, Mustapha A, Seong YC, Abidin AZZ (2017) Footprint: Tourism information search based on mixed reality. Int J Adv Eng Inf Technol 7 (4–2 Special Issue): 1504–1509. https://doi.org/10.18517/ijaseit.7.4-2.3400

Kassim MH, Eshaq AR, Woods CP (2019) Mobile augmented reality: an alternative way toward museum visitors’ experience. Int J Recent Technol Eng 8 (2 Special Issue 8): 1420–1425. https://doi.org/10.35940/ijrte.B1077.0882S819

Kersten TP, Tschirschwitz F, Lindstaedt M, Deggim S (2018) The historic wooden model of Solomon’s temple: 3D recording, modelling and immersive virtual reality visualisation. J Cult Herit Manag Sustain Dev 8(4):448–464. https://doi.org/10.1108/JCHMSD-09-2017-0067

Kim MJ, Lee C-K, Jung T (2020) Exploring consumer behavior in virtual reality tourism using an extended stimulus-organism-response model. J Travel Res 59(1):69–89. https://doi.org/10.1177/0047287518818915

Koo S, Kim J, Kim C, Kim J, Cha HS (2019) Development of an augmented reality tour guide for a cultural heritage site. J Comput Cult Herit. https://doi.org/10.1145/3317552

Kounavis CD, Kasimati AE, Zamani ED (2012) Enhancing the tourism experience through mobile augmented reality: challenges and prospects. Int J Eng Bus Manag. https://doi.org/10.5772/51644

Kourouthanassis P, Boletsis C, Bardaki C, Chasanidou D (2015a) Tourists responses to mobile augmented reality travel guides: the role of emotions on adoption behavior. Pervas Mob Comput 18:71–87. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pmcj.2014.08.009

Kourouthanassis PE, Boletsis C, Lekakos G (2015b) Demystifying the design of mobile augmented reality applications. Multimed Tools Appl 74(3):1045–1066. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11042-013-1710-7

Lacka E (2020) Assessing the impact of full-fledged location-based augmented reality games on tourism destination visits. Curr Issues Tour 23(3):345–357. https://doi.org/10.1080/13683500.2018.1514370

Lee H-G, Chung S, Lee W-H (2013a) Presence in virtual golf simulators: the effects of presence on perceived enjoyment, perceived value, and behavioral intention. New Media Soc 15(6):930–946. https://doi.org/10.1177/1461444812464033

Lee I-J, Chen C-H, Su C-Y (2017) App based souvenirs and entry tickets: a new means of enhancing post visit memories: a case study from Taiwan. Tour Manag Perspect 24:177–185. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tmp.2017.09.001

Lee Y-CN, Shan L-T, Chen C-H (2013b) System development of immersive technology theatre in museum. In: Shumaker r(ed) Virtual, augmented and mixed reality. Systems and applications. Springer, Heidelberg, pp 400–408. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-39420-1_42

Lee H, Jung TH, tom Dieck MC, Chung N (2019) Experiencing immersive virtual reality in museums. Inf Manag. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.im.2019.103229

Li T, Chen Y (2019) Will virtual reality be a double-edged sword? Exploring the moderation effects of the expected enjoyment of a destination on travel intention. J Destination Mark Manag 12:15–26. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jdmm.2019.02.003

Lin L-P, Huang S-C, Ho Y-C (2020) Could virtual reality effectively market slow travel in a heritage destination? Tour Manag. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2019.104027

Lin H-F, Chen C-H (2017) Combining the technology acceptance model and uses and gratifications theory to examine the usage behavior of an augmented reality tour-sharing application. Symmetry. https://doi.org/10.3390/sym9070113

Linden Research (2019) Second Life. https://secondlife.com/ . Accessed 24 September 2019

Madsen JB, Madsen CB (2015) Handheld visual representation of a castle chapel ruin. ACM J Comput Cult Herit 9(1):1–18. https://doi.org/10.1145/2822899

Marasco A, Buonincontri P, van Niekerk M, Orlowski M, Okumus F (2018) Exploring the role of next-generation virtual technologies in destination marketing. J Destination Mark Manag 9:138–148. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jdmm.2017.12.002

Marchiori E, Niforatos E, Preto L (2018) Analysis of users’ heart rate data and self-reported perceptions to understand effective virtual reality characteristics. Inf Technol Tour 18(1–4):133–155. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40558-018-0104-0

Mason M (2016) The MIT museum glassware prototype: visitor experience exploration for designing smart glasses. ACM J Comput Cult Herit 9(3):1–28. https://doi.org/10.1145/2872278

Milgram P, Takemura H, Utsumi A, Kishino F (1995) Augmented reality: a class of displays on the reality-virtuality continuum. In: Das H(ed) Telemanipulator and telepresence technologies. SPIE, Boston. https://doi.org/10.1117/12.197321

Moher D, Liberati A, Tetzlaff J, Altman DG (2009) Preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses: the PRISMA statement. BMJ. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.b2535

Neumann U, You S, Cho Y, Lee J, Park J (1999) Augmented reality tracking in natural environments. Int Sympos Mixed Realit. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-87512-0_6

Nisi V, Dionisio M, Barreto M, Nunes N (2018) A mixed reality neighborhood tour: understanding visitor experience and perceptions. Entertain Comput 27:89–100. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.entcom.2018.04.002

Oh S, So H-J, Gaydos M (2018) Hybrid augmented reality for participatory learning: the hidden efficacy of multi-user game-based simulation. IEEE Trans Learn Technol 11(1):115–127. https://doi.org/10.1109/TLT.2017.2750673

Okoli C (2015) A guide to conducting a standalone systematic literature review. Commun Assoc Inf Syst 37 (1): 879–910. https://doi.org/10.17705/1CAIS.03743

Panou C, Ragia L, Dimelli D, Mania K (2018) An architecture for mobile outdoors augmented reality for cultural heritage. ISPRS Int J Geo-Inf. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijgi7120463

Paulo MM, Rita P, Oliveira T, Moro S (2018) Understanding mobile augmented reality adoption in a consumer context. J Hosp Tour Technol 9(2):142–157. https://doi.org/10.1108/JHTT-01-2017-0006

Pedersen I, Gale N, Mirza-Babaei P, Reid S (2017) More than meets the eye: the benefits of augmented reality and holographic displays for digital cultural heritage. ACM J Comput Cult Herit 10(2):1–15. https://doi.org/10.1145/3051480

Pendit UC, Zaibon SB, Bakar JAA (2016) Enjoyable informal learning at cultural heritage site using mobile augmented reality: measurement and evaluation. J Telecommun Electron Comput Eng 8(10):13–21

Pollock A, Berge E (2018) How to do a systematic review. Int J Stroke 13(2):138–156. https://doi.org/10.1177/1747493017743796

Puig A, Rodríguez I, Arcos JL, Rodríguez-Aguilar JA, Cebrián S, Bogdanovych A, Morera N, Palomo A, Piqué R (2020) Lessons learned from supplementing archaeological museum exhibitions with virtual reality. Virtual Real 24(2):343–358. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10055-019-00391-z

Raptis GE, Fidas C, Avouris N (2018) Effects of mixed-reality on players’ behaviour and immersion in a cultural tourism game: a cognitive processing perspective. Int J Hum-Comput Stud 114:69–79. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhcs.2018.02.003

Rodrigues JMF, Ramos CMQ, Pereira JAR, Sardo JDP, Cardoso PJS (2019) Mobile five senses augmented reality system: technology acceptance study. IEEE Access 7:163022–163033. https://doi.org/10.1109/access.2019.2953003

Roongrungsi A, Namahoot CS, Brückner M (2017) Augmented reality application for cultural and historical tourist attraction display (ARCH-TOUR). J Telecommun Electron Comput Eng 9 (2–4): 65–69

Santos CGR, Araújo Jr TDO, Paulo CR, Neto NCS, Meiguins BS (2017) Recognizing and exploring Azulejos on historic buildings’ facades by combining computer vision and geolocation in mobile augmented reality applications. J Mob Multimedia 13(1–2):057–074. https://doi.org/10.5555/3177197.3177201

Scott JH (2020) Virtual tourism could offer new opportunities for travel industry, travelers. https://jagwire.augusta.edu/virtual-tourism-could-offer-new-opportunities-for-travel-industry-travelers/ . Accessed 1 March 2022

Shang LW, Zakaria MH, Ahmad I (2016) Mobile phone augmented reality postcard. J Telecommun Electron Comput Eng 8(2):135–139

Shukri SA, Arshad H, Abidin RZ (2017) Mobile augmented reality system design guidelines based on tourist’s emotional state. J Telecommun Electron Comput Eng 9(2–12):75–79

Siang TG, Aziz KA, Ahmad Z (2016) Determining tourists’ behavioural intention to use mobile tourism applications: moderating effect of gender. Information 19(8A):3167–3172

Slater M, Wilbur S (1997) A framework for immersive virtual environments (FIVE): speculations on the role of presence in virtual environments. Presence Teleoper Virtual Environ 6(6):603–616. https://doi.org/10.1162/pres.1997.6.6.603

Sommerauer P, Müller O (2014) Augmented reality in informal learning environments: a field experiment in a mathematics exhibition. Comput Educ 79:59–68. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2014.07.013

Sussmann S, Vanhegan H (2000) Virtual reality and the tourism product substitution or complement? http://aisel.aisnet.org/ecis2000/117

Tan KL, Lim CK (2017) Digital heritage gamification: an augmented-virtual walkthrough to learn and explore tangible cultural heritage. J Telecommun Electron Comput Eng 9(2–12):125–129. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.5005472

tom Dieck MC, Jung TH (2017) Value of augmented reality at cultural heritage sites: a stakeholder approach. J Destin Mark Manag 6(2):110–117. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jdmm.2017.03.002

tom Dieck MC, Jung T (2018) A theoretical model of mobile augmented reality acceptance in urban heritage tourism. Curr Issues Tour 21(2):154–174. https://doi.org/10.1080/13683500.2015.1070801

tom Dieck MC, Jung T, Han D-I (2016) Mapping requirements for the wearable smart glasses augmented reality museum application. J Hosp Tour Technol 7(3):230–253. https://doi.org/10.1108/jhtt-09-2015-0036

tom Dieck MC, Jung TH, Rauschnabel PA (2018) Determining visitor engagement through augmented reality at science festivals: an experience economy perspective. Comput Hum Behav 82:44–53. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2017.12.043

tom Dieck MC, Jung TH, tom Dieck MC (2018) Enhancing art gallery visitors’ learning experience using wearable augmented reality: generic learning outcomes perspective. Curr Issues Tour 21(17):2014–2034. https://doi.org/10.1080/13683500.2016.1224818

tom Dieck D, tom Dieck MC, Jung T, Moorhouse N (2018) Tourists’ virtual reality adoption: an exploratory study from Lake District national park. Leis Stud 37(4):371–383. https://doi.org/10.1080/02614367.2018.1466905

Tourism Australia (2020) International market performance statistics. https://www.tourism.australia.com/en/markets-and-stats/tourism-statistics/international-market-performance.html . Accessed 15 August 2020

Trojan J (2016) Integrating AR services for the masses: geotagged POI transformation platform. J Hosp Tour Technol 7(3):254–265. https://doi.org/10.1108/JHTT-07-2015-0028

Tsai S-P (2019) Augmented reality enhancing place satisfaction for heritage tourism marketing. Curr Issues Tour 23(9):1–6. https://doi.org/10.1080/13683500.2019.1598950

Tussyadiah IP, Jung TH, tom Dieck MC (2018a) Embodiment of wearable augmented reality technology in tourism experiences. J Travel Res 57(5):597–611. https://doi.org/10.1177/0047287517709090

Tussyadiah IP, Wang D, Jung TH, tom Dieck MC (2018b) Virtual reality, presence, and attitude change: empirical evidence from tourism. Tour Manag 66:140–154. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2017.12.003

United Nations World Tourism Organization (2019) International tourism highlights, 2019 edition. Madrid: UNWTO. https://doi.org/10.18111/9789284421152

United Nations World Tourism Organization (2021) International tourism and COVID-19. https://www.unwto.org/international-tourism-and-covid-19 . Accessed 12 May 2021

Unity Technologies (2020) Unity. https://www.unity.com/ . Accessed May 12 2020

Wagler A, Hanus MD (2018) Comparing virtual reality tourism to real-life experience: effects of presence and engagement on attitude and enjoyment. Commun Res Rep 35(5):456–464. https://doi.org/10.1080/08824096.2018.1525350

Walton JK (2018) Tourism. https://www.britannica.com/topic/tourism . Accessed 12 May 2020

Wei W (2019) Research progress on virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) in tourism and hospitality: a critical review of publications from 2000 to 2018. J Hosp Tour Technol 10(4):539–570. https://doi.org/10.1108/JHTT-04-2018-0030

Wei W, Qi R, Zhang L (2019) Effects of virtual reality on theme park visitors’ experience and behaviors: a presence perspective. Tour Manag 71:282–293. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2018.10.024

Williams P, Hobson JSP (1995) Virtual reality and tourism: fact or fantasy? Tour Manag 16(6):423–427. https://doi.org/10.1016/0261-5177(95)00050-X

Wu H-C, Ai C-H, Cheng C-C (2019) Virtual reality experiences, attachment and experiential outcomes in tourism. Tour Rev 75(3):481–495. https://doi.org/10.1108/TR-06-2019-0205

Wu S-T, Chiu C-H, Chen Y-S (2020) The influences of innovative technological introduction on interpretive experiences of exhibition: a discussion on the intention to use augmented reality. Asia Pac J Tour Res 25(6):652–667. https://doi.org/10.1080/10941665.2020.1752754

Yeh C-H, Wang Y-S, Li H-T, Lin S-Y (2017) The effect of information presentation modes on tourists’ responses in internet marketing: the moderating role of emotions. J Travel Tour Mark 34(8):1018–1032. https://doi.org/10.1080/10548408.2016.1276509

Yoon SA, Anderson E, Park M, Elinich K, Lin J (2018) How augmented reality, textual, and collaborative scaffolds work synergistically to improve learning in a science museum. Res Sci Technol Educ 36(3):261–281. https://doi.org/10.1080/02635143.2017.1386645

Yovcheva Z, Buhalis D, Gatzidis C, van Elzakker CPJM (2014) Empirical evaluation of smartphone augmented reality browsers in an urban tourism destination context. Int J Mob Hum Comput Interact 6(2):10–31. https://doi.org/10.4018/ijmhci.2014040102

Yung R, Khoo-Lattimore C, Potter LE (2019) VR the world: investigating the effectiveness of virtual reality for destination marketing through presence, emotion, and intention. e-Rev Tour Res 17(3): 368–384

Yung R, Khoo-Lattimore C (2019) New realities: a systematic literature review on virtual reality and augmented reality in tourism research. Curr Issues Tour 22(17):2056–2081. https://doi.org/10.1080/13683500.2017.1417359

Zeng G, Cao X, Lin Z, Xiao SH (2020) When online reviews meet virtual reality: effects on consumer hotel booking. Ann Tour Res 81:102860. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annals.2020.102860

Download references

Acknowledgements

The content of this paper is part of doctoral thesis of the first author. The authors would like to acknowledge the contribution of the Australian Government Research Training Program Scholarship and Sebelas Maret University in supporting this research.

Open Access funding enabled and organized by CAUL and its Member Institutions. The authors did not receive support from any organization for the submitted work.

Author information

Authors and affiliations.

Discipline of Business Information Systems, School of Management and Marketing, Curtin University, Perth, WA, Australia

Eko Harry Pratisto, Nik Thompson & Vidyasagar Potdar

Department of Informatics Engineering, School of Vocational, Sebelas Maret University, Surakarta, Indonesia

Eko Harry Pratisto

You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar

Contributions

Eko Harry Pratisto: Conceptualization-idea; Literature search; Data analysis; Writing-original draft; Writing—review and editing. Nik Thompson: Supervision; Writing—review and editing. Vidyasagar Potdar: Supervision; Writing—review and editing.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Eko Harry Pratisto .

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest.

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Publisher's note.

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Appendix: Full list summary of 88 selected articles

Rights and permissions.

Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ .

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Pratisto, E.H., Thompson, N. & Potdar, V. Immersive technologies for tourism: a systematic review. Inf Technol Tourism 24 , 181–219 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40558-022-00228-7

Download citation

Received : 13 July 2021

Revised : 30 May 2022

Accepted : 30 May 2022

Published : 22 June 2022

Issue Date : June 2022

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/s40558-022-00228-7

Share this article

Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content:

Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article.

Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative

• Augmented reality
• Immersive technology
• Mixed reality
• Systematic review
• Virtual reality
• Find a journal
• Publish with us
• Track your research

• Tourismembassy /
• Tourismembassy Blog /
• Tourism trends /

The use of new technologies in the tourism industry

23/10/2013 13:26

Source: Tourismembassy

Category: Tourism trends

Post only in English

Technology has had great impacts on the tourism as well as other sectors affiliated to tourism.  These are sectors such as transport, communication and tours among other sectors. Over the years, the use of technology in tourism has been enhanced uniquely to provide very exclusive services all across the globe. In the recent past when technology was rarely used in the tourism sector, most services were of very poor quality and equally unreliable. However, with time technology has gone a long way in improving the quality of service delivery in the tourism sector.

According to research, it has been noted that technology has had exceedingly great benefits to the tourism sector especially in line with the provision of services that are up-to-date with the current trends in the sector. The best thing about technology is that it has been very dynamic and equally vibrant. This has been quite important in that it has led to the invention of more sophisticated technologies that have eased operations in the tourism industry by a very great margin. With technology, operations are very easy to run and also that it is quite easy to perfect service delivery thereby being able to enhance great growth in the sector.

One of the areas that technology is adversely used in the tourism sector is in marketing and communication. This s because of the fact that for the sector to thrive and have better high returns, it is quite important to ensure that there is creation of awareness on existing tourist attraction sites. This is where marketing and advertising comes into perspective. Unlike in other sectors, marketing in the tourism sector needs to be done in a concise manner. This is because of the reason that it involves a wide scope as it should reach each corner of the earth. The tourism industry is very expansive and incorporates other many sectors thereby enhancing the great need of using well established marketing strategies.

Among the ways that technology is used in marketing in the tourism sector include the use of internet, offline marketing through use of billboards and social media. These marketing strategies are much diversified and mainly target on reaching as many people as possible. This has been quite important in that it has made it easy to create awareness about the existence of great features in the tourism sector. By extension, the use of technology in marketing in the tourism sector has also gone a long way in ensuring that other sectors affiliated to tourism also grow. These are sectors such as air transport, the hotel industry and tour firms among other sectors.

There are very many similarities that exist between tourism and technology. For starters, these sectors are mutually dependent with each other and are advancing towards the same direction. This has been quite important in that it has led to the transformation of the tourism sector by the onset of technology. Devices such as tablets and laptops developed using technology have had a great influence on the use of social media in tourism which in turn has brought about great growth in the sector. The expectations of tourists rose with the advancement of technology whereby tourists developed an urge to have each aspect in the tourism sector to be perfect.  There is much effort that has gone towards the introduction and incorporation of technology in the tourism sector.

In line with environmental protection, there has been great need to use technology in promoting environmental protection in the tourism sector. This has been achieved through the use of solar powered devices and gadgets such as laptops used in tourism.  The latest trends in technology and tourism have seen the development of Strawberry Mini devices that are very ideal for use in amusement & theme parks, ski areas and resorts among other sectors in tourism. By considering the fact that the tourism industry brings together individuals who have great interests in nature, environmental protection has been quite important and equally called for.

New technologies have gone a long way in influencing growth and development in the tourism sector in very many ways.  This is supported by the fact that the expectations of tourists have grown amicably as they expect to get better and well based services. It is expected that in the coming years, this growth will be enhanced further thereby making it quite important for the tourism industry to be able to keep up to the changes. Tourists can be sure to get better defined services that will go a long way in enhancing their satisfaction. The main goal of the introduction of technology in tourism is to improve service delivery and consequently be able to provide tourists with value for their hard earned cash. 

There is no comments yet.

You must login Login Sign up