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Tourism cloud management system: the impact of smart tourism

• Fang Yin 1 ,
• Xiong Yin 2 ,
• Jincheng Zhou 3 ,
• Xinli Zhang 1 ,
• Ruihua Zhang 3 , 4 ,
• Ebuka Ibeke 5 ,
• Marvellous GodsPraise Iwendi 6 &
• Mohammad Shah 7  

Journal of Cloud Computing volume  11 , Article number:  37 ( 2022 ) Cite this article

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This study investigates the possibility of supporting tourists in a foreign land intelligently by using the Tourism Cloud Management System (TCMS) to enhance and better their tourism experience. Some technologies allow tourists to highlight popular tourist routes and circuits through the visualisation of data and sensor clustering approaches. With this, a tourist can access the shared data on a specific location to know the sites of famous local attractions, how other tourists feel about them, and how to participate in local festivities through a smart tourism model. This study surveyed the potential of smart tourism among tourists and how such technologies have developed over time while proposing a TCMS. Its goals were to make physical/paper tickets redundant via the introduction of a mobile app with eTickets that can be validated using camera and QR code technologies and to enhance the transport network using Bluetooth and GPS for real-time identification of tourists’ presence. The results show that a significant number of participants engage in tourist travels, hence the need for smart tourism and tourist management. It was concluded that smart tourism is very appealing to tourists and can improve the appeal of the destination if smart solutions are implemented. This study gives a first-hand review of the preference of tourists and the potential of smart tourism. 

Introduction

Destinations like China are primed for successful performance in incoming tourism, with China set to overtake France as the leading destination worldwide by 2030 [ 1 ]. Similarly, tourism in the city of Mumbai, India, also increases yearly. Between 2009 and 2017, Mumbai saw an increase of 10.6%— the second highest growth rate in tourism for European tourists. The World Travel Awards awarded India and Mumbai the ‘Best Destination’ and ‘Best Destination City’, respectively, in 2018. However, China is primed to take over this position. As tourism steadily grows, so does the use of smartphones. As observed in [ 2 ], the cellphone has been adopted as a regular tourist travel device because of its ubiquity capabilities and progressive computing. With exponential growth in its users and its growing variety of applications, the mobile phone is changing the perspective of tourist travel and transport networks. The capacity to carry over 8 sensors with context-awareness opportunities is what has made smartphones so valuable in tourism [ 3 ]. The camera and microphone, the first features of the smartphone, have quickly been joined by GPS, compasses, proximity sensors, accelerometers, and gyroscopes. These proximity sensors allow system-adaptive devices to develop and function effectively as smart personal assistants. The two examples below could make the experience easier:

A smartphone with a mobile app which uses the camera and QR code technology for the validation of tickets, making the use of paper tickets redundant.

The use of Bluetooth and GPS for real-time identification of tourists’ presence, following dynamic patterns and enhancing the transport network.

The main contribution of this paper is the analysis of methodologies that include the features mentioned above in already existing technologies while proposing a Tourism Cloud Management System (TCMS). We consider a mobile which could be used to sell reserves for the transport of tourists, using a QR code as an identifier for validation. We also consider a mobile app which gives tourists access to the digital form of their travel reservations and makes it easy for them to find stops for transport [ 4 ].

Following the growth and development of the tourism industry, innovations in finding customers, linking them, and assuring their satisfaction need to be enhanced. The competition for prices, especially for holiday destinations, is high. Information Technology allows for greater efficiency, swift reaction time, and reduced operational costs. Recent advancements have inspired extreme changes in the tourism industry. A useful development in tourism is the redesign of the booking interaction, which would allow shoppers to save time in the acquisition and reservation of tourist items. Thus, tourism organizations need to adopt cutting-edge innovations to enhance their all-around productivity.

Literature review

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has given people access to infinite digital content on leisure, culture, education, etc., on their portable devices [ 5 ]. The architecture of the Tourism Cloud Management System (TCMS) is shown in Fig.  1 . The evolution of technology has changed consumer behavior in various fields, and the tourism industry isn't an exception. ICT brings several advantages, including automation of processes which increases speed, reduced errors, and lowered expenses, all of which are of prime importance in the tourism industry. Secure processes which allow the purchase and marketing of products and services, and the transfer of videos, images, etc., are things which generate motivation for leisure-seeking consumers [ 6 ]. The tourist market is dynamic in terms of demand trends of tourists, which varies consumption habits and allows the generation of various products. This led to the creation of a route model called the intelligent tourist route to address this need.

Tourism Cloud Management System (TCMS) Architecture

The concept of smart territory in recent years has become popular among researchers and scholars of sustainable development. From the point of view of architecture and urbanism, the authors in [ 7 ] came up with the concept of smart territory and defined it as innovative territories with the ability to build competitive advantages for their surroundings, in the framework of a complicated and interconnected world. These smart territories try to find a balance between sustainability, social cohesion, and economic competition. Any territory, notwithstanding its level of infrastructure or size, can be a smart territory.

The definition of smart territory evokes a novel concept of the confluence of various related disciplines including culture, heritage, architecture, environment, regional development, urban planning, and the economy of innovation. The multidisciplinary approach of distinct sciences is applied and generates a synergy to consolidate a framework for tourism to be used in smart tourist destinations [ 8 ].

The multidisciplinary capacity and the integration of various areas need to be focused on the development of infrastructure for sensitization and connectivity. The concept of smart territory is especially relevant when one considers that the field of social and economic development needs to be approached from different perspectives. This means that the existing approach to the economy needs to have a holistic system with attractions, facilities with local management, quality and affordable pricing. This would allow the concept of a product in a destination, where circuits and routes form part of the activities.

Data visualization as a consolidation tool for smart routes

An essential part of the work done in tourism is the data visualization from the inventory of tourist attractions. It is important because it allows for a practical alternative for the conceptualization of the activity from the view of technological innovation and development in the conventional approach to tourism [ 9 ]. A good approach to the generation and consolidation of tourism science is the integration of different disciplines, with the view of creating synergy. This is exemplified by the research of evaluation and registration of tourist heritage elements (PT), connected to the data visualization (open data) created by computer graphics. Computer graphics allow the use of the most advanced technology; sensory interpretation through the perception, modelling, and representation of objects in 2D and 3D animation. These computer apps are not applied in tourist activities.

Visualization of data is a concept which uses the large correspondence force of pictures to clarify the cause, reliance, and importance found in the conceptual masses of data produced by social and logical cycles. It has not yet been fully explored in the field of tourism. It is a technological experiment in tourism management and planning as a result of its structure and the order of cultural and natural attractions. They are usually applied with the view that they can determine their possible uses [ 10 ]. An important part of the process of analyzing the tourist potential of a territory is the categorization, ranking, and inventory of tourist attractions. These processes determine how the real tourist vocation of territories would be. Based on its scope of application, it is the basis for organizing the tourist space of a community, region, department, country, or municipality. Thus, it is essential to consider tourist inventory for the generation of circuits and routes.

The only way to verify the tourist potential of the territory and justify possible investments is through a strict examination of the demand, supply, market trends, competition, and attractions of the territory. All these factors make up a comprehensive assessment of the territory and a basis for development agencies to make their decisions.

The valuation of the tourist territory consists of three primary stages:

Evaluation of the existing supply, resources, demand, market trends, and competition in the territory.

Comparison of the results of the evaluation and identifying the strengths, weaknesses, risks, and opportunities of the territory.

If there is potential, a strategy needs to be defined and followed for the development of tourism in the territory [ 11 ].

These three stages consist of the collation, treatment, and evaluation of external and internal information about the territory with strong tourism potential for the Tourism Cloud Management System.

Implementation of augmented reality and TCMS

The internet has caused a revolution in companies, tourism, the population, and the world in general. In the tourism space, it has facilitated a change in the sales and consumer channel, which reduces third-party participation and enhances competition. Consumers who are connected to the digital world with smartphones and can decide what they want have also revolutionized the world. Agents in the tourism industry have had to adapt to novel innovative technologies and the reformation of their customary products. These new technological advances make the products more valuable, allowing for a better experience [ 12 ]. Success in the management of a tourist destination can only be done with the detection of changes in the environment and their effects [ 13 ]. Adapting to new technologies is important because of the ease of promoting a destination.

TCMS shows that tourists in search of pleasurable experiences employ technological devices to speed up the selection process of what they are looking for. The perception of textual and graphical information of mobile disposition is very essential for this, as well as the possibility of reading other people’s opinions from their reviews. The options for accessing this information are numerous, including augmented reality which is on the rise [ 14 ]. For instance, a foreign tourist, a single male of higher education and 36 years of age would use the internet for planning his trip because he has spent most of his life in the technological era. It is important to know your tourist destination before getting there.

Augmented reality is an innovative tool that integrates the virtual world with the real one. It displays the content in real-time through a gadget. The difference between virtual reality and augmented reality is that the former displays elements virtually, while the latter displays real elements in a space. Although this technology has been in use since the 90 s, it is only recently adapted to mobile devices. The incorporation of this technology into tourism allows for the massive promotion of destinations and includes media information which complements the visit of the tourists in real-time. The application of augmented reality in tourist routes would allow easy access to information that can be obtained from the web. There are infinite possibilities for obtaining tourist information. This is a step towards an intelligent destination [ 15 ] in line with other state-of-the-art procedures in big data analysis [ 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 ].

Application of the smart tourist destination management model

The concept of a smart tourist destination should not be considered only as the application of the smart city model to the tourism industry. Structural variations in the tourism industry, which integrate with the consolidation of the smart city model, form the basis of the need for novel approaches to managing tourist destinations [ 21 ]. Thus, it is important to analyze some definitions of the concept. The India Tourism Ministry defined Smart Tourist Destination (STD) as an accessible innovative space, integrated with state-of-the-art technology that ensures the territory’s sustainable development, accelerates the interaction of the visitor and the environment, and enhances the quality of their trip. The basis of this definition is the principle that innovation is an essential space and operates as the centre of all proposals. According to [ 3 ], it inaugurates innovative spaces such as STDs that use novel technologies for development.

This methodology combines the novel framework of the tourist region with the climate and communication of the guests to expand the nature of their experience. It uses ICT to improve administration, reduce costs, and enhance residents’ satisfaction. The White Book on STDs emphasizes the development and innovation of ICT as the basis for novel mechanisms for the promotion of STDs. The goal is to create various differential competitive services with profitability and sustainability that turns risk into opportunity, promote diversification, fights against seasonality, and integrates success.

Gretzel et al. [ 2 ] defined STD as novel models of business management, forms of communication, and the quest for the consumer’s well-being. They use ICT for the promotion of the sustainable development of the territory, efficient management of resources, facilitation of interaction between the environment and visitors, and enhancing the citizens’ quality of life [ 3 ]. An STD’s configuration must correspond to the needs of every destination and their benefits because the mere application of technology doesn’t automatically make a destination an STD. It must be followed by a series of changes at all levels. An STD must use the available tools to satisfy the market, and because technology is not a means to an end, issues regarding accessibility, innovation, and sustainability must still be considered. Authors in [ 3 ] considered the concept of STD as a generic architecture that consists of principles originating from smart cities and includes sustainability and competitiveness at its base. The aim is to provide a holistic structure for smart tourist destinations. The idea is to revolutionize the management of tourism according to local capacity and technological possibilities.

Summary of the related recent works

Analysis of smart tourism using scopus.

The term ‘smart tourism’ was searched in the keywords, abstract, and titles of the extant SCOPUS literature. Between 2008 and 2022, 710 documents were published. These documents were studied for analysis. Figure  2 shows the published papers related to ‘smart tourism’ from 2008 to January 2022.

Number of documents related to ‘smart tourism’ from 2008 to 2022 in the SCOPUS database

Figure  3 illustrates the top 15 countries that have published work linked to smart tourism from 2008 to 2022.

Documents by country related to ‘smart tourism’

Figure  4 illustrates the comparison of published papers on smart tourism per year.

Documents per year by source related to ‘smart tourism’

The data collated from SCOPUS was further examined with the VOS viewer. Table 1 shows the list of countries with 5 or more publications on smart tourism.

Figure  5 visualizes the citations by country in Table 1 .

Citations by country

Figure  6 illustrates the keywords used in the published works of smart tourism, including the recent research of 2020. Some of these keywords include smart tourism, city, climate change, e-tourism [ 22 ], etc.

Keywords: Overlay visualization

Methodology

The TCMS study in this research uses a descriptive approach: a survey with a questionnaire to collect the required data. We formed a respondent base of 200 tourists in China selected based on the reviews of popular tourist portals including Trip Advisor. All tourists were given a link to a Google form (questionnaire) they were to fill out. 66 completed responses were used for the analysis. The questionnaire comprised close-ended questions using Likert’s five-point scale. The collated data were evaluated statistically with SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences), a statistical software used for advanced analytics, data management, business intelligence and multivariate analysis.

Table 2 shows the percentage of people who admitted they take trips to unknown destinations very often.

Table 3 shows the percentage of consumers who believed that tourist interests would increase and the percentage of consumers who believed the level of interest would remain static.

Table 4 illustrates the percentage of respondents who said they would be satisfied with the quality of smart tourism application services.

Table 5 shows the percentage of respondents who believe they would communicate better in a foreign land with smart tourism applications.

Table 6 shows the mean for males and females and the mean difference at the threshold p-value of lower than 0.05 level. The F-test value was 0.536, indicating it was significant at 0.465, and that the variance of both groups is equal. The equal variance was used as per the T-test that was conducted. The T value for the equal variances was 2.774, meaning it was significant at 0.006, which indicates a difference in male and female behavior regarding the preference for smart tourism.

Many people go to tourist destinations annually and believe that their interest may increase if smart solutions are available. The majority agreed that the quality of service may be enhanced if there are smart tourism applications. However, most did not believe that smart tourism applications may result in better communication in foreign lands. From the results presented above, it is obvious that the implementation of smart tourism applications would result in better patronage from tourists for tourist destinations. The results illustrate that in comparison with state-of-the-art existing work, there are several possibilities and applications of it in multiple fields.

This paper proposes a Tourism Cloud Management System (TCMS) and discusses the infinite possibilities of the comprehensive approach that integrates different disciplines for the consolidation of a multi-and transdisciplinary concept based on limited action and functionality. It includes several possibilities in design, tourism, ICT, economy, and multimedia, among others. The implementation and application of the TCMS would enable intelligent and smart management of tourism and enhance tourists' experiences. It is necessary to take local action to integrate the proposed Smart Tourist Destination Management model. In the future, this paper aims to systemize and homogenize the collection of information on various tourist attractions, i.e., making the collection of information on tourist attractions easier. Another objective is to propose its use in preparing sustainable development plans for tourism and to convince private and public individuals to support the use of technological innovation in tourism.

Availability of data and materials

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No.61862051), the Science and Technology Foundation of Guizhou Province (No.[2019],1299, No.ZK[2022]550), the Top-notch Talent Program of Guizhou province (No.KY[2018]080), the Natural Science Foundation of Education of Guizhou province(No.[2019]203) and the Funds of Qiannan Normal University for Nationalities (No. qnsy2018003, No. qnsy2019rc09, No. qnsy2018JS013, No. qnsyrc201715).

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No.61862051), the Science and Technology Foundation of Guizhou Province (No.[2019],1299, No.ZK[2022]550), the Top-notch Talent Program of Guizhou province (No.KY[2018]080), the Natural Science Foundation of Education of Guizhou province(No.[2019]203) and the Funds of Qiannan Normal University for Nationalities (No. qnsy2018003, No. qnsy2019rc09, No. qnsy2018JS013, No. qnsyrc201715). 

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Business School, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610065, China

Fang Yin & Xinli Zhang

Business School, Geely University of China, Chengdu, 641400, China

School of Computer and Information and Key Laboratory of Complex Systems and Intelligent Optimization of Guizhou, Qiannan Normal University for Nationalities, Duyun, Guizhou, 558000, China

Jincheng Zhou & Ruihua Zhang

Faculty of Education, Language and Psychology Postgraduate Department, Segi University, Petaling Jaya, Malaysia

Ruihua Zhang

School of Creative and Cultural Business, Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen, AB10 7AQ, UK

Ebuka Ibeke

University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Nigeria

Marvellous GodsPraise Iwendi

University of Westminster London, London, UK

Mohammad Shah

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Contributions

Conceptualization by Fang Yin, Jincheng Zhou; Questionnaire by Xiong Yin, Xinli Zhang, and Ruihua Zhang; Formal Analysis by Ebuka Ibeke and Marvellous GodsPraise Iwendi; Investigation by Mohammad Shah and Ebuka Ibeke; Resources and Data collection by Xiong Yin, Xinli Zhang, and Ruihua Zhang; Writing by: Jincheng Zhou and Fang Yin; Validation by: Ebuka Ibeke and Marvellous GodsPraise Iwendi; Funding Acquisition by Jincheng Zhou and Mohammad Shah. The authors read and approved the final manuscript. 

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Correspondence to Xinli Zhang or Mohammad Shah .

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Yin, F., Yin, X., Zhou, J. et al. Tourism cloud management system: the impact of smart tourism. J Cloud Comp 11 , 37 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13677-022-00316-3

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• Smart Tourism
• Tourist Displacement
• Data Visualization

ICT and the future of tourist management

Journal of Tourism Futures

ISSN : 2055-5911

Article publication date: 31 May 2019

Issue publication date: 21 November 2019

The purpose of this paper is to speculate how recent and emerging trends in information and communication technology (ICT) could change the way tourism businesses and organizations communicate with and manage their guests.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper applies elements of futures and design thinking to analyze current tourism management practices and identify critical touchpoints that link tourist decisions to management strategies.

Fictional travel stories were used to identify and analyze how technology might affect tourism through five touchpoints– choice, connection, co-creation, customization and compliance. These stories were analyzed to identify changing forces and suggest potential paradigm shifts that tourism managers need to consider. These included increasingly complex content, the importance of compatible connections, and the critical role of coordination and cooperation in future tourism systems.

Originality/value

While there have been numerous discussions of how tourists and tourism businesses access and use technology, there is little evidence of scholars and practitioners applying formal futures thinking to ICT and tourism. This paper used design thinking and stories to predict and illustrate ways in which technology could be embedded into tourism experiences and services. It suggests that technology can, and probably will, fundamentally change the way in which we manage tourists and their experiences.

• Tourist management
• Emerging ICT
• Internet of Things
• Futures thinking
• Design thinking

Hughes, K. and Moscardo, G. (2019), "ICT and the future of tourist management", Journal of Tourism Futures , Vol. 5 No. 3, pp. 228-240. https://doi.org/10.1108/JTF-12-2018-0072

Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2019, Karen Hughes and Gianna Moscardo

Published in Journal of Tourism Futures . Published by Emerald Publishing Limited. This article is published under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) licence. Anyone may reproduce, distribute, translate and create derivative works of this article (for both commercial and non-commercial purposes), subject to full attribution to the original publication and authors. The full terms of this licence may be seen at http://creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0/legalcode

Introduction

“We always overestimate the change that will occur in the next two years and underestimate the change that will occur in the next ten. Don’t let yourself be lulled into inaction.” In this commonly cited quote, the Founder of Microsoft, Bill Gates, is urging organizations to be more future-oriented in the way they plan for technology adoption and manage change ( Weil, 2008 ). These sentiments are especially pertinent to tourism, as thinking about and planning for future change has been identified as a major weakness in both tourism research and practice ( Yeoman, 2012 ), particularly in relation to information and communication technology (ICT).

Use of computers and other digital technologies is rapidly evolving. The widespread uptake of mobile devices enables access to multiple sources of information in a ubiquitous, continuously connected environment. The ways in which organizations change and respond to new technology are commonly categorized into three stages ( Rainie and Wellman, 2012 ). In the first or substitution stage, organizations use new technology to automate or do existing tasks more efficiently ( Contractor and Bishop, 2000 ). In the second or enlargement stage people learn to use the new technology to increase both the volume and complexity of existing tasks ( Contractor and Bishop, 2000 ). Through this learning process users begin to recognize new possibilities and new opportunities before moving into the third or reconfiguration phase where the “new technology fundamentally changes the nature of the things it was created to address” ( Rainie and Wellman, 2012 , p. 297). It is in this third phase that systems experience significant innovation and disruption and organizations face strong competition from those who have adapted more quickly to the changes ( Rainie and Wellman, 2012 ).

The challenge for tourism organizations is to find ways to think ahead to this reconfiguration phase and anticipate the changes that might be required to respond to possible transformations in their markets, processes and systems. The existing literature on ICT and tourism has tended to focus on the adoption, use, and evaluation of specific technologies, generally arguing for greater use of technology in tourism, usually with a substitution or enlargement claim. While some recent papers have begun to give attention to the potential for ICT developments to produce disruptive and transformative change ( Gretzel, Sigala, Xiang and Koo, 2015 ; Gretzel, Werthner, Koo and Lamsfus, 2015 ; Werthner et al. , 2015 ), to date there appears to be no systematic attempt to analyze tourism futures with regard to ICT. Additionally, scholars have tended to focus on implications for tourism supply with only limited attention paid to tourist decisions. What has not been explored to date is the possibility that advances in ICT are highly likely to change the way tourists contact and interact with suppliers. This paper seeks to address these gaps by combining elements of both futures and design thinking approaches to develop a conceptual framework focused on the touchpoints that link tourists and tourism suppliers, and by using stories to highlight how ICT may transform and disrupt these touchpoints.

Futures thinking, design thinking and stories

Much academic research in tourism looks backwards, providing detailed descriptions of the past and adhering to very traditional communication formats ( Sheldon et al. , 2011 ). Futures thinking usually seeks to present ideas about what could happen in the future “to stimulate thinking around key issues” ( Varum et al. , 2011 , p. 100). It has been argued in other areas that if academics want to look forward and study futures and innovation they need to develop not only new methods but also be more innovative in the way they present the resulting knowledge ( Gobble, 2014 ). Analyses of effective futures thinking in both general and tourism contexts consistently conclude that “best practice” approaches are based on mapping and analyzing existing systems; critically examining current assumptions, ideas and practices; and building scenarios or stories of the future ( Inayatullah, 2008 ; Page et al. , 2010 ; Yeoman, 2012 ).

Design thinking is concerned with presenting ideas about what should happen in the future to guide innovation. Design thinking suggests paying greater attention to analyzing user intentions and evaluations, advocating the use of stories ( Brown, 2009 ) and combining creativity and science for more effective innovation ( Goes, 2014 ). Stories are particularly effective for engaging with and presenting information to key stakeholders ( IDEO, 2012 ). User stories have also been used in futures thinking about ICT in general (cf. Atzori et al. , 2014 ). Given their complementary goals, it is not surprising that descriptions of futures and design thinking offer a similar set of steps and tools for analysis and presentation ( Goes, 2014 ).

Inayatullah’s (2008 ) Six Pillar model offers five steps for futures thinking that was adapted for this paper. An overview of the futures/design thinking approach used is presented in Figure 1 . The first step involved mapping the present by briefly reviewing current approaches to researching tourism and technology adoption. Second, a deeper systems analysis using a story was conducted. This focused on identifying critical touchpoints where tourist goals connect to management actions. Third, the emerging technologies most likely to cause transformation in tourism were described. Fourth, the touchpoints were used to organize a future user story highlighting likely paradigm shifts within tourism management. Finally, the paper presents possible challenges and barriers to change.

Step one: reviewing current tourism ICT research

A review of current research into ICT and tourism was conducted focusing on papers published in the Journal of Information Technology and Tourism between 2010 and 2017, and papers presented at ENTER conferences. These were supplemented by a search through Google Scholar and the major electronic databases of Proquest, Science Direct, Emerald Insight and Sage Journals, which collectively cover all the major journals in tourism including the Journal of Tourism Futures . This second part of the search used the search phrase “ICT tourism review” and variants such “information technology tourism review,” and “technology tourism review” in order to focus attention on a broader level of analysis.

describing and or advocating the use of different ICT options to do existing tasks better;

profiling which tourists use ICT and how tourists use ICT;

examining user experience and evaluations of ICT applications in tourism;

studying tourist organizations’ adoption and use of ICTs;

researching data analytics;

discussing technical and design features of, and improvements to, specific technologies;

exploring the role of ICT in tourist experience enhancement and co-creation; and

analyzing the concept of smart tourism and smart tourism destinations ( Law et al. , 2014 ; Liang et al. , 2017 ; Navío-Marco et al. , 2018 ; Standing et al. , 2014 ; Wang et al. , 2010 ; Yuan et al. , 2018 ).

As noted previously, while many ICT and tourism papers suggest ICT has the potential to fundamentally change the nature of tourism and tourism business structures, few have attempted to systematically map out likely changes.

Step two: using a story to identify critical touchpoints

The next step in futures analysis is analyzing current systems and processes. It is rare to find information on how tourists interact with and connect to the supply components of a destination ( Pearce, 2016 ). The lack of a widely accepted tourism management system model necessitated use of an alternative approach to analyze management processes and systems. Stories were chosen for two reasons. First this approach is commonly used in both design and futures thinking to link user experiences to management actions ( Brown, 2009 ; IDEO, 2012 ). Second, tourists’ stories are emerging as an important research and analysis tool because they provide important insights into tourist management issues ( Moscardo, 2017a ; Woodside, 2010 ).

The Bennett family has been planning their short break for many weeks. Together they have planned an itinerary that includes three nights in a beachside luxury resort in a tropical location [Choice]. Mr and Mrs Bennett are looking forward to exploring the local art gallery, while Josh and Ella (aged 9 and 11) excitedly discuss the nearby jungle walk to deserted temple ruins and how it sounds just like the setting of one of their favourite Adventure Dan online games.

They check in and click through the online menus on their TV. Mrs Bennett has special dietary requirements and makes a booking at a restaurant where the menu looks like it might accommodate her requirements [Choice]. They adjust the room’s air-conditioning so that it will be nice and cool on their return [Customization], then head out to the nearest art gallery, ignoring the sign asking them to save energy by turning everything off when they leave the room [Compliance].

At the art gallery they explore the art on offer, learning about the local artists from the labels and listening to an audio visual presentation on the role of the environment in inspiring the exhibition. The kids are restless – they have been promised the jungle walk that afternoon if they behave but really, there’s nothing much of interest for them here [Customization]. The kids’ audio trail is boring and the activity centre only has colouring-in sheets and video games [Customization]. Mrs Bennett thinks it would be lovely to meet another family with children of similar ages so the kids could have someone to play with [Connection]. Mr Bennett thinks it might be nice to meet some of the local artists and get more connected to the local community and its culture [Connection].

They return to the hotel for a short siesta in the air-conditioning, then set off on their walk. The kids excitedly push past each other trying to be the first to the ruins. Mrs Bennett has to constantly remind them to stop to read the signs. Together they discuss who might have made the path and how they did it – none of the signs seem to mention this [Customization]. Mrs Bennett gets flustered about making sure the kids stay on the path – it’s quite steep in places but luckily there are fences to stop them getting too close to the edge [Compliance]. Mr Bennett isn’t too pleased though – the barriers spoil his scenic photographs and intrude on his quiet contemplation of nature [Customization].

Once at the temple, the kids climb all over the walls, ignoring the safety signs at the bottom [Compliance]. They’re both really excited to be exploring ancient ruins in the jungle like Adventure Dan. They wonder who built the temple and what it would be like for the explorer who had actually discovered this temple [Customization]. They plead with Mr and Mrs Bennett to buy them paint from the gift shop so they can help colour-in a large frieze of Adventure Dan propped up near the temple walls [Co-creation] but Mrs Bennett isn’t interested and Mr Bennett is too hot and bothered. Perhaps another day…

making choices or decisions about the next course of action such as finding an appropriate restaurant or planning an activity;

customizing activities, services and experiences to meet personal needs, circumstances and interests;

complying with safety and minimal impact directives such as staying on paths and not climbing on walls;

seeking to build connections, either to enhance in-group relationships by ensuring a balance of activities that appeal to all members, or to meet other people such as the local artists or families with children; and

co-creating experiences that are personally meaningful, engaging and memorable.

Inayatullah (2008 ) refers to the process of identifying underlying goals and functions as deepening and argues that this process focuses attention on core areas for futures analysis and change strategies. In the Bennetts’ holiday story, the five touchpoints identified (choice, customization, compliance, connections and co-creation) provide a way to think about tourist experiences and management systems that progresses beyond simply describing the elements in the current system.

Step three: describing emerging and predicted ICT development

In 2013, the McKinsey Global Institute identified a set of disruptive technologies predicted to significantly alter the way we think, work and play. Table I provides a summary of technologies most likely to affect tourism. These have considerable scope to influence a broad range of industries, products and services; have the potential to create substantial economic impact; are advancing rapidly; and are likely to change how we view and interact with the world ( Manyika et al. , 2013 ).

Many areas of tourism are likely to be impacted and changed by disruptive technologies. Mobile communication devices help travelers to navigate through unfamiliar terrain and to connect with a broad range of tourism providers. They allow tourists to create itineraries “on the run” by providing access to websites, apps and social media sites that offer travel information, booking services and user recommendations. ICTs will allow greater sharing of recommendations from travelers with similar characteristics, motives and preferences. In the future, networks of travelers could be the primary source of hints and advice, with location-based services enabling travelers connect with others in their current surroundings who can provide “real time” advice on things to see and do. As Lamsfus et al. (2015 ) argue, internet access is virtually ubiquitous which allows people to connect to their social networks and networks of others who may be present in the same time and space. At the moment, social media networks send alerts when someone in your network is in the same vicinity. In the future, we may be able to expand our networks by inviting likeminded others in our immediate vicinity to share our experiences. For example, traveling families could connect to locals with similar aged children to share experiences and resources; or link back to family and friends back home who could simultaneously experience their travels using AR technology.

Digital technologies have already allowed organizations to develop experiences where the virtual world responds to tourists’ actions. To illustrate, the Disney company has developed technology that places weight sensors in cakes so that when a guest takes a slice, butterflies (images projected on the cake) are released ( Mine et al. , 2012 ). Augmented Reality can superimpose images of the past (architecture, furnishings, events) over what is currently visible; headsets and helmets combine computer generated sounds with sounds in the immediate surroundings; and hand-held devices and/or gloves can respond to touch and pressure (Jung et al. , 2015).

The key challenge here is that the proliferation of information may hinder rather than enhance tourists’ understanding and decision making. One strategy to help tourists cope with the increasing volume of information and possible choices is the use of semantic tagging and programming to customize information more closely to individual preferences. Many websites already offer additional information and advertisements to tourists based on their patterns of search and use. As sensors embedded in the Internet of Things and data analytic algorithms become more sophisticated and accurate in measuring consumer behaviors, commercial provision of information and advertisements will become more closely aligned to an individual’s needs and preferences. Apps are already able to track tourists’ movements; inform them when they’re in the proximity of favorite brands, events and social contacts; and provide directions and recommendations ( Lua et al. , 2015 ). Tagging could also be used to direct people’s movements. Currently, site managers use a combination of physical environmental design (fences, walkways) and persuasive communication (e.g. signs, brochures, guides), sometimes supported by threat of penalty, to guide tourist behavior in areas where safety and negative impacts are a concern ( Mason, 2005 ). In the future, these functions could be allocated to onsite sensors linked to the Internet of Things. These could be programed to send vibrating or audible warning when tourists stray into dangerous or prohibited areas or engage in undesirable actions.

Step four: using stories to understand the forces for change

At the beginning of the year the Bennett family registered their interest in a June mini-break and three weeks ago got notification that their dream holiday was available! Bookings for hotels, tours and activities that match holidays they have taken previously are on hold if they wished to take up the offer [Customization]. They decide to go! Mr and Mrs Bennett are looking forward to exploring the local art gallery that has been sending them pod casts [Customization], while Josh and Ella (aged 9 and 11) excitedly discuss the nearby jungle walk to deserted temple ruins that feature as the background in their favourite Adventure Dan online games.

On arrival, the robot receptionist accesses their cloud-based guest profiles – no need for tedious forms and procedures – and programs their in-room TV to provide multi-sensory menus from near-by restaurants [Choice]. The automatic Skype connection with each restaurant allows Mrs Bennett to talk to the chef about her dietary requirements and custom-design something suitable for that night [Customization]. As they leave for the art gallery, room sensors turn off the air-conditioning and lights [Compliance].

Sensors in the art gallery retrieve their profiles from their mobile devices and suggest a route through the space that would best suit each of their tastes. As they wander through, each family member receives different information, stories and questions through their Alexa connected headphones [Customization]. Then they all receive a message that a family with similar demographics and taste has entered the gallery – would they like to meet up so the kids can do a treasure hunt together? [Connection] Mr Bennett has concentrated his visit on galleries displaying contemporary artwork and declines because he’s just received a message that his favourite artist is part of a live-stream broadcast in the gallery’s sensory dome and he has lots of questions he wants to ask her [Customization].

The kids and the mums meet up [Connection] and spend the next hour happily looking for the “treasure” in certain art works. They adjust the colours and composition of each painting by holding up their mobile devices, giving it instructions and seeing it change on screen [Customization]. This provides much entertainment, especially as their Snapchat glasses allow them to share their “new” paintings with their social media networks [Connection].

After lunch, the family sets off on their walk with their new friends [Connection]. The kids excitedly push past each other trying to be the first to the ruins. As the families reach points of interest, their mobile devices vibrate to alert them to audio and/or visual information about the place [Customization]. Together they discuss who might have made the path and how they did it – their wearable devices interpret the conversation and almost immediately the answers start to appear. Mr. Bennett doesn’t really want this information so he turns that function off on his device [Choice]. The path is quite steep in places but sensors activate loud warning sounds if anyone gets too close to the edge [Compliance]. Mr Bennett is happy because there are no fences to spoil the view and the feeling of being in nature [Customization].

As they approach the complex, they receive notification that a large tour group is currently onsite; consequently, a secondary path is now open – taking this will ensure that by the time they reach the main temple, the group will have left [Customization]. Suddenly, the path lights up – it’s an Adventure Dan hologram inviting them to don their portable AR headsets to explore the temple with him! Using their AR headsets, they are able to see, hear and smell what the temple would have looked like when it was first discovered 200 years ago. Adventure Dan invites the children to take on the role of their favourite character, and together they act out a story about discovering hidden treasure [Co-Creation]. The kids are particularly intrigued that Adventure Dan knows so much about their tastes and preferences [Customization]. This is so cool and they don’t need an adult to play! Their parents start to relax – each child is tagged through their devices so it’s easy to see where they are on the online interactive site map. They also know that onsite cameras and sensors will prevent the kids climbing the walls or doing anything silly [Compliance].

Just as she’s wondering how to spend the next hour or so, Mrs Bennett is delighted to receive an invitation on her mobile device from the tribal chief to hear the story of the temple’s creation – exactly what she’s interested in! [Customization]. She pops on her Snapchat glasses so she can livestream the experience to her best friend at home [Connection]. Mr Bennett wants a more solitary experience. He turns his device to “quiet contemplation” mode and wanders through the site listening to relaxing music [Choice].

That evening, Josh and Ella download a recording of their Adventure Dan experience that features them as the lead characters in their very own story [Co-Creation]. They can’t wait to post this to the Adventure Dan online community for other gamers to enjoy and comment on [Connection]!

The changing forces within tourism management that have been highlighted in this story are summarized in Figure 2 . This is a positive scenario in which the predicted technologies enhance the visitor experience along a number of dimensions. It is possible to generate a number of alternative scenarios ranging from a very negative one in which the predicted technologies detract from all dimensions of the experience through to scenarios in which the technology is sometimes a positive force and sometimes a negative one. It is also possible to extend this analysis to include features beyond the immediate visitor experience in some detail including pre-travel decision making and post-travel reflection. Unfortunately space restrictions in a single paper exclude detailed examination of all these alternatives. The choice to focus on a positive scenarios reflect the strong focus in the existing tourism and ICT literature on highlighting how these predicted technologies will enhance tourism. Negative or critical analyses of ICT and tourism are extremely rare. The choice to focus on the tourist or visitor experience rather than on other travel phases was based on a desire to explore this aspect of tourism in more detail as the existing literature mentions it but generally focuses on tourism organization and processes not directly linked to the tourist experience. Thus the aim was to use the existing literature, which is about enhancement and to add to that literature by examining the tourist experience in more detail.

Figure 2 provides a preliminary conceptual framework for the further analysis of these changing forces on tourist experiences. An examination of the tourism literature found no existing general models, frameworks or theories of tourist management as a system or set of interconnected processes. There are numerous texts on tourism management that have implicit models expressed in the topics covered and the order of that coverage, but they are about tourism more broadly and are typically oriented toward setting out supply side components. In these approaches tourists are markets to be attracted, customers to be served, or potential sources of negative impacts with each of these being seen as separate activities ( Pearce, 2016 ). These tourism management approaches do not provide information on how tourists interact and connect to the supply components of destination ( Pearce, 2016 ), or how they manage themselves. The story supported the development of preliminary model of tourism management that connects tourism businesses to tourists through a set of critical touchpoints that in turn are likely to be changed significantly by emerging and predicted technologies.

The authors now examine these changing forces in more detail, paying particular attention to backstage tourism management changes that would be needed to support the future tourist story. A key feature of emerging technologies is the proliferation and complexity of content available for both tourists and tourism managers. Every aspect of the future story is based upon the generation and use of complex content about the sites, the Bennetts, and other tourists. This suggests a level of knowledge and data collection and manipulation far beyond what is currently considered as user-generated content. Considerable sophistication in the use of data analytic results will be required ( Gretzel et al. , 2015 ).

While connectivity is a key theme in discussions of the emerging and predicted technologies, this focus is almost exclusively on the connectivity between devices and between devices and their immediate users. The connections critical touchpoint and the future story alert us to the changing ways in which tourists connect to other people. In future, these types of connections could be more immediate in both time and space and made based on more complex judgments of compatibility between the people being connected ( Werthner et al. , 2015 ). While new businesses such as AirBnB and Uber are often cited as disruptions ( Gretzel et al. , 2015 ), they are arguably simply a new type of intermediary connecting tourists to providers. The possibility of connection without any intermediaries could be much more disruptive, especially in terms of changing the power relations amongst providers at a destination ( Atzori et al. , 2014 ).

One notable absence in the future tourism story is lack of any immediate contact with, or use of services from, a destination marketing organization (DMO). Currently DMOs identify markets, advertise, provide information about destination businesses and assure service quality. These activities are already becoming obsolete ( Wang et al. , 2013 ), consequently DMOs are increasingly engaging in alternative functions such as coordinating smart infrastructure, data analytics, and disseminating knowledge to destination stakeholders ( Buhalis and Amaranggana, 2014 ).

The ability of tourists to connect directly to other tourists, destination residents and small specialized tourism businesses supports tailored customization and extensive co-creation of experiences. A future tourism world that offers complex choices, customized experiences, compatible connections and opportunities for co-creation assumes a high level of cooperation and coordination amongst tourism providers.

Cooperation is not just about creating meaningful tourist experiences. The future tourism story also highlights potential ways in which tourist site and attraction managers might be able to use the new technologies to encourage compliance with safety directions and minimal impact behaviors. The story describes the absence of onsite physical structures such as gates, fences and signs to provide safety and support onsite experiences. Moscardo (2017b ) notes that over time there have been changes in interpretive practice and theory toward a strong focus on managing tourist pressure on heritage places. The ability of emerging technologies to take on these tasks will require a significant change in the way interpreters think about their roles. The future story presented here is a hopeful one in which site managers and tourists cooperate in ways that support safety and minimize negative impacts on the site. This vision is based on a level of cooperation between the tourists and the site managers that requires much less direct control from managers. A less hopeful story might have cooperative compliance replaced by more severe management control.

The future tourism story also highlights the extensive automation that could happen in tourism. Such automation could make many current tourism employees redundant, an outcome acknowledged in general discussion of ICT futures ( Anderson et al. , 2014 ) but not given much attention in ICT and tourism. While this creates immediate concerns for the endangered tourism employees, it should also create concern at a broader level as in many destinations, residents only tolerate the negative social, cultural and environmental impacts of tourism because of the employment it generates.

The future travel experience described in the Bennett story also assumes the existence, coordination, maintenance and management of the required infrastructure and systems, a common assumption in many ICT futures scenarios ( Rose et al. , 2015 ). In these new systems value is created and exchanged in new ways ( Gretzel et al. , 2015 ). Emerging business opportunities include the design, creation, installation and maintenance of the infrastructure and systems ( Anderson et al. , 2014 ), and services to assist users to navigate complex systems ( Atzori et al. , 2014 ).

In addition to the assumption that the required infrastructure and systems to support these new technology-based tourist experiences exist, is the assumption that all tourism providers have the capacity to effectively use these systems. Required capabilities has been discussed in both the general ICT literature as well as the ICT and tourism literature. The most commonly listed required skills are mastering and managing complexity and constant change, IT literacy, knowledge management, network management and continuous learning strategies ( Atzori et al. , 2014 ; Manyika et al. , 2013 ).

In the predicted future tourism world, businesses will not sell intangible service elements, but rather offer specific skills, services and capacities to tourists creating their own experiences, or to other providers in dynamic, flexible informal networks ( Manyika et al. , 2013 ). Such providers would need to be able to identify what they have that is of value to others in the network. They will also need to be able to engage in and manage multiple relationships within complex networks. This will require considerable sophistication in cooperation, knowledge sharing and coordination skills ( Gretzel et al. , 2015 ).

Step five: identifying constraints, challenges, concerns, cautions

Organizational reluctance to use technology. Purchasing, installing and maintaining equipment, then training staff to effectively use and manage these systems, is expensive and time-consuming ( Manyika et al. , 2013 ). Where businesses choose not to adopt new technologies they may create frustration for tourists who want to use new technologies and systems in places where these are not supported.

While computers may make some tasks more efficient, tourism is a people-based industry where the quality of customer service often determines tourist satisfaction. Replacing staff with computers, introducing self-service for tasks such as hotel check-in and meal ordering, and booking every element of tourists’ itinerary prior to arrival may remove the interpersonal and spontaneous elements of travel. Tourists who want the personal touch may go elsewhere. Any introduction of computer-based solutions to management issues needs to consider the importance of functional benefits vs personal/emotional engagement.

Some businesses and organizations may resist sharing information as it limits their control over the content ( Proctor, 2010 ).

The many opportunity for tourists to connect amongst themselves may circumvent the need for formal tourism providers, thus fundamentally changing the key players as well as the nature of relationships in tourism experiences.

Privacy and security issues are a genuine concern, particularly if data are stored permanently. The Internet of Things and supporting Cloud technology raises questions about the use and dissemination of data that have been collected and stored with or without people’s knowledge or permission. Identity protection and possible security and infiltration of the network for criminal or terrorist purposes are also concerns ( Gubbi et al. , 2013 ; Manyika et al. , 2013 ). Recent studies of young adults revealed that Gen Y and Gen Z are particularly concerned about war, terrorism and political conflict, and that these concerns are more evident amongst young adults living in developed economies than those living in emerging economies ( Coca-Stefaniak and Morrison, 2018 ). Given that these are the tourists of the future, issues related to personal safety, cyber security and cyber terrorism need to be taken into consideration when designing and implementing ICT solutions to managing tourist destinations and tourists.

The same systems that collect data and monitor behavior could also be seen as surveillance that supports control over that behavior ( Anderson et al. , 2014 ); not all tourists will appreciate this.

As technologies continue to evolve and advance, there’s a possibility that people will replace real travel with augmented reality experiences. While this could help mitigate the challenges of managing tourists in fragile, remote and/or over-crowded destinations, it may create new problems in terms of attracting sufficient people to particular places.

Conclusions: to infinity and beyond

The existing discussion of ICT and tourism has mostly focused on ways in which new technologies can automate or make existing tasks more efficient (doing old things better) or ways that expand and alter existing tasks (doing old things in new ways). For many organizations the real challenge lies in trying to think ahead to what happens beyond these options, what new things are going to emerge and what fundamental changes might ensue ( Contractor and Bishop, 2000 ; Rainie and Wellman, 2012 ). Futures and design thinking are both areas that offer methods for systematically examining this third stage with the aim of stimulating thinking about what could or should happen in the future. The ability to generate potential future scenarios or stories is critical for developing proactive strategies to engage with these options ( Yeoman, 2012 ).

Although papers in ICT and tourism often talk about the possibility of declines in areas and the emergence of new businesses, few have offered specific details. The present paper expands upon this discussion by highlighting the potential for the loss of many of the current jobs in tourism in a number of areas and the need for DMOs to carefully consider their role in tourism. Studies are needed to explore how technology-driven experiences and services influence tourists’ perceptions and satisfaction – can technology really be used in roles that have for many generations been delivered by humans? If the answer is affirmative, studies to identify which sectors of the industry are particularly well-suited for ICT solutions will be required. The paper also identifies a number of areas for new business and employment opportunities. The challenge now is to take these possible paradigm shifts and seek practitioner responses.

Slogging through the snow to her front door, Mrs Bennett gets notification on her mobile phone that next weekend the local travel complex will be featuring her first preference, The Great Barrier Reef. Delighted, she confirms the booking. That Saturday, the family check into the complex and change into their summer clothes. It’s hot and slightly humid in their personal AR theatre – just what they ordered! Mr Bennett pulls an icy cold beer from the in-house fridge, and settles into the lounge chair to watch the “waves” breaking on the shore and read his online newspaper. The kids plunge into the waves, delighting at the cool refreshing water that they feel on their AR wetsuits. They ask if they can swim to the furthest life buoy – Mrs Bennett nods happily as she lies back onto her towel. She knows that they won’t actually physically move from the room and that by the time they have tired themselves out, she’ll have a lovely all-over tan as a reminder of the relaxing day.

But maybe the Bennetts don’t even need to travel to the complex – AR travel rooms may become a feature of homes in the future. These rooms could show AR places of the Bennett’s choice; alternatively, they could show livestream footage from people in their social networks who are currently traveling. With a flick of a switch, the room could convey the temperature, smells and sounds of “their” traveler’s physical environment. The Bennetts can see exactly what their friend sees and can talk to them during the experience, all from the comfort of their own home.

Establishing a futures thinking framework

Predicted paradigm shifts in approaches to tourism management

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Corresponding author

About the authors.

Dr Karen Hughes is Senior Lecturer at the University of Queensland, Australia and researches and teaches in the area of sustainable tourism, tourist behavior and visitor management. Her research focuses on the areas of interpretation, environmental education and using stories to connect with new and emerging visitor markets. In 2009 Karen completed a PhD exploring the impacts of post-visit support on families’ conservation learning at Mon Repos turtle rookery. She is currently working on several research projects investigating the impact of interpretation on visitors’ long-term environmental knowledge, attitudes and behavior.

Dr Gianna Moscardo is Professor in the College of Business, Law and Governance at James Cook University, Australia. Her research interests include evaluating tourism as a sustainable development strategy with an emphasis on understanding the relationships between characteristics of tourism development and dimensions of destination community well-being. She is also interested in understanding tourist behavior and experiences, the effectiveness of tourist interpretation and the role of stories in tourist experience design. Dr Moscardo has authored or co-authored more than 200 international, peer reviewed academic publications. Dr Moscardo is the current Chair of the Building Excellence in Sustainable Tourism Education Network (BEST EN), an international organization committed to the creation and dissemination of knowledge to support the sustainable tourism education, research and practice.

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Chapter 7. Travel Services

7.5 Conclusion

Travellers continue to seek authentic experiences. The tools they use to research and book these experiences are constantly changing due to innovations in technology. Destinations are also challenged by limited financial resources and strong competition for tourist dollars from other iconic and even lesser known locations. The personalisation of travel suggests that independent travel will have a stronger presence than group travel, however, we must always consider the type of traveller. The travel services sector is being forced to innovate at a startling rate.

In the past, face to face consultations with a travel agent was paramount for booking both leisure and business travel. Technology and global circumstances, such as pandemics, financial collapses, and terrorism, have put pressure on tourism and travel services. With the development of OTAs and emerging and disruptive technologies, the travel services landscape is constantly changing.

So far we have discussed the elements of the five sectors of tourism: transportation, accommodation, food and beverage, recreation and entertainment, and travel services. With this foundation in place, let’s delve deeper into the industry by learning more about how these sectors are promoted to customers in Chapter 8 on services marketing.

• Association of Canadian Travel Agencies (ACTA): a trade organization established in 1977 to ensure high standards of customer service, engage in advocacy for the trade, conduct research, and facilitate travel agent training
• Canada’s West Marketplace: a partnership between Destination BC and Travel Alberta, showcasing BC travel products in a business-to-business sales environment
• Canadian Association of Tour Operators (CATO):  a membership-based organization that serves as the voice of the tour operator segment and engages in professional development and networking in the sector
• Community destination marketing organization (CDMO): a DMO that represents a city or town
• Destination management company (DMC): a company that creates and executes corporate travel and event packages designed for employee rewards or special retreats
• Destination marketing organizations (DMOs):  also known as destination management organizations; includes national tourism boards, state/provincial tourism offices, and community convention and visitor bureaus
• Familiarization tours (FAMs):  tours provided to overseas travel agents, travel agencies, RTOs, and others to provide information about a certain product at no or minimal cost to participants — the short form is pronounced like the start of the word family (not as each individual letter)
• Fully independent traveller (FIT): a traveller who makes his or her own arrangements for accommodations, transportation, and tour components; is independent of a group
• HelloBC:  online travel services platform of Destination BC providing information to the visitor and potential visitor for trip planning purposes
• Inbound tour operator:  an operator who packages products together to bring visitors from external markets to a destination
• Online travel agent (OTA):  a service that allows the traveller to research, plan, and purchase travel without the assistance of a person, using the internet on sites such as Expedia.ca or Hotels.com
• Outbound tour operator:  an operator who packages and sells travel products to people within a destination who want to travel abroad
• Receptive tour operator (RTO):  someone who represents the products of tourism suppliers to tour operators in other markets in a business-to-business (B2B) relationship
• Regional destination marketing organization (RDMO): in BC, one of the five DMOs that represent a specific tourism region
• Tour operator:  an operator who packages suppliers together (hotel + activity) or specializes in one type of activity or product
• Tourism services: other services that work to support the development of tourism and the delivery of guest experiences
• Travel agency:  a business that provides a physical location for travel planning requirements
• Travel agent:  an individual who helps the potential traveller with trip planning and booking services, often specializing in specific types of travel
• Travel services: under NAICS, businesses and functions that assist with the planning and reserving components of the visitor experience
• Visitor centre:  a building within a community usually placed at the gateway to an area, providing information regarding the region, travel planning tools, and other services including washrooms and Wi-Fi
• Explain, either in words or with a diagram, the relationship between an RTO, tour operator, and travel agent.
• What type of services does HelloBC provide to the traveller? List regional services from your area that are currently offered.
• Who operates the provincial network of Visitor Centres? Where are these centres located?
• List the RDMOs operating within BC. How do each of these work to provide information to the traveller?
• List two positives and two negatives of OTAs within the travel services industry.
• With an increase growth in mobile technology, how are travel services adapting to suit the needs and/or demands of the traveller?
• Choose an association that is representative of the sector you might like to work in (e.g., accommodations, food and beverage, travel services). Explore the association’s website and note three key issues it has identified and how it is responding to them.
• Choose a local tourism or hospitality business and find out which associations it belongs to. List the associations and their membership benefits to answer the question, Why belong to this group?

Case Studies

Case Study One: BC Government Response to COVID-19 for Community Destination Marketing Organizations that participate in the Resort Municipality Initiative (RMI)

Read the news release B.C. government announces over $10 million for resort municipalities .

• Will or was this response be enough for the DMO’s to sustain themselves?
• Will or was tourists return to these iconic BC tourism sites?
• What was the impact to the local economies at these RMI destinations?

Case Study Two: Travel Agencies Operating in British Columbia

• Consumer Protection BC – Travel
• BC Travel Industry Act

Consumer protection is a key part of provincial and federal government departments. The travel industry in BC is licensed through the provincial governments Consumer Protection BC.

Research the website listed above to prepare a report on how this department protects travellers based on the BC Travel Industry Act.

Case Study Three: Online Travel Agents Sue Skiplagger.com

In late 2014, an online travel agent and airline combined forces to sue a 22-year-old and his company Skiplagged.com. Skiplagged helped users find less expensive flights by uncovering “hidden city” tickets. These are flights with stopovers in multiple locations, whereby the passenger gets off at one of the stopover cities rather than the final destination (Harris and Sasso, 2014). Hidden city tickets work when the cost to travel from point A to point B to point C is less expensive than a trip from point A to point B. Passengers book the entire flight but get off at the stopover. This practice is generally forbidden by airlines because of safety concerns and challenges to logistics as it renders passenger counts inaccurate, causing potential delays and fuel miscalculations. If discovered, it can result in a passenger having his or her ticket voided.

The lawsuit against Skiplagged founder Aktarer Zaman stated that the site “intentionally and maliciously … [promoted] prohibited forms of travel” (Harris and Sasso, 2014). Orbitz (an OTA) and United Airlines claimed that Zaman’s website unfairly competed with their business, while making it appear these companies were partners and endorsing the activity by linking to their websites.

Based on this case summary, answer the following questions:

• What are the dangers and inconveniences of having passengers deplane partway through a voyage? In addition to those listed here, come up with two more.
• Could this lawsuit and the ensuing publicity result in unintended negative consequences for United and Orbitz? What might these be?
• On the other hand, could the suit have unintended positive results for Skiplagged.com? Try to name at least three.
• Should Zaman be held responsible for facilitating this type of travel already in practice? Or should passengers bear the responsibility? Why or why not?
• Imagine your flight is delayed because a passenger count is inaccurate and fuel must be recalculated. What action would you take, if any?
• Look up the case to see what updates are available ( United Airlines Inc. v. Zaman , 14-cv-9214, U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois (Chicago). Was the outcome what you predicted? Why or why not?

ACTA (2020a). Membership . Retrieved from http://acta.ca/membership

ACTA. (2020b). About us . Retrieved from www.acta.ca/about-us

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Alba, Davey. (2015, January 23). Expedia buys Travelocity, merging two of the web’s biggest travel sites. WIRED . Retrieved from www.wired.com/2015/01/expedia-buys-travelocity-merging-two-webs-biggest-travel-sites/

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CATO. (2020). About the travel industry . Retrieved from www.cato.ca/industry.php

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CWT Travel Management Institute. (2014). Who’s equipped for mobile services .  www.cwtinsights.com/demand/whos-equipped-for-mobile-services.shtml

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Destination BC. (2020), How to Work with Receptive Tour Operators . Retrieved from https://www.destinationbc.ca/learning-centre/how-to-work-with-receptive-tour-operators/

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Goeldner, C. & Ritchie, B. (2003). Tourism: principles, practices, philosophies, 9th edition. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

go2HR. (2020, May 16a). Career Explorer . Retrieved from go2HR – The Resource for People in Tourism: https://www.go2hr.ca/career-explorer#explorer

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go2HR. (2020, May 28c). Find a Job . Retrieved from go2HR: https://www.go2hr.ca/jobs?act2=jbr&sec=17&sector=Travel+Services

go2HR, (2020, May 28d) What is Tourism – Travel Services . https://www.go2hr.ca/getting-know-bcs-tourism-industry/what-is-tourism/travel-services

Harris, A. & Sasso, M. (2014). United, Orbitz sue travel site over ‘hidden city’ tickets. Bloomberg Business. Retrieved from www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2014-11-18/united-orbitz-sue-travel-site-over-hidden-city-ticketing-1-

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Offutt, B. (2013). PhoCusWright’s travel innovations & technology trends: 2013 and beyond. [PDF] Retrieved from www.wtmlondon.com/files/pcwi_traveltechtrends2013_worldtravel.pdf

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Smyth, M. (2014, November 20). Why is the BC government shutting down popular tourist info without consulting industry? The Vancouver Sun. Retrieved from www.theprovince.com/life/Smyth+government+shutting+down+popular+tourist+info+centres+without+consulting+industry/10396500/story.html#__federated=1

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Introduction to Tourism and Hospitality in BC - 2nd Edition Copyright © 2015, 2020, 2021 by Morgan Westcott and Wendy Anderson, Eds is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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Travel & Tourism Development Index 2021: Rebuilding for a Sustainable and Resilient Future

4.4 Conclusion to the key findings

The COVID-19 pandemic and its impact have underscored the T&T sector’s vital role in global connectivity and development. In the coming years it will therefore be crucial for T&T stakeholders to devise strategies that make the sector more inclusive, sustainable and resilient.

As the TTDI 2021 results reveal, any such enterprise will require a comprehensive and holistic approach. Creating a better T&T economy is not just about improving infrastructure or offering favourable pricing. It also involves creating better health and hygiene conditions, ensuring natural resources are protected and that the workforce on which the sector depends has access to training and social protection. This necessitates the active participation and coordination of sector and non-sector business, employers and employees, government agencies ranging from tourism and health ministries to local authorities, environmental and conservation groups, and international organizations. Over the course of the pandemic, often uncoordinated travel restrictions and health protocols revealed the difficulty and necessity of such cooperation.

In the future, efforts will need to be made to devise common frameworks for defining and measuring T&T sustainability, including the creation of commonly accepted environment, social and governance metrics. The safe and ethical use of big data will prove fundamental to this cause. Moreover, in an increasingly complex and technology-enabled environment, it will be vital to ensure that developing economies, workers and SMEs are not left behind.

While these challenges may be difficult, the flexibility and adaptation the T&T sector has shown in the past few years also indicates that sector stakeholders are more than capable of rising to the occasion.

Conclusion: Tourism, Digitalisation, and Sustainable Development

• First Online: 13 September 2024

Cite this chapter

• Emmanuel Ndhlovu   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-2339-3068 4 ,
• Kaitano Dube   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-7482-3945 4 &
• Ngoni Courage Shereni   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-0074-9559 5  

This chapter concludes the book Tourism and Hospitality for Sustainable Development—Volume One: Technological Innovations and Development Realities. This chapter describes how digitalisation plays a vital role in the development of tourism and hospitality industries. It argues that the advent of COVID-19 in late December 2019 triggered the urgent need to adopt and integrate digital solutions in tourism and hospitality services to ensure the continuous functioning of the industry amidst restrictions. This volume, therefore, provides the missing link between digitalisation, sustainable development and, the tourism and hospitality industry. In this chapter, key findings and conclusions that emerged from the various contributions are presented. Further, recommendations for industry practitioners and policymakers are also provided as well as future research agendas that can be explored by scholars.

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Ndhlovu, E., Dube, K., Shereni, N.C. (2024). Conclusion: Tourism, Digitalisation, and Sustainable Development. In: Ndhlovu, E., Dube, K., Shereni, N.C. (eds) Tourism and Hospitality for Sustainable Development. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-63069-9_13

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Scope and future of tourism management

Tourism is considered to be an important aspect of economic growth and the development of a nation. According to the  United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) , global tourism is expected to reach 1.6 billion (in terms of international arrivals) by the year 2020. Tourism management is generally considered a bright and potential employment sector as it offers a wide variety of career opportunities in both the private and public sector. This article covers the details of tourism management courses and the prospective job opportunities that it can offer you.

What are the different types of tourism?

Tourism is an evolving industry that provides tourists with various experiences that help promote the country, region, or whatever type of destination they are travelling to. There are many different kinds of tourism, and each one caters to a different set of interests. Here are the three main types of tourism:

Domestic Tourism: Domestic tourism refers to travel within your own country. It entails traveling to various regions, cities, or towns within the same country for business, pleasure, or other purposes. Domestic tourism is important for the growth of the tourism business in a country because it helps the economy and encourages other people enthusiastic about promoting local tourism.

Inbound Tourism: Inbound tourism refers to tourism by foreign visitors to a destination country. It involves international travel for pleasure, commerce, or other reasons. People who want to explore new cultures, experience various lifestyles, and visit historical and natural landmarks frequently engage in inbound tourism. Inbound tourism is essential to the growth of a country’s tourism industry because it contributes to the economy and helps promote the country as a travel destination.

Outbound Tourism: Outbound tourism refers to the practice of individuals traveling outside of their country of residence for tourism, business, or other purposes. Outbound tourism plays an essential role to the development of a country’s tourism industry because it adds significantly to the economy and promotes international travel.

What is tourism management?

Tourism management is a multidisciplinary field that includes all activities related to the tourism and hospitality industries. It prepares candidates with the experience and training required to hold managerial positions in food, accommodation and tourism industry. The three major areas of tourism management are:

• Business administration (finance, human resources and marketing activities);
• Management theories and principles;
• Tourism industry (travel accommodation, environmental factors and tourism organizations)

Tourism management implements marketing efforts in attracting tourists to travel to particular destinations. This involves the management of a variety of activities such as:

• Studying tour destination;
• Planning the tour;
• Making travel arrangements;
• Providing accommodation.

Who is eligible for a tourism management course?

• You should obtain an Ontario Secondary School Diploma certificate or equivalent;
• Your age should be 18 years or older;
• You should gain a minimum IELTS score of 5.5 (or its equivalent for non-native English speakers).

What is the course structure of tourism management?

• Front Office Operations – this includes an introduction about the systems and procedures required for Front Desk Office Operations. It helps students develop skills related to reception procedures.
• Customer Service – this module elaborates on the importance of effective communication skills while dealing with customers. It provides students with a better understanding of customer relations and services.
• Food and Beverage Management – focuses on the operations related to food and beverage management. It includes the following topics:
• Food and beverage operations;
• Standard product costs and pricing strategies;
• Productions;
• Controlling;
• Facility design, layout and equipment.
• Hospitality Accounting – this module can help a student enhance their decision making process in the field of management. It provides an in-depth knowledge about the processes and practices of hotel business.
• Human Resource Management  – this module is structured to train students to build a strategic and coherent approach to their organizations assets. Students get an opportunity to learn about effective business practices of the hospitality industry.

Other modules covered by a tourism management course are as follows:

• Introduction to Hospitality and Tourism;
• Housekeeping;
• Food and Beverage Operations;
• Food Sanitation, Safety and Health;
• Organizational Behavior in the Hospitality Industry;
• Facilities and Maintenance Management;
• Marketing in Hospitality and Tourism;
• Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Events;
• Issues in the Hospitality and Tourism Industry;
• Resort Management;
• Niche and Specialty Management.

How long is a tourism management course and how much does it cost?

The tourism management course is a full-time program lasting two years. It consists of 48 weeks of in-class academic sessions. The total length of the course exceeds up to 78 weeks, including scheduled breaks. The total course fee of the tourism management program is CAD 19,000.

What is the career scope of the tourism Industry?

Tour Manager (Average annual salary:  $49,150 )  – they must possess language skills and knowledge about weather, customs and tourist attractions. Their main role is to ensure that the tour goes smoothly and tourists get to enjoy themselves during their holiday. Tour managers should have networking and customer service skills as well as a good grasp of the following subjects:

• Archaeology;
• Modern languages;
• Travel, tourism and leisure studies.

Let’s look at some of the responsibilities of a tour manager:

• Accompanying native and foreign groups travelling by bus, planes, boats and trains;
• Welcoming holidaymakers at the starting point and explaining travel arrangements (food, culture, itineraries and destinations) and stop-over points in detail;
• Resolving logistic issues and coordinating travel arrangements;
• Checking tickets or other relevant documents, as well as attending to special requirements such as seat allocations, passport or immigration issues;
• Making accommodation bookings on proposed dates and ensuring that the accommodation is satisfactory;
• Dealing with emergencies and responding to questions from tourists.

The career scope of the tourism industry does not only cover tours and other forms of travel; it also expands to the hospitality sector. Here’s an example of what a career as a Hotel Manager in Canada would look like:

Hotel Manager (Average annual salary:  $42,967 )  – their function is to manage hotel employees and day-to-day operations of a hotel. This may include front-of-house reception, food and beverage operations, budgeting and financial management. They are expected to have an understanding of hotel management practices and relevant laws and guidelines. They execute the following tasks:

• Analysing and interpreting financial information;
• Implementing effective marketing strategies to promote the hotel’s services;
• Monitoring sales and profits;
• Supervising maintenance, supplies, renovations and furnishings;
• Dealing with suppliers, travel agencies and event planners;
• Inspecting services and property regularly by enforcing strict compliance with health and safety standards.

The scope of tourism is so diverse that you can also explore opportunities in properties and real estate! A career as a Property Manager would look like the following:

Property Manager (Average annual salary:  $56,702 )  – property managers are assigned to work at a resort location to oversee the operations of a facility or assets. They are generally hired by property owners and real estate investors who are unable to manage their properties themselves. Commercial properties run by property managers include apartment complexes, retail malls and business offices. The basic responsibilities of a property manager are:

• Building an effective rental program;
• Providing customer services;
• Establishing positive relationships with long-term clients;
• Dealing with renovations;
• Coordinating group visits;
• Managing association-related business;
• Supervising and coordinating building maintenance;
• Resolving tenant concerns and complaints;
• Advertising, demonstrating and leasing vacant units;
• Collecting and depositing rent;
• Communicating with and sending updates to the property owner on the status of the property.

If you enjoy experiencing cultural exchanges, then you should opt for a tourism management career. Toronto School of Management (TSoM) offers an  Advanced Diploma in Hospitality and Tourism Management course  to help students enter the hospitality and tourism sector. This course can help you learn how to develop strategic plans for tourism and understand the needs of the target customers.

• What are some of the challenges facing the tourism industry? The tourism sector encounters various obstacles, including the effects of climate change, over-tourism in specific locations, geopolitical instability, evolving travel behaviours, and the emergence of accommodation alternatives.
• What are some of the opportunities for growth in the tourism industry? Despite the obstacles confronting the tourism industry, there are also numerous growth opportunities in this sector. These include the rise of responsible and sustainable tourism, the expansion of the digital economy, and potential for growth in niche markets such as adventure tourism, health and wellness tourism, and cultural tourism.
• How can individuals interested in pursuing a career in tourism management prepare for the future of the industry? Individuals pursuing a career in tourism management can prepare for a stable career by getting quality education in business management, marketing, and finance. It would also help you to have a solid grasp of the tourism industry, including its trends, challenges, and opportunities.

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