e tourism synonym

What is e-tourism and how is it changing travel?

Disclaimer: Some posts on Tourism Teacher may contain affiliate links. If you appreciate this content, you can show your support by making a purchase through these links or by buying me a coffee . Thank you for your support!

We live in a digital world nowadays, or an ‘e’ world as some may like to put in. We have concepts such as ‘e-business’, ‘e-commerce’, ‘e-marketing’ and ‘e-service’, so it seems it was only time before the idea of ‘e-tourism’ emerged. But what exactly is e-tourism, how does it work and why is it important? Read on to find out…

What is e-tourism?

Research and development, reservation and bookings, marketing and promotion, the tourist experience, is smart tourism e-tourism, the benefits of e-tourism, the disadvantages of e-tourism, how is e-tourism changing travel, e-tourism- further reading.

E-tourism is all about the introduction of digitalisation into the tourism industry. This manifests itself in many different ways. We see e-tourism before, during and after a holiday or trip itself – and actually there is a lot of e-tourism that goes on behind the scenes, so we don’t actually ‘see’ it at all!

Dimitrious Buhalis is known as an expert in the field of e-tourism and he defines it as the digitization of all processes and value chains in the tourism, travel, hospitality and catering sectors that allow organizations to maximize their efficiency and effectiveness.

This digitalization, over the years, has changed the way that the tourism industry works and in turn has altered the structure of the tourism industry , often for the better- making it more efficient and productive. And this is not unique to the tourism industry by any means, our whole world has been becoming increasingly digitalised for many years now. In fact, we have become so reliant on the digital aspects of our lives that the functioning of the contemporary tourism system and its future seem unthinkable without the technological innovation that we have today!

Examples of e-tourism

E-tourism is ingrained throughout the tourism system, from the booking process right through to the tourist experience and everywhere in between. It would be impossible to discuss every way that technology is used in the tourism industry (ok, well perhaps not impossible, but I would be here a very long time!). Below I have outlined some of the most common ways that that e-tourism occurs.

E-tourism is used to a large extent during the research and development stages of a tourism product or service. There are a wealth of digital resources at the disposal of tourism industry stakeholders , which enables them to collect large amounts of data and research their (potential) customers. In turn, this helps organisations in the travel and tourism industry to better understand their customers and therefore to better satisfy their needs and desires.

Likewise, recent years have seen many options for the tourists themselves to research their travel choices to a greater extent than they have previously been able to. Reading blogs, looking at travel pictures on Instagram, scouring Pinterest… when it comes to heading off on a city break or relaxing beach vacay, tourists often turn to the internet as a source of location inspiration- this is also evidence of e-tourism.

Central reservation systems have come a long way in the past couple of decades. First introduced in the 1960s by airlines, central reservation systems were quickly adopted by hotels and other businesses operating in the travel and tourism industry. Most recently these have been further developed to allow the tourist to play a key role in the booking process by linking their reservation systems to popular online booking platforms such as Expedia or Syscanner as well as in-house developed booking systems.

Nowadays, pretty much everything can be booked online. Tourists don’t need to make a trip into town specifically to visit a travel agent, and sit there while they look through brochures and databases to find a trip that ticks every box for them- tourists can do it for themselves! There is far more freedom and independence now, as consumers are part of the process from the start. Bookings and changes can be made at the tap of a button or the click of a link. This not only makes the process simpler and easier for the tourist, but it also helps the business to operate faster and more efficiently, reducing overhead costs and maximising productivity.

Some years ago the likes of travel agencies and tourist boards would focus their marketing efforts on printed advertising such as posters, brochures and flyers… but those days are long gone now. Whilst there will always be a place for physical advertising of this type, travel and tourism organisations now have a wealth of valuable data at their fingertips that they can use to inform their marketing.

As we live more of our lives online (think shopping, researching, connecting with our friends on social media etc), the organisations that want to sell us their products and/or services are more informed to do so than they have ever been before. Adverts can be targeted to specific customers based on location, age and other relevant demographics. It can also be based around the user’s online activity- yes, if you begin to research ecotourism holidays it is likely that you may begin to be shown adverts about eco lodges in the Gambia or ecotourism in Costa Rica ! Whilst there are certainly some ethical questions about how much of our data is used by organisations for advertising purposes, there is no disputing that the organisations of today have a big foot up in comparison to their counterparts from a decade or two ago!

In addition to this, we have new platforms where marketing can take place. Social media platforms such as Instagram or Facebook allow for both large companies and individuals to promote products, services or places. As I explain in my article about Instatourism , these social media platforms can be powerful tools for the purposes of marketing. And more and more people are working in the field too- many argue that the growth of travel influencers around the world has changed the marketing industry forever!

Technology has also enhanced the travel sector in many ways. More efficient aircraft, trains, cars etc have enabled us to travel further and faster than ever before. They typically create less damage to the environment too, with more environmentally friendly initiatives being researched and implemented such as bio fuels and hybrid models.

Travel is easier for the consumer these days too. No longer do we need to carry around our pocket-sized road maps, or get stressed out when we can’t read directions- all we need nowadays is a 4G connection and a navigation app! There are plenty of other apps that help us travel too, from train apps with timetables to flight comparison sites and more.

There are many ways that e-tourism has helped to enhance the tourist experience and to make the tourism industry more efficient. From having your room service brought to you by a robot, to checking a menu in a restaurant using a QR code, to downloading an app in a theme park that shows queue times for the rides to having an audio programme give you information on your phone as you walk through a museum. E-tourism is everywhere we look!

Is virtual tourism e-tourism?

Virtual tourism is an example of e-tourism in practice. It is essentially a hybrid concept- it combines both the notions of virtual reality and tourism. In essence, virtual tourism facilitates a tourism experience, without actually having to travel anywhere. Virtual tourism takes many different forms and comes in vary degrees of technological capability.

In its simplest form, virtual tourism may comprise of a video of a tourism destination. The ‘tourist’ watches the video, utilising their hearing and sight senses. More sophisticated forms of virtual tourism include being immersed in an environment through use of a headset or simulator. It may involve use of various props, users may be required to wear gloves and there may be additional sensations such as movement (like in a rollercoaster simulator), feeling (for example if the user is sprayed with water ) and smell. You can read a detailed article about the virtual tourism industry here.

Smart tourism and e-tourism are commonly interlinked, however smart tourism is not always an example of e-tourism. Smart tourism is all about tourism that is designed in a ‘smart’ way- the intention is to promote productivity and make the tourism industry efficient. Oftentimes this does require the use of digitalisation, or technology, hence making it a form of e-tourism, but this isn’t always the case 100% of the time. You can read all about the concept of smart tourism here.

Ultimately, e-tourism is a good thing. The use of technology in the tourism industry has helped to make it more efficient, run more smoothly (with less risk of human error) and making it more productive. This generally means that consumers (or tourists) are more satisfied with their tourism experience and that the organisations involved have increased profit margins and lower overheads.

E-tourism has introduced us to a whole new way of thinking and has helped to expose us to invaluable developments in the travel and tourism industry- it has helped to make parts of the industry more environmentally friendly, it has helped to have more effective marketing and product development and it has helped us to embrace new forms of tourism too, such as smart tourism and virtual tourism.

However, as is the case with any form of tourism, there are some negative impacts of e-tourism too. The use of technology sometimes takes away the ‘human’ aspect- customer service from a robot will never replace the smiles and conversations that a real person would bring to the situation. And using technology to a large extent may reduce the number of jobs in the tourism industry too, which can have a negative economic impact on the host community. Furthermore, technology can go wrong- a booking system that is down or a website that doesn’t work properly can cause loss of money and business, for example.

Ultimately, e-tourism is all about making the tourism industry more efficient through the use of technology. As I have outlined in this article, there are many ways that this can be done and the benefits of this can be far reaching. From the perspective of the tourism industry, the digitalisation of travel and tourism can help to enhance business prospects- income, productivity, performance etc. And from the perspective of the tourist it can help to make their tourism experience more enjoyable.

If you have found this article interesting, then I am sure that you will enjoy these too!

• What is smart tourism and why is it so BIG?
• Virtual tourism explained: What, why and where
• What is sustainable tourism and why does it matter?
• What is ecotourism and why is it so important?
• Niche tourism: What, why and where

Liked this article? Click to share!

• Daily Crossword
• Word Puzzle
• Word Finder
• Word of the Day

Synonym of the Day

• Word of the Year
• Language stories
• All featured
• Gender and sexuality
• All pop culture
• Grammar Coach ™
• Writing hub
• Grammar essentials
• Commonly confused
• All writing tips
• Pop culture
• Writing tips

Advertisement

noun as in travel for pleasure

Strongest matches

Strong matches

• exploration
• globetrotting

Weak matches

• peregrination

Discover More

Example sentences.

Those who transmigrate into the bodies of the less fortunate are accused of tourism, voyeurism.

The pollution closes beaches that are vital to San Diego’s tourism economy.

Covid-19 has brought tourism from China to the UK to a standstill.

Even as most domestic air travel routes have opened now, aviation and tourism experts believe that the country is unlikely to resume international commercial flights before October.

Growth is now expected to collapse in many countries especially those dependent on tourism and resources, such as oil and mineral exporters.

Slowly, two were opened up, and in 2010 the regional government opened all four Brogpa villages in a push for tourism.

Religious profiteering has spread beyond the tourism industry.

Apparently tourism in the country had jumped tenfold since the film hit theaters.

In recent years news outlets have documented the rise of so-called “birth tourism” here in America.

But the site has seen little of the decimation from heavy tourism that has plagued the northern pyramids of Giza in Egypt.

For years too few doctors have seen clearly that gymnastic tourism and sport do more for health than all doctors taken together.

Increasing tourism has resulted in special problems in resort areas.

Start each day with the Synonym of the Day in your inbox!

By clicking "Sign Up", you are accepting Dictionary.com Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policies.

On this page you'll find 11 synonyms, antonyms, and words related to tourism, such as: null, travel, exploration, globetrotting, journey, and passage.

From Roget's 21st Century Thesaurus, Third Edition Copyright © 2013 by the Philip Lief Group.

How the digital world is changing the tourism industry?

Wanderer Blog Post 0

Tourism and travel represent nowadays the main leisure activity for billions of people around the globe. The digitalization of our world and the use of new technologies changed the way we look and perceive the tourism industry and opened the door to the E-tourism.

What is the future of tourism in the digital era? What are the changes we can expect?

As I am always interested in the new digital outbreaks, and also passionate about tourism and travels , I decided to research the new concept of E-tourism.

E-tourism: digitization of the industry

E-tourism: new digital trends, m-tourism and e-tourism:.

The E-tourism is defined as “the digitization of all the methods and value chains of the tourism, travel, hotel and catering sectors, allowing companies to maximize their efficiency and their offers to customers”. The emergence of the Internet in the ’90s as well as the development of various web technologies have strongly changed and revolutionized the tourism sector . E-tourism is a new way of thinking, organizing and experiencing the holidays that is taking place . People are increasingly using smartphones, computers, and tablets to book flights and hotels. They also tend to discuss and send photos and videos of their stay. In the era of E-tourism, travelers share their opinions and experiences before going on a trip , during the trip, and after the end of the holidays on social networks.

These opinions will have a great influence on the reputation and value of a certain destination or tourist offer. A study conducted by Raffour Interactive’s firm in 2015 shows the key figures of E-tourism in France:

• 71% of people consult the Internet to prepare their stay.
• 45% have booked all their trip or part directly online.
• 32% are preparing their holidays from their smartphones.
• 77% of E-tourists consult opinions online.
• 68% are influenced by the opinions they read. These figures show that the Internet has become an important source of information regarding tourism offers . People are increasingly trusting the sites and reviews posted on them to choose their stay.

The web has become the predominant channel worldwide . The number of bookings made online increases from one month to the next. According to Damian Cook, CEO of E-Tourism Frontiers : “ To say that digital tourism is the future of the market means that we live in the past. E-tourism is not the future, it is already the present “.

It’s not only important to know that online bookings are the new trend but you also need to understand the role that social networks play as ‘drivers’ of these bookings.

With the rise of social media, we find that there is a transfer of control from the travel industry to individual tourists. This can be frightening because their opinions can affect the integrity of a certain offer . At the same time, this transfer of control could be a great opportunity. “ When tourists have a great experience, they publish photos, videos and even write reviews that will surely bring in more customers ” said Damian Cook.

I personally think that nowadays internet users are increasingly looking for interactive platforms where they can communicate and share with tourist agencies. Having a website is not enough anymore. Tourism stakeholders are committed to empowering their customers to create their own content on social networks. I, for example, always like to participate in social media games or post reviews of my experiences. It would surely help me appreciate more and more the companies that are giving this opportunity for customers.

Vacations are the most shared experiences on these platforms. People take pictures, they show the destination, they describe their experience and also talk about their meals. This is considered free advertising for the agency organizing this stay especially as hundreds of thousands of such publications are shared each day . Social networks have surely changed the trends of tourism but the tourist in himself remains the most valuable asset. In the digital world, the tourism industry is driven by independent travelers. Consumers took power, they participate in the creation of the offer.

The development of mobile applications in recent years and its adaptation to the field of travel has led to the emergence of what we call the M-tourism .

“ The major evolution of E-tourism is that of the mobile ” according to Guy Raffour. In 2009, 4% of the population was preparing their holidays via their smartphones. This number increased exponentially during the next seven years. In 2016, 53% of people use tablets and mobiles to prepare trips. There is a huge increase in 7 years.

65% of travelers say that M-tourism has a big impact on the way they prepare their trips . By having their digital tablet or mobile, travelers have access all the time, to all the leisure offers and activities available on site. They customize their holidays on site , adding a hotel night or booking a restaurant without having to think about it in advance . We are witnessing more freedom and independence. Individuals are increasingly connected through their smartphone which makes the M-tourism the newest trend in the travel and vacation market.

To summarize, I think in the digital world, it is important for tourism and travel companies to acknowledge the importance of a satisfied customer. People are connected the whole time. I personally post pictures daily whenever I am visiting a new place. I write reviews and give my opinion on hotels, packages, and flights. There reviews and posts will surely influence people’s decisions when planning the same trip.

The customers are gaining more and more control. It is important to innovate and understand the value of UGC (user-generated content) in order to always offer unique experiences for travelers.

Finally, on a more personal note, always remember that even if you can stay connected all the time during your trips, turn off your phone for a few hours and just enjoy the stories you are writing!

Share this post: on Twitter on Facebook on Google+

Related Posts

La Crêpe D’Angèle: Enjoy the Tastiest Crêpes and Pancakes

Hiking trails around Bordeaux – Discover the amazing Gironde by foot

Check Out The Astonishing Le Teich Coastline Hike – Bordeaux

Leave a reply close.

Name (required)

Mail (required)

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed .

Related Words and Phrases

Bottom_desktop desktop:[300x250].

An official website of the United States government

The .gov means it’s official. Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

The site is secure. The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

• Publications
• Account settings

Preview improvements coming to the PMC website in October 2024. Learn More or Try it out now .

• Advanced Search
• Journal List
• Springer Nature - PMC COVID-19 Collection

e-Tourism beyond COVID-19: a call for transformative research

Ulrike gretzel.

1 USC Center for Public Relations, Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, University of Southern California, 3502 Watt Way, Los Angeles, CA 90089 USA

Matthias Fuchs

2 Department of Economics, Geography, Law and Tourism, Mid-Sweden University, Östersund, Sweden

Rodolfo Baggio

3 Bocconi University, via Röntgen, 1, 20136 Milan, Italy

4 National Research Tomsk Polytechnic University, 30 Lenin Avenue, Tomsk, 634050 Russia

Wolfram Hoepken

5 Institute for Digital Transformation, Ravensburg-Weingarten University, Doggenriedstr, 88250 Weingarten, Germany

6 School of Hotel and Tourism Management, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, 17 Science Museum Road, TST East, Kowloon, Hong Kong

Julia Neidhardt

7 Faculty of Informatics, Vienna University of Technology, Favoritenstraße 9-11, HC0204A-1040 Wien, Austria

Juho Pesonen

8 Business School, University of Eastern Finland, Yliopistonkatu 2, 80100 Joensuu, Finland

Markus Zanker

9 Faculty of Computer Science, Free University of Bozen-Bolzano, Dominikanerplatz 3, piazza Domenicani, 3, 39100 Bozen-Bolzano, Italy

Zheng Xiang

10 The Howard Feiertag Department of Hospitality and Tourism Management, Virginia Tech, 295 West Campus Drive, Blacksburg, VA 24061 USA

This viewpoint article argues that the impacts of the novel coronavirus COVID-19 call for transformative e-Tourism research. We are at a crossroads where one road takes us to e-Tourism as it was before the crisis, whereas the other holds the potential to transform e-Tourism. To realize this potential, e-Tourism research needs to challenge existing paradigms and critically evaluate its ontological and epistemological foundations. In light of the paramount importance to rethink contemporary science, growth, and technology paradigms, we present six pillars to guide scholars in their efforts to transform e-Tourism through their research, including historicity, reflexivity, equity, transparency, plurality, and creativity. We conclude the paper with a call to the e-Tourism research community to embrace transformative research.

Introduction

Since being first reported by the Chinese government to the World Health Organization (WHO) on December 31, 2019 and later declared as a pandemic by the WHO on March 11, 2020 (WHO 2020 ), the COVID-19 virus, within a short period of only several months, has caused an unprecedented global crisis with enormous impacts on our political, social, and economic systems (Carlsson-Szlezak et al. 2020 ; Fuchs 2020 ). As of May 18th, 2020, more than 316,000 deaths have been recorded with more than 4.8 million people infected (see https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/ ). As its negative effects continue to ripple throughout the world, governments at both regional and national levels have so far issued and implemented policies involving travel bans, community lock-down, stay-at-home orders, self- or mandatory-quarantine, and other business-specific restraints to varying degrees (Gössling et al. 2020 ). As a result, travel and tourism have literally come to a halt, and the economic activities of the airline industry and hospitality sector have been reduced to a small fraction of what they used to be prior to the pandemic. While some economies are gradually reopening, the overall situation remains volatile due to the high contagiousness of the virus and the lack of an immediate treatment or vaccine.

Crises are by no means new to tourism (Blake and Sinclair 2003 ; Sönmez et al. 1999 ); however, the impact of COVID-19, at least from an economic point of view, has so far been more devastating than any other crises in recent history (Hall et al. 2020 ; UNWTO 2020 ). As such, the crisis has brought forth new questions of how the tourism industry can respond to and recover from this crisis and, ultimately, how travel and tourism will evolve as a socio-economic activity in our society. Finding solutions and answers to these questions is becoming an increasingly important challenge for stakeholders of tourism including the research communities (Gössling et al. 2020 ; Hall et al. 2020 ; Higgins-Desbiolles 2020 ; Jamal and Budke 2020 ). More importantly, technology plays a central role in all of this.

Ever since the introduction of the Internet to business, information technology (IT) has been an important enabler, catalyst and, in some cases, disruptor for travel and tourism (Werthner and Klein 1999 ). This is particularly true in today’s world in that IT has been woven into every fabric of travel and tourism involving essentially every facet of the travel process, every stakeholder of tourism, and every subdomain of the industry (Benckendorff et al. 2019 ; Werthner et al. 2015 ; Xiang 2018 ). In light of this pandemic, there are early signs that IT has been widely used, adapted and developed to address some of the pressing problems in our daily life, including work, travel, leisure, business as well as governance. Technology has become a major factor in building resilience in tourism (Hall et al. 2017 ; UNWTO 2020 ). On the one hand, IT appears to be highly effective and, in many ways, even essential in confronting these pandemic-related problems (e.g., traveler screening, case and contact tracking, online education, and entertainment during lockdown, to name just a few). On the other hand, there are a range of broader issues and concerns resulting from society’s reaction to the crisis such as the new digital divide, vulnerability, privacy, misinformation and ethics of using technology, which would have profound and long-term effects across all layers of e-Tourism (Werthner et al. 2015 ).

Over the last three decades, e-Tourism, as a field of scientific inquiry, has evolved into a substantial body of knowledge with the focus of theory and information technology development aligned with core problems in tourism (Xiang et al. 2021 ). The profundity and complexity of the impact of COVID-19 require both a short-term reaction and a long-term readiness in order to understand some of its far-reaching effects at the fundamental level. As the intersection between IT and tourism, the field of e-Tourism must now grapple with the two “fronts” of a fast-changing new reality and tremendous prospects for long-term change. As e-Tourism researchers, we find this new reality provides both enormous challenges and exciting opportunities from the perspectives of scientific inquiry and technological innovation. e-Tourism research must now elevate itself to be ready to ask, and prepare to find answers to, some critical and significant questions regarding the role of IT in contributing to a better future of tourism and society.

As such, as the editorial team of the Journal, we strongly believe COVID-19 presents an opportunity and also an obligation for us to critically reflect on the field of e-Tourism and, as a result, to offer an outlook for a “transformative” research agenda for e-Tourism research. We develop this call for transformative research based upon a careful and critical assessment of the basic assumptions and value propositions of the existing literature in relation to the broader conversations about the future of tourism and the role of IT in society. Even though the future is uncertain, it is our responsibility to think about the challenges, opportunities, threats and possibilities that exist in the future that can be shaped by e-Tourism research in an impactful way. We believe a paradigm shift is much needed at this watershed moment, and we hope this essay will be of keen interest to the communities surrounding this journal and will help advance e-Tourism research as a whole. To achieve this aim, the paper reviews e-Tourism as a field of study, challenges the paradigms through which it is predominantly shaped, and then suggests six pillars on which to build transformative e-Tourism research.

e-Tourism as a field of study

Neidhardt and Werthner ( 2018 : 1) define the field of e-Tourism as encompassing the “ analysis, design, implementation and application of IT/e-commerce solutions in the travel and tourism industry, as well as the analysis (of the impact) of the respective technical/economic processes and market structures ”. This definition describes the existing research streams within the field, and especially within the Information Technology & Tourism journal, very well (Buhalis and Law 2008 ; Wang et al. 2010 ). First, the notion of IT as a “solution” represents a particular instrumental view of technology as a tool that serves businesses. Second, it stresses micro- and meso-level perspectives while ignoring macro-level questions regarding the systems and governance approaches that promote, facilitate and regulate specific kinds of technologies. This has already been criticized by Werthner et al. ( 2015 ), who emphasize the need to study e-Tourism across all five identified layers, from individuals to government/policy issues, such as ethics and sustainability. Third, this definition of e-Tourism highlights that e-Tourism research so far has been firmly rooted in a conventional rather than a post-digital, humanist paradigm. Individuals are defined and studied as consumers, users, or data sources rather than affective human beings embedded and embodied in physical and virtual communities and places. Like the businesses that provide and use technologies, they are typically conceptualized as beneficiaries of technological “solutions” and therefore willing to be participants in e-Tourism. Technology as such is seen as a given or something that should be improved rather than questioned.

e-Tourism as a subject of scientific inquiry is a dynamic field that has penetrated mainstream tourism research and is continuing to attract the attention of computer science and engineering scholars in search of application areas. However, recent review papers confirm that while the specific technologies studied constantly evolve, the research streams within e-Tourism have remained remarkably stable (Law et al. 2019 ; Navío-Marco et al. 2018 ; Touray, 2020 ; Yuan et al. 2019 ). What can be seen over the course of e-Tourism research development is the emergence of focus areas and research-activity clusters that correspond to technological advances, like Web 2.0, big data, virtual reality and smart technologies (Buhalis 2019 ). It is expected that COVID-19 related technology development and implementation will spur similar bursts in e-Tourism research.

In many ways, e-Tourism research has not necessarily been affected by the crisis. While physical tourism has come to a stand-still, past and potential tourists have been busy ruminating about past trips on social media by sharing vacation memories and/or dreaming about future vacations on destination or travel agency websites. Museums have opened virtual doors to their exhibitions and bored wannabe tourists stuck in quarantine are flocking to these and other virtual experiences. Disappointed tourists stranded on trips or at home have been using websites and mobile apps to cancel the trips and make complaints. Residents discuss in forums whether they are delighted or devastated about the disappearance of tourists from their communities and images of the positive effects on nature of the sudden disappearance of tourists from a hotspot like Venice went viral. Airbnb hosts now offer virtual experiences, social media travel influencers continue to produce contents for their audiences, and tourism providers use a multitude of online channels to maintain customer relationships and reassure future tourists. At the same time, tourism providers and their trade associations are engaging in online activism to reveal their dependence on global online platforms. These intensified or new technology use scenarios create a plentitude of data for e-Tourism research.

Simultaneously, the need for technological solutions has been heightened, encouraging the formative side of e-Tourism research to think about, and get ready for, new designs and applications. Specifically, the crisis demands technologies that can facilitate tracking and monitoring of tourists. It requires solutions that can enable the low-touch economy and controlled access scenarios necessary for physical tourism to restart. The crisis further incites thinking about scalability, dynamic systems and real-time information to accommodate rapid changes in demand and supply in anticipation of differential effects of the crisis across the globe and the likelihood of future lock-downs. e-Tourism research should find creative business intelligence solutions for destinations and tourism providers to better forecast markets, simulate scenarios and understand risks. Technologies are also needed to encourage smart business networks and strategic partnerships/information exchanges with regulatory agencies. Further, post COVID-19 technology has to accommodate shifts in consumer behavior (e.g. risk perceptions, last-minute booking, desires for advance reservations in new contexts such as museums, need for highly personalized packages) and likely changes in the interaction modus (e.g. from physical touch to voice or from input to automated detection).

There is no danger of e-Tourism running out of data or application scenarios. Consequently, e-Tourism research could continue as usual, adapting its theories, methodologies, data and design efforts to new business/government requirements and travel realities. However, COVID-19 prompts us to rethink the ontology and epistemology of e-Tourism research. We believe that, in order for e-Tourism research to contribute to knowledge creation that truly benefits the future of tourism and society, fundamental assumptions about technology need to be challenged and e-Tourism as a field of scientific inquiry needs to change.

Paradigms challenged: rethinking science, growth, technology in response to COVID-19

In this section, we reflect upon the opportunity the crisis provides for the transformation of e-Tourism research. Beyond the immediate health crisis, COVID-19 is essentially a crisis of economized societies rooted in the growth-paradigm (Ötsch 2020 ). In fact, governments worldwide reacted to the crisis based on prognosed GDP shortfalls and steep increases in unemployment with “rescue packages” and “shock therapies” on an unprecedented scale. At the same time, economists downplay the pandemic as a purely natural event that has originated outside of the economic system (i.e., an exogenous shock) and, thus, has nothing to do with economic structures (Nowlin 2017 ). Further, technology continues to be seen as independent from natural, social and economic systems and, rather, as something that can be used to solve specific problems associated with the crisis without considering larger societal consequences. Last but not least, science is perceived as a means to achieve the medical and technological progress needed to overcome the crisis and to resume previously charted economic growth trajectories. By referring to Brodbeck ( 2014 , 2019 ), we criticize ontological and epistemological foundations that underpin the current science, technology and growth paradigms.

The science paradigm

Historically, sciences are characterized by three assumptions: all phenomena are reducible to their own physically explainable foundations. As a necessary precondition, an independent researcher subject is capable of observing phenomena as factual objects. Finally, mathematics is considered the ideal methodological, logical and argumentative foundation to conduct “value-free” science. However, like all languages, mathematics, but also theories and facts, have shown to be aspects of the same social world and, thus, cannot be considered as separable entities (Gödel 1930 ; Putnam 2004 ). Indeed, theories and their ontological correspondence in reality are socially construed phenomena with perceived specific relevance and meaning (Brodbeck 2019 ). Scientists in general, but also researchers in e-Tourism, usually reflect too little on the “values” on which theories are based and how they are matched with data, i.e. the social practice of science.

Kuhn’s ( 1962 ) seminal work ‘ The structure of scientific revolutions ’ describes paradigm shifts as breaking-points driven by the social, psychological and ethical nature of sciences. A crisis like COVID-19 has the potential to challenge current paradigms because it rapidly changes conditions and allows “thinking about the unthinkable”. This is what Kuhn referred to as the “revolutionary” aspect of paradigm shifts and what Popper ( 1974 ) termed the “essential incompleteness of all sciences”. Particularly in times of crises, sciences are showing their paradoxes and point to the fact that not only their fundamental notions and theories, but also objectified facts and artifacts, such as experiments and technologies, are rooted in the social sphere (Latour 1987 ). It is impossible to separate theories from societal processes and to develop, discover and approve theories in an illusory separated world of scientific thinking (Brodbeck 2019 ). Therefore, a scientific paradigm shift needs to be accompanied especially by a shift in the way we think about “values” and “facts” in relation to the economic and technological foundations of society (Latour 2000 )—and of tourism in particular.

The growth paradigm

As a “calculative form of thinking”, the nature of money reproduces an empty abstract unit and, worse, executes an automatism of the more as the form of money follows the infinite series of numbers—“ the archetype of abstract growth ” (Brodbeck 2019 , 12). Being an empty abstract measuring unit itself, money needs to be related to objectivized and measured things so as to receive their price. This task of objectivization is exactly what modern sciences are primarily specialized in. However, as a consequence, production processes, but also social acts of exchange, technological processes and even skills and the arts, stop being social processes initiated by humans, and rather become “equations” of production functions (Brodbeck 2011 ). In fact, ‘ an ontic social act is ontologically redefined through a mathematical form ’ (Brodbeck 2019 , 16). Therefore, qualitative distinctions appear as numeric identities, i.e. become quantitative differences—or disappear. The uniqueness and diversity of social acts of exchange is transformed into “identical” monetary values (Brodbeck 2019 ). Moreover, monetary thinking enforces the abstract perspective, i.e. things and humans become comparable but empty units. Economic actors do not appear as humans, but as objectivized “rational” decision making machines maximizing their utility or profit.

However, the reference to such a misleading ontology leads to the paradox that economics cannot be considered an empirically exact science, exactly because “free” humans do not behave like mechanical objects of classical physics. Despite the empirical failure of economics, its successful global application and propagation show that it is, first and foremost, not a “value-free” exact science, but rather an “implicit ethic” (Brodbeck 2014 , 8). Although economic theory is not capable of explaining economic agents’ behavior empirically, its political function seems to influence and “program” human action through the prescription of what is considered economically “rational” (Brodbeck 2014 ; Ghoshal 2005 ). While represented through a system of factual statements, economic theories should be uncovered as “implicit ethics” guided by the thought model of calculative thinking and the ontological assumptions of modern science: physicalism, empiricism and mathematization (Allen 2003 ; Brodbeck 2019 ). Despite emergent questioning of the growth paradigm for tourism already before the crisis (Dodds and Butler 2019 ; Higgins-Desbiolles et al. 2019 ; Saarinen 2018 ), much of the current discourse around tourism during and after the pandemic is colored by the notion that tourism as a “demand-driven” economic activity needs to be “stimulated” so that it can “grow” again. Both science and technology are means to serving this end, rather than as transformative forces.

The technology paradigm

Growth ideology is not only the result of the economic imperative, but also of technology (Illich 1992 ; Rendall 2015 ; Samerski 2018 ). Technology is best understood as the relation of humans to their instruments (Illich 1992 ). In turn, tools and instruments are defined as means with which humans try to realize their goals, from simple knives to complex technological systems and socio-technical institutions, like factories and universities (Illich 1975 ). In fact, it is important, not to understand technology as an inevitable product of a determinist technological evolution, but rather as a “historically and culturally shaped meaning relation of man to his tools” (Samerski 2018 , 1639). However, the continuous equipping of human with productive tools inverts the relation between people and their instruments, i.e., as machines force people to behave like machines, means turn to ends (Illich 1975 ).

While today’s techno-genic institutions form a technological system that colonizes our imagination, reshapes not only our activities, but also our self-perception and social relations, it is crucial to distinguish between two types of tools (Cayley 2005 ; Illich 1975 ). “Convivial” tools are fostering the natural ability of their users to act autonomously and mindfully, thus, the tools are modified by, and adapted to, their users. By contrast, “manipulative” tools reduce man to a programmed machine operator, a client whose heteronomous behavior is unconsciously commanded to adapt (Samerski 2018 ). In fact, convivial tools are easy to use, thus requiring just learning by doing. However, as usage demands a programming of the user or societal structures and technocratic elites make tools indispensable or obligatory, their use is manipulative and out of democratic control. Convivial tools serve the purpose of the user and not vice versa, thus, “ allow the expression of personal and societal meaning ” (Samerski 2018 , 1640). Indeed, we should ask whether, e.g. smartphones, whose role in travel has been highlighted in recent e-Tourism literature, are actually means for the realization of humans’ well-being, despite all the ‘user-friendly’ designs. They not only pre-program desires and habits, but also affect the sense of the self to a degree that users might become addicted to their devices. Countless examples of such manipulative tools have been cited and discussed in recent critiques of those technologies that aim to persuade, surveille, and even “hijack” people’s mind (Harris 2016 ; Tufekci 2014 ).

Transformative technologies should limit manipulation and comprise all the powerful tools for democratic engagement, participation, transparency, deliberation and political action, as digital commons, open source technologies and open access technologies impressively show (Kallis 2011 ; Samerski 2018 ). In addition, publicly shared information is essentially a public good. Whenever new information emerges, due to its socio-historical character, it incorporates the whole societal history of information, thus, should belong to no one in particular. However, in global capitalism, information becomes a resource that favors capital accumulation, and is, therefore, treated as a commodity and ever more controlled by powerful corporations (Fuchs 2009 ). To sum up, “manipulative” tools embedded into broader paradigms of calculative thinking are programming the behavior of humans and, thus, restrict the freedom inherent to a convivial society. By contrast, “convivial” technologies convert current efficiency-focused economies of scarce means towards sufficiency-focused ecologies of desirable social goals (Dierksmeier and Pirson 2010 ; Samerski 2018 ).

The COVID-19 crisis has put e-Tourism research at a crossroads. One path leads us to focus on research that subscribes to existing scientific paradigms, conventional notions of technology and growth-driven thinking and, thus, supports bringing back tourism as we knew it. The other path takes a critical stance at what was before and how things were done and helps envision a better future. The latter path requires “transformative” research.

Transformative e-Tourism research

By transformative e-Tourism research we mean research that makes underlying value systems, institutional logics, scientific paradigms and particular notions of technology visible and therefore transformable. Transformative e-Tourism research encompasses research that critically analyzes and explicitly questions the designs, resulting affordances and likely consequences of technologies and presents alternatives. Further, transformative e-Tourism research transcends immediate industry needs and actively shapes e-Tourism futures. We propose that the following six pillars, namely historicity, reflexivity , transparency , equity , plurality and creativity , are especially important for guiding transformative e-Tourism research:

Historicity

There is a real danger that the COVID-19 crisis will prompt e-Tourism researchers to overly focus on new realities and ignore theory and practice established before the pandemic. By historicity we therefore mean acknowledging historical origins and development of theories and technologies over time and in close relationship with the evolution of social and political ideologies and institutions. Conceptualizing the crisis as a clean break in relation to e-Tourism and consequent dismissal of past research will only heighten the replication crisis in science, which did not receive enough attention in e-Tourism, even before COVID-19.

In particular, e-Tourism research is called to critically discuss and evaluate relevant past studies. This should lead to extracting possible common frameworks needed to assess how the modifications due to the technological solutions that will probably emerge in response to the present crisis will restructure the domain. The aim is to better understand the impacts of technologies at individual, social, economic and political levels, with an obvious focus on the tourism and hospitality domain, but also to consider other domains to avoid possible, and dangerous self-referentiality (DeSanctis and Poole 1994 ).

Reflexivity

The term is used with many variations and meanings (D’Cruz et al. 2007 ; Widmer et al. 2009 ). These variations and meanings have, however, all in common a call for a critical evaluation of, and reflection on, the research in a certain domain and awareness of the factors that influence knowledge creation. In essence, reflexive research problematizes knowledge, specifically its relationship to power and its embeddedness in social institutions. Whether referred to as a researcher’s individual history/positionality or to a team’s attitude, reflexivity is about acknowledging and scrutinizing the tacit knowledge that results from different approaches and outcomes that emerge from the literature and the practice.

Reflexive e-Tourism research explores the ways in which individual researchers, culture, social conditions and structures shape the design and use of technology, and how technology in turn influences cultural and social settings. It is also important to consider the structure of the “institutions” and industrial entities of e-Tourism and their relationship to other institutions as well as their influence on the construction of knowledge in this domain. This “sociology-of-technology” approach (Sassen 2002 ) also argues for a higher sensitivity to social and cultural differences (Lynch 2008 ).

A reflexive approach is important to provide e-Tourism research with rigorous theoretical frameworks. It is a prerequisite for implementing meaningful and effective applications and for building architectures that aim at regaining control and independence from frameworks defined or imposed by the dominant technological powerhouses. Reflexivity is also a critical step towards transparency.

Transparency

By transparency we mean revealing of implicit values. Modern science has replaced value-based argumentation with calculative forms of thinking. However, the history of science has shown that eliminating value-based ontologies is impossible. Thus, by questioning the utilitarian and instrumental nature of the current scientific mainstream, transformative e-Tourism research should acknowledge that science cannot be value-free. Both rigor and relevance of e-Tourism research have to be scrutinized from this perspective. Indeed, for rebuilding tourism in the post COVID-19 era, ontological and ethical aspects related to e-Tourism phenomena should be debated more strongly.

When making implicit values explicit, transformative e-Tourism research is critical not only because of devoting its attention to socially problematic aspects, but also by being aware that “scientifically” developed concepts and technologies always refer to certain values that are promoted and strengthened if these technologies will later be applied in society. A particularly critical stance is needed against the utopian welfare and salvation promises of artificial intelligence (AI), especially because of its incapacity to make its knowledge and value structures explicit. This stance is essential because the “learning” of AI does not take place adjacently to the external human and non-human world; rather, the learning process is intrinsically tied to it. Transformative e-Tourism research should not accept a world where AI is guiding human patterns of speaking and action as constitutive forces of an increasingly artificial sphere. Consequently, transparency is particularly important in prominent e-Tourism domains such as big data analytics or recommender systems design and evaluation.

Equity means assessing how research impacts different groups in society. In the wake of COVID-19, the equity of the impacts of e-Tourism research needs to be thoroughly considered. Social equity of the research refers to how the social impacts are distributed regarding costs and benefits and whether this distribution is considered fair and appropriate (Behbahani et al. 2019 ). We now have the tools to assess and evaluate research both as an academic output as well as based on its effects on society (Hinrichs-Krapels and Grant 2016 ).

An emphasis on equity requires e-Tourism researchers to embrace diversity and discuss the meaning and outcomes of the research from a broader perspective. For example, gender issues in AI and robotics design are becoming a pressing concern (Pritchard 2018 ). With COVID-19, we are seeing an increasing interest in automation and robotics in tourism and hospitality, but the equity of these choices are not thoroughly analyzed. Academic research should aim to develop new tools to rapidly assess the equity of e-Tourism innovations, and equity perspectives should be incorporated in e-Tourism research and design. It is also time to acknowledge the destructive side of e-Tourism research and innovations (Adner and Kapoor 2016 ; Fuchs et al. 2020 ). COVID-19 seems to drive faster innovation adoption and we need to reflect upon how this affects different groups in society.

Equity can be achieved by embracing participative society initiatives such as citizen science, enabling voluntary participation in research (Xiang and Fesenmaier 2017 ). Such opportunities are currently missing from e-Tourism research. Most research in the world is done by universities located in Europe, North America, Australia/New Zealand and East Asia. As research in science and social sciences is increasingly seen as a source of national prosperity (Meo et al. 2013 ), many countries without their own research infrastructure are under-represented in tourism research (Shen et al. 2018 ). Equity is built globally, and e-Tourism research should be able to help those most in need, including e-Tourism researchers with limited resources. Open e-Tourism initiatives could provide one pathway towards equity by democratizing data and processes. Participatory software development, for example AI algorithms developed using open source initiatives, allows the wider community to utilize technology and increases the potential to understand the effects of specific technologies on different groups in society.

e-Tourism research that embraces more than one worldview and a diversity of approaches will significantly enrich options available for transformation in a post-COVID-19 world. E-Tourism research should not conform to a “mainstream” research agenda by narrowly defining itself as a sub-discipline of tourism or information systems. It is applied; it focuses on a variety of contexts surrounding the activities of travel and tourism; and, as such, it is problem-driven (Werthner et al. 2015 ). However, the problems it tackles emerge from a multitude of areas. It is obvious that today’s scientific inquiry fundamentally requires multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary, transdisciplinary, and sometimes even anti-disciplinary perspectives; and, this is particularly true in e-Tourism which is situated, by definition, at the intersection between IT and tourism as well as other increasingly important fields such as data science and digital sociology. As such, e-Tourism research should expand its ontology to enable “outside the box” thinking, and should ask more niche and critical questions that can help the field create new meanings. There are early signs of this movement in some of the recent publications in this journal on topics related to digital nomads and wellbeing in travel, which are relevant to understand emerging mobile life styles and consequences of using technology in travel within the new contexts of COVID-19 (Cook 2020 ; Mancinelli 2020 ).

COVID-19 also creates a surge in scientific research, with developments in medicine, technology and data analytics generating an unprecedentedly large amount of literature at an incredibly fast pace (Brainard 2020 ). Because of this (and the complexity of the new reality), it is much needed for e-Tourism to engage with other scientific fields with urgency, in both an ontological and an epistemological sense. Researchers must come out from their own silos to build bridges that lead to fruitful collaboration. e-Tourism research should not focus only on academic exercises; instead, it should also aim at developing innovative solutions to real world problems, such as enabling policy making around issues like societal well-being and sustainability in a prescriptive way. For example, we should encourage a bottom-up approach to technology development that focuses on creating alternatives to a purely growth-driven philosophy that assumes the more, the better. While applied, e-Tourism research should aim to improve its scientific rigor in developing conceptual and theoretical frameworks that articulate both emerging needs and emerging solutions. However, this does not mean neglecting theoretical grounding; instead, we should encourage applying theories in meaningful contexts and continuing testing and retesting them in order to establish their intellectual merit.

Major interruptions to global tourism due to COVID-19 incite a refocusing to the core and fundamental matters in many domains, including science. Mounting critiques proclaim that science in general is very good at micro-innovations but lacks vision and ambition. Even worse, reality checks analyzing the progress made in different IT fields have reached conclusions that improvements over time are marginal at best. For instance, when surveying well-cited recent deep learning techniques in recommender system development, Dacrema et al. ( 2019 ) showed that many of them cannot be reproduced and even those that could were outperformed by comparably simple heuristic methods. Similar observations were made by Musgrave et al. ( 2020 ) who identified serious flaws in experimental setups and evaluation procedures.

This lack of creativity, originality and vision is also not unknown in e-Tourism research, a field that often deliberately self-restricts by primarily focusing on the analysis of existing IT solutions and their adoption and acceptance in tourism. These IT solutions have, however, been largely developed outside the e-Tourism community, and even worse, the e-Tourism research community has no or only limited influence on their conceptualization and design (such as, for instance, social media platforms like TripAdvisor). That said, already Hevner et al. ( 2004 ) postulate for design science research in information systems, thus the simultaneous pursuit of rigor and relevance is as timely as ever. Science should not only limit itself to rigorously re-applying widely adopted theories such as the Technology Acceptance Model (Lee et al. 2003 ; Pourfakhimi et al. 2018 ), but should also aim at creating novel and original technical artefacts and frameworks with high practical relevance or high scientific impact. Creative e-Tourism research goes beyond linear extrapolation from past developments and focuses on deliberately identifying and breaking existing boundaries.

Closing remarks

The preeminent American biologist and Pulitzer Prize winner E. O. Wilson once said: “ The real problem of humanity is the following: We have Paleolithic emotions, medieval institutions and godlike technology. ” The COVID-19 crisis has revealed the problematic nature of this situation to a great extent—from selfish panic buying of toilet paper to nations and corporations racing to re-establish the status quo, to an almost religious belief in technology as the ultimate savior. Indeed, much of the COVID-19 recovery efforts in tourism now foresee IT to be the indispensable conditio-sine-qua-non : without IT no tourism during and post-COVID-19. In many ways, this has heightened the need to better understand but also challenge, responsibly manage, and proactively create IT as both a short-term response and a long-term means for the renewal of e-Tourism.

We believe IT holds the key to understand the new pandemic-related conditions in relation to how we manage travel along with our everyday life and how we envision a better future for e-Tourism as a phenomenon and a field of inquiry. As such, in this essay we critique and question the ontology and epistemology of existing e-Tourism research, which is deeply rooted in classical assumptions about science, growth and technology and in the “medieval institutions” that shape it. We envision transformative e-Tourism research as being critical of these assumptions but also constructive by building the necessary foundations for change. Specifically, we call for e-Tourism research that is:

• mindful of the past and the value of continuity (historicity);
• aware of the factors that influence knowledge creation (reflexivity);
• explicit about its values (transparency);
• sensitive to differential opportunities to participate in research and varying impacts of its findings (equity);
• open to diversity in topics and approaches (plurality); and
• willing to break boundaries and be prescriptive (creativity).

The six transformative e-Tourism research pillars are, obviously, by no means all-encompassing and should not be treated as a requirement for every research project e-Tourism researchers engage in. These pillars are intended, rather, as general views that should guide future e-Tourism research as a whole to ask deeper, more impactful, and more critical questions. In addition, some of the views are not mutually exclusive because they share some even higher-level threads that are eventually connected to our fundamental value systems as a society and a civilization, which are also constantly evolving as we continue to battle this and potential future crises. Nonetheless, it is expected that this essay serves as an intellectual ‘ steppingstone ’ that supports the communities surrounding this journal, and beyond, to truly elevate e-Tourism research through rigor, relevancy, creativity, and, ultimately, more significant, diverse and equitable contributions to society.

No funding was received for the preparation of this manuscript.

Compliance with ethical standards

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Not applicable.

Publisher's Note

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

Contributor Information

Ulrike Gretzel, Email: ude.csu@lezterg .

Matthias Fuchs, Email: [email protected] .

Rodolfo Baggio, Email: [email protected] .

Wolfram Hoepken, Email: [email protected] .

Rob Law, Email: [email protected] .

Julia Neidhardt, Email: [email protected] .

Juho Pesonen, Email: [email protected] .

Markus Zanker, Email: [email protected] .

Zheng Xiang, Email: ude.tv@zxlihp .

• Adner R, Kapoor R. Innovation ecosystems and the pace of substitution: re-examining technology S-curves. Strateg Manag J. 2016; 37 (4):625–648. doi: 10.1002/smj.2363. [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Allen S. Towards a non-Aristotelian epistemology of science: a review of general semantics. ETC Rev Gener Semant. 2003; 60 (3):228–240. [ Google Scholar ]
• Behbahani H, Nazari S, Kang MJ, Litman T. A conceptual framework to formulate transportation network design problem considering social equity criteria. Transport Res Part A Policy Pract. 2019; 125 :171–183. doi: 10.1016/j.tra.2018.04.005. [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Benckendorff PJ, Xiang Z, Sheldon PJ. Tourism information technology. 3. Boston: CABI; 2019. [ Google Scholar ]
• Blake A, Sinclair MT. Tourism crisis management: US response to September 11. Ann Tour Res. 2003; 30 (4):813–832. doi: 10.1016/S0160-7383(03)00056-2. [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Brainard J (2020) Scientists are drowning in COVID-19 papers. Can new tools keep them afloat? https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/05/scientists-are-drowning-covid-19-papers-can-new-tools-keep-them-afloat . Accessed 21 May 2020
• Brodbeck KH. Money: the global power of an illusion. A Buddhist perspective. In: Fay ISCA, Bruckner M, editors. Buddhism as a stronghold of free thinking—Social, ethical and philosophical dimensions of Buddhism. Ulm: Ubuntu; 2011. [ Google Scholar ]
• Brodbeck KH (2014) Verborgene metaphysische Voraussetzungen in der zeitgenössischen Wirtschaftslehre. Working Paper Series, No. Ök-02, Cusanus Hochschule, Institut für Ökonomie und Institut für Philosophie, Bernkastel-Kues
• Brodbeck KH (2019) Die Illusion der Identität und die Krise der Wissenschaften, Working Paper Serie der Institute für Ökonomie und für Philosophie, Cusanus Hochschule. No. 47, 03 2019
• Buhalis D. Technology in tourism-from information communication technologies to eTourism and smart tourism towards ambient intelligence tourism: a perspective article. Tour Rev. 2019; 75 (1):267–272. doi: 10.1108/TR-06-2019-0258. [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Buhalis D, Law R. Progress in information technology and tourism management: 20 years on and 10 years after the Internet—the state of eTourism research. Tour Manag. 2008; 29 (4):609–623. doi: 10.1016/j.tourman.2008.01.005. [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Carlsson-Szlezak P, Reeves M, Swartz P (2020) What coronavirus could mean for the global economy? https://hbr.org/2020/03/what-coronavirus-could-mean-for-the-global-economy . Accessed 21 May 2020
• Cayley D. The rivers north to the future. The testament of Ivan Illich. Toronto: House of Anansi Press; 2005. [ Google Scholar ]
• Cook D. The freedom trap: digital nomads and the use of disciplining practices to manage work/leisure boundaries. Inf Technol Tour. 2020 doi: 10.1007/s40558-020-00172-4. [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Dacrema MF, Cremonesi, Jannach D (2019) Are we really making much progress? A worrying analysis of recent neural recommendation approaches. In: Paper presented in the 13th ACM conference on recommender systems, 16–20 September 2019, Copenhagen, Denmark
• D’Cruz H, Gillingham P, Melendez S. Reflexivity, its meanings and relevance for social work: a critical review of the literature. Br J Soc Work. 2007; 37 (1):73–90. doi: 10.1093/bjsw/bcl001. [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• DeSanctis G, Poole MS. Capturing the complexity in advanced technology use: adaptive structuration theory. Organ Sci. 1994; 5 (2):121–147. doi: 10.1287/orsc.5.2.121. [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Dierksmeier C, Pirson M. The modern corporation and the idea of freedom. Philos Manag. 2010; 9 (3):5–25. [ Google Scholar ]
• Dodds R, Butler R. Overtourism: issues, realities and solutions. Berlin: De Gruyter; 2019. [ Google Scholar ]
• Fuchs C. Information and communication technologies and society. A contribution to the critique of the political economy of the Internet. Eur J Commun. 2009; 24 (1):69–87. doi: 10.1177/0267323108098947. [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Fuchs C. Everyday life and everyday communication in coronavirus capitalism. TripleC: communication, capitalism & critique. J Glob Sustain Inf Soc. 2020; 18 (1):375–399. [ Google Scholar ]
• Fuchs M, Fossgard K, Stensland S, Chekalina T. Creativity and innovation in nature-based tourism: a critical reflection and empirical assessment. In: Fredman P, Haukeland JV, editors. New frontiers in nature-based tourism: principles and practice. London: Routledge; 2020. [ Google Scholar ]
• Ghoshal S. Bad management theories are destroying good management practices. Acad Manag Learn Educ. 2005; 4 (1):75–91. doi: 10.5465/amle.2005.16132558. [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Gödel K. Über die Vollständigkeit der Axiome des logischen Funktionenkalküls. Monatshefte für Mathematik und Physik. 1930; 37 (2):349–360. doi: 10.1007/BF01696781. [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Gössling S, Scott D, Hall CM. Pandemics, tourism and global change: a rapid assessment of COVID-19. J Sustain Tour. 2020 doi: 10.1080/09669582.2020.1758708. [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Hall CM, Prayag G, Amore A. Tourism and resilience: individual, organisational and destination perspectives. Blue Ridge Summit: Channel View Publications; 2017. [ Google Scholar ]
• Hall CM, Scott D, Gössling S. Pandemics, transformations and tourism: be careful what you wish for. Tour Geogr. 2020 doi: 10.1080/14616688.2020.1759131. [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Harris T (2016) How technology Hijacks People’s minds—From a magician and google design ethicist. https://medium.com/thrive-global/how-technology-hijacks-peoples-minds-from-a-magician-and-google-s-design-ethicist-56d62ef5edf3 . Accessed 21 May 2020
• Hevner AR, March ST, Park J, Ram S. Design science in information systems research. MIS Q. 2004; 28 (1):75–105. doi: 10.2307/25148625. [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Higgins-Desbiolles F. Socialising tourism for social and ecological justice after COVID-19. Tour Geogr. 2020 doi: 10.1080/14616688.2020.1757748. [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Higgins-Desbiolles F, Carnicelli S, Krolikowski C, Wijesinghe G, Boluk K. De-growing tourism: rethinking tourism. J Sustain Tour. 2019; 27 (12):1926–1944. doi: 10.1080/09669582.2019.1601732. [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Hinrichs-Krapels S, Grant J. Exploring the effectiveness, efficiency and equity (3e’s) of research and research impact assessment. Palgrave Commun. 2016; 2 (1):1–9. doi: 10.1057/palcomms.2016.90. [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Illich I. Tools for conviviality. London: Fontana; 1975. [ Google Scholar ]
• Illich I. In the mirror of the past. Lectures and addresses 1978–1990. London: Marion Boyars; 1992. [ Google Scholar ]
• Jamal T, Budke C. Tourism in a world with pandemics: local-global responsibility and action. J Tour Futures. 2020 doi: 10.1108/JTF-02-2020-0014. [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Kallis G. Defense of De-growth. Ecol Econ. 2011; 70 :873–880. doi: 10.1016/j.ecolecon.2010.12.007. [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Kuhn Th. The structure of scientific revolutions. Chicago: University of Chicago Press; 1962. [ Google Scholar ]
• Latour B. Science in action: How to follow scientists and engineers through society. Cambridge: Harvard University Press; 1987. [ Google Scholar ]
• Latour B. When things strike back: a possible contribution of 'science studies' to the social sciences. Br J Sociol. 2000; 51 (1):107–123. doi: 10.1080/000713100358453. [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Law R, Leung D, Chan ICC. Progression and development of information and communication technology research in hospitality and tourism. Int J Contemp Hosp Manag. 2019; 32 (2):511–534. doi: 10.1108/IJCHM-07-2018-0586. [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Lee Y, Kozar KA, Larsen KR. The technology acceptance model: past, present, and future. Commun Assoc Inf Syst. 2003; 12 :752–780. [ Google Scholar ]
• Lynch C. Reflexivity in research on civil society: constructivist perspectives. Int Stud Rev. 2008; 10 (4):708–721. doi: 10.1111/j.1468-2486.2008.00827.x. [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Mancinelli F. Digital nomads: freedom, responsibility and the neoliberal order. Inf Technol Tour. 2020 doi: 10.1007/s40558-020-00174-2. [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Meo SA, Al Masri AA, Usmani AM, Memon AN, Zaidi SZ. Impact of GDP, spending on R&D, number of universities and scientific journals on research publications among Asian countries. PLoS ONE. 2013; 8 (6):1–8. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0066449. [ PMC free article ] [ PubMed ] [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Musgrave K, Belongie S, Lim SN (2020) A metric learning reality check. https://arxiv.org/abs/2003.08505 . Accessed 21 May 2020
• Navío-Marco J, Ruiz-Gómez LM, Sevilla-Sevilla C. Progress in information technology and tourism management: 30 years on and 20 years after the internet-Revisiting Buhalis & Law's landmark study about eTourism. Tour Manag. 2018; 69 :460–470. doi: 10.1016/j.tourman.2018.06.002. [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Neidhardt J, Werthner H. IT and tourism: still a hot topic, but do not forget IT. Inf Technol Tour. 2018; 20 (1–4):1–7. [ Google Scholar ]
• Nowlin C. Understanding and undermining the growth paradigm. Dialogue. 2017; 56 :559–593. doi: 10.1017/S0012217317000555. [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Ötsch W (2020) What type of crisis is this? The coronavirus crisis is a crisis of the economized society. Lecture at the topical lecture series of Cusanus Hochchule für Gesellschaftsgstaltung, 9 April 2020
• Popper K. Scientific reduction and the essential incompleteness of all sciences. In: Ayala FJ, Dobzhansky T, editors. Studies in the philosophy of biology. Reduction and related problems. London: Basingstoke; 1974. pp. 259–284. [ Google Scholar ]
• Pourfakhimi S, Duncan T, Coetzee W. Information and communication technologies in tourism 2018. Cham: Springer; 2018. A synthesis of technology acceptance research in tourism & hospitality; pp. 143–155. [ Google Scholar ]
• Pritchard A. Predicting the next decade of tourism gender research. Tour Manag Perspect. 2018; 25 :144–146. doi: 10.1016/j.tmp.2017.11.014. [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Putnam H. The collapse of the fact/value dichotomy. Cambridge: Harvard University Press; 2004. [ Google Scholar ]
• Rendall T. Goethe’s Faust and Heidegger’s critique of technology. Interdiscip Stud Lit Environ. 2015; 22 (1):115–131. doi: 10.1093/isle/isu140. [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Saarinen J. Beyond growth thinking: the need to revisit sustainable development in tourism. Tour Geogr. 2018; 20 (2):337–340. doi: 10.1080/14616688.2018.1434817. [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Samerski S. Tools for degrowth? Ivan Illich’s critique of technology revisited. J Clean Prod. 2018; 197 :1637–1646. doi: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2016.10.039. [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Sassen S. Towards a sociology of information technology. Curr Sociol. 2002; 50 (3):365–388. doi: 10.1177/0011392102050003005. [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Shen Y, Morrison AM, Wu B, Park J, Li C, Li M. Where in the world? A geographic analysis of a decade of research in tourism, hospitality, and leisure journals. J Hosp Tour Res. 2018; 42 (2):171–200. doi: 10.1177/1096348014563394. [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Sönmez SF, Apostolopoulos Y, Tarlow P. Tourism in crisis: managing the effects of terrorism. J Travel Res. 1999; 38 (1):13–18. doi: 10.1177/004728759903800104. [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Touray, S. (2020). Tracing the etourism discipline: Bibliometric analysis on the collaborative structure of the etourism research community. In: Maurer C, Siller HJ (eds.) ISCONTOUR 2020 tourism research perspectives: proceedings of the international student conference in tourism research. Norderstedt, Germany: books on demand, pp 243–257
• Tufekci Z. Engineering the public: Big data, surveillance and computational politics. First Monday. 2014 doi: 10.5210/fm.v19i7.4901. [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• UNWTO . UNWTO World Tourism Barometer. Madrid: UNWTO; 2020. [ Google Scholar ]
• Wang D, Fesenmaier DR, Werthner H, Wöber K. The journal of information technology & tourism: a content analysis of the past 10 years. Inf Technol Tour. 2010; 12 (1):3–16. doi: 10.3727/109830510X12747489979547. [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Werthner H, Alzua-Sorzabal A, Cantoni L, Dickinger A, Gretzel U, Jannach D, et al. Future research issues in IT and tourism. Inf Technol Tour. 2015; 15 (1):1–15. doi: 10.1007/s40558-014-0021-9. [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Werthner H, Klein S. Information technology and tourism: a challenging relationship. Vienna: Springer; 1999. [ Google Scholar ]
• Widmer PS, Schippers MC, West MA. Recent developments in reflexivity research: a review. Psychol Everyday Act. 2009; 2 (2):2–11. [ Google Scholar ]
• World Health Organization (WHO) (2020) Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19): situation report, 57. https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/situation-reports . Accessed 21 May 2020
• Xiang Z. From digitization to the age of acceleration: on information technology and tourism. Tour Manag Perspect. 2018; 25 :147–150. doi: 10.1016/j.tmp.2017.11.023. [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Xiang Z, Fesenmaier DR. Analytics in smart tourism design. Cham: Springer; 2017. Big data analytics, tourism design and smart tourism; pp. 299–307. [ Google Scholar ]
• Xiang Z, Fuchs M, Gretzel U, Höpken W. Handbook of e-Tourism. Cham: Springer International Publishing; 2021. [ Google Scholar ]
• Yuan Y, Tseng YH, Ho CI. Tourism information technology research trends: 1990–2016. Tour Rev. 2019; 74 (1):5–19. doi: 10.1108/TR-08-2017-0128. [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]

Consumer Behavior in e-Tourism

• Living reference work entry
• First Online: 17 December 2021
• Cite this living reference work entry

• S. Volo 5 &
• A. Irimiás 6  

79 Accesses

Tourism scholars have extensively investigated tourists’ behavior; from motivations to actual choices and consumption patterns, the way tourists behave has relevant implications for theory and practice. In e-Tourism, consumer behavior encompasses the wide range of tourists’ behaviors supported by technologies and happens at different stages: prior undertaking a vacation, during the experience itself, and after it, when tourists are engaged in post-vacation assessments. Research on these aspects is vast, encompassing both the supply and demand side, but it remains scattered. This chapter provides an informed overview of consumer behavior in the e-Tourism era. The core of the chapter focuses on three phases of consumer behavior that have significantly been reshaped by e-Tourism: pre-trip stage, on-site experience, and post-trip evaluation. These three relevant areas are herein analyzed, and considering the tourists and providers’ perspective, the most relevant changes enabled by the e-Tourism era are presented. The conclusion section discusses the relevance of behavioral changes induced by digitally mediated experiences, outlines advances, and presents future perspectives for tourism and hospitality.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Institutional subscriptions

Assaf AG, Kock F, Tsionas M (2021) Tourism during and after COVID-19: an expert-informed agenda for future research. J Travel Res. https://doi.org/10.1177/00472875211017237

Buhalis D, Deimezi O (2004) E-tourism developments in Greece: information communication technologies adoption for the strategic management of the Greek tourism industry. Tour Hosp Res 5(2):103–130

Article   Google Scholar  

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 29:609–623

Buhalis D, Sinarta Y (2019) Real-time co-creation and nowness service: lessons from tourism and hospitality. J Travel Tour Mark 36:563–582

Choe Y, Fesenmaier DR, Vogt C (2017) Twenty-five years past Vogt: assessing the changing information needs of American travellers. In: Information and communication technologies in tourism 2017. Springer, Cham, pp 489–502

Chapter   Google Scholar  

Connell J, Reynolds P (1999) The implications of technological developments on Tourist Information Centres. Tour Manag 20(4):501–509

Conti E, Lexhagen M (2020) Instagramming nature-based tourism experiences: a netnographic study of online photography and value creation. Tour Manag Pers 34:100650

Google Scholar  

Correia A, Crouch GI (2004) A study of tourist decision processes: Algarve, Portugal. Cons Psycho Tour Hosp Leis 3:121–134

Correia A, Kozak M, Ferradeira J (2013) From tourist motivations to tourist satisfaction. I J Cult Tour Hosp Res 7(4):411–424

Correia A, Zins AH, Silva F (2015) Why do tourists persist in visiting the same destination? Tour Econ 21(1):205–221

D’Acunto D, Volo S, Filieri R (2021) “Most Americans like their privacy.” Exploring privacy concerns through US guests’ reviews. Int J Cont Hosp Manag. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJCHM-11-2020-1329

Demir SS, Kozak M, Correia A (2014) Modelling consumer behavior: an essay with domestic tourists in Turkey. J Travel Tour Mark 31(3):303–312

Dichter E (1966) How word-of-mouth advertising works. Harv Bus Rev 44:147–166

Dimanche F, Havitz ME (1995) Consumer behavior and tourism: review and extension of four study areas. J Travel Tour Mark 3(3):37–57

Dinhopl A, Gretzel U (2016) Selfie-taking as touristic looking. Ann Tour Res 57:126–139

Fan DXF, Buhalis D, Lin B (2019) A tourist typology of online and face-to-face social contact: destination immersion and tourism encapsulation/decapsulation. Ann Tour Res 78:102757

Fesenmaier DR, Xiang Z (2017) Introduction to tourism design and design science in tourism. In: Fesenmaier D, Xiang Z (eds) Design science in tourism. Tourism on the Verge. Springer, Cham, pp 3–16

Filieri R (2016) What makes an online consumer review trustworthy? Ann Tour Res 58:46–64

Filieri R, McLeay F (2014) E-WOM and accommodation: an analysis of the factors that influence travelers’ adoption of information from online reviews. J Travel Res 53(1):44–57

Fotis J, Buhalis D, Rossides N (2011) Social media impact on holiday travel planning: the case of the Russian and the FSU markets. Int J Online Mark 1(4):1–19

Garín-Muñoz T, Pérez-Amaral T, López R (2020) Consumer engagement in e-Tourism: micro-panel data models for the case of Spain. Tour Econ 26(6):853–872

Germann Molz J, Paris CP (2015) The social affordances of flashpacking: exploring the mobility nexus of travel and communication. Mobilities 10(2):173–192

Gonçalves HM, Silva GM, Martins TG (2018) Motivations for posting online reviews in the hotel industry. Psychol Mark 35(11):807–817

Gregori N, Daniele R, Altinay L (2014) Affiliate marketing in tourism: determinants of consumer trust. J Travel Res 53(2):196–210

Gretzel U (2010) Travel in the network: redirected gazes, ubiquitous connections and new frontiers. In: Levina M, Kien G (eds) Post-global network and everyday life. Peter Lang, New York, pp 41–58

Gretzel U (2018) Influencer marketing in travel and tourism. In: Sigala M, Gretzel U (eds) Advances in social media for travel, tourism and hospitality: new perspectives, practice and cases. Routledge, New York, pp 147–156

Gretzel U (2021) Dreaming about travel: a Pinterest netnography. In: Wörndl W, Koo C, Stienmetz JL (eds) Information and communication technologies in tourism 2021. Springer, Cham. 10.1007/978-3-030-65785-7˙23

Gretzel U, Yoo KH (2008) Use and impact of online travel reviews. In: Information and communication technologies in tourism 2008. Springer, Vienna, pp 35–46

Gretzel U, Yuan YL, Fesenmaier DR (2000) Preparing for the new economy: advertising strategies and changes in destination marketing organizations. J Travel Res 39(2):146–156

Gretzel U, Mitsche N, Hwang YH, Fesenmaier D (2004) Tell me who you are and I will tell you where to go – use of travel personalities in destination recommendation systems. Inf Technol Tour 7(1):3–12

Gretzel U, Fesenmaier DR, O’Leary JT (2006) The transformation of consumer behaviour. In: Buhalis D, Costa C (eds) Tourism business frontiers: consumers, products and industry. Elsevier, Oxford, pp 9–18

Gretzel U, Yoo KH, Purifoy M (2007) Trip Advisor online travel review study: the role and impacts of online travel review for trip planning. Laboratory for Intelligent Systems in Tourism, College Station

Gursoy D, McCleary KW (2004) An integrative model of tourists’ information search behavior. Ann Tour Res 31(2):353–373

Höpken W, Eberle T, Fuchs M, Lexhagen M (2021) Improving tourist arrival prediction: a big data and artificial neural network approach. J Travel Res 60(5):998–1017

Hruschka H, Mazanec J (1990) Computer-assisted travel counseling. Ann Tour Res 17(2):208–227

Inversini A, Cantoni L, Buhalis D (2009) Destinations’ information competition and web reputation. Inf Technol Tour 11(3):221–234

Irimiás A, Volo S (2018) A netnography of war heritage sites’ online narratives: user-generated content and destination marketing organizations communication at comparison. Int J Cult Tour Hosp Res 12(1):159–172

Jun SH, Vogt CA, MacKay KJ (2007) Relationships between travel information search and travel product purchase in pretrip contexts. J Travel Res 45(3):266–274

Kádár B, Gede M (2021) Tourism flows in large-scale destination systems. Ann Tour Res 87:103113

Kang M, Gretzel U (2012) Effects of podcast tours on tourist experiences in a national park. Tour Manag 33(2):440–55

Kim J, Fesenmaier DR (2015) Measuring emotions in real time: implications for tourism experience design. J Travel Res 54(4):419–429

Kim J, Fesenmaier DR (2017) Sharing tourism experiences. The posttrip experience. J Travel Res 56(1):28–40

Lamsfus C, Wand D, Alzua-Sorzabal A, Xiang Z (2015) Going mobile: defining context for on-the-go travellers. J Travel Res 54(6):691–701

Law R, Leung D, Chan ICC (2020) Progression and development of information and communication research in hospitality and tourism: a state-of-the-art review. Int J Contemp Hosp Manag 32(2):511–534

Lee M (2020) Will this search end up with booking? Modeling airline booking conversion of anonymous visitors. J Tour Anal 27(2):237–250

Liang S, Schuckert M, Law R (2019) How to improve the stated helpfulness of hotel reviews? A multilevel approach. Int J Contemp Hosp Manag 31(2):953–977

Li H, Meng F, Zhang X (2021) Are you happy for me? How sharing positive tourism experiences through social media affects posttrip evaluations. J Travel Res. https://doi.org/10.1177/0047287521995253

Loban SR (1997) A framework for computer-assisted travel counseling. Ann Tour Res 24(4):813–834

Ma S, Kirilenko AP, Stepchenkova S (2020) Special interest tourism is not so special after all: big data evidence from the 2017 Great American Solar Eclipse. Tour Manag 77:104021

Magasic M, Gretzel U (2020) Travel connectivity. Tour Stud 20(1):3–26

Mann C (2012) A study of the iPhone app at Kew Gardens: improving the visitor experience. In: Proceedings of the electronic visualisation and the arts conference, London, 10–12 July 2012

Mansfeld Y (2012) Consumer behavior in travel and tourism. Routledge, London

Martí P, García-Mayor C, Serrano-Estrada L (2021) Taking the urban tourist activity pulse through digital footprints. Curr Issues Tour 24(2):157–176

Masiero L, Viglia G, Nieto-Garcia M (2020) Strategic consumer behavior in online hotel booking. Ann Tour Res 83:102947

Moin SMA, Hosany S, O’Brien J (2020) Storytelling in destination brands’ promotional videos. Tour Manag Persp 34:100639

Morrison AM, Jing S, O’Leary JT, Lipping AC (2001) Predicting usage of the Internet for travel bookings: an exploratory study. Inf Tech Tour 4(1):15–30

Moscardo G (2010) The shaping of tourist experience. In: Morgan M, Lugosi P, Ritchie J (eds) The tourism and leisure experience. Channel View, Bristol, pp 43–58

Murphy L, Moscardo G, Benckendorff P (2007) Exploring word-of-mouth influences on travel decisions: Friends and relatives vs. other travellers. Int J Cons Stud 31(5):517–527

Paananen K, Minoia P (2019) Cruisers in the City of Helsinki: staging the mobility of cruise passengers. Tour Geogr 21(5):801–821

Pan B, Fesenmaier DR (2006) Online information search: vacation planning process. Ann Tour Res 33(3):809–832

Pearce PL (2021) Smart tourists and intelligent behavior. In: Xiang Z et al (eds) Handbook of e-tourism. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-05324-6_66-2

Pearce PL, Gretzel U (2012) Tourism in technology dead zones: documenting experiential dimensions. Int J Tour Scien 12(2):1–20

Pizam A, Mansfeld Y, Chon KS (1999) Consumer behavior in travel and tourism. The Haworth Hospitality Press, New York

Pourfakhimi S, Duncan T, Coetzee WJ (2020) Electronic word of mouth in tourism and hospitality consumer behaviour: state of the art. Tour Rev 75(4):637–661

Reinhold S, Dolnicar S (2017) How Airbnb creates value. In: Dolnicar S (ed) Peer-to-peer accommodation networks: pushing the boundaries. Goodfellow Publishers, Oxford, pp 39–53

Ricci F (2020) Recommender systems in tourism. In: Xiang Z et al (eds) Handbook of e-tourism, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-05324-6_26-1

Rita P, Oliveira T, Estorninho A, Moro S (2018) Mobile services adoption in a hospitality consumer context. Int J Cult Tour Hosp Res 12(1):143–158

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

Shoval N (2018) Sensing tourists: geoinformatics and the future of tourism geography research. Tour Geog 20(5):910–912

Shoval N, Isaacson M (2007) Tracking tourists in the digital age. Ann Tour Res 34(1):141–159

Shoval N, Schvimer Y, Tamir M (2018) Real-time measurement of tourists’ objective and subjective emotions in time and space. J Travel Res 57(1):3–16

Sigala M (2005) Integrating customer relationship management in hotel operations: managerial and operational implications. Int J Hosp Manag 24(3):391–413

Sigala M (2012) Introduction to Chapter 1. In: Sigala M, Christou E, Gretzel U (eds) Social media in travel, tourism and hospitality. Ashgate, Farnham, pp 7–10

Sigala M (2018) New technologies in tourism: from multidisciplinary to anti-disciplinary advances and trajectories. Tour Manag Persp 25:151–155

Sigala M, Christou E, Gretzel U (2012) (eds) Social media in travel, tourism and hospitality. Ashgate, Farnham

Skinner H, Sarpong D, White GRT (2020) Meeting the needs of the Millennials and Generation Z: gamification in tourism through geocaching. J Tour Futur 4(1):93–104

Stankov U, Gretzel U (2020) Tourism 4.0 technologies and tourist experiences: a human-centered design perspective. Inf Technol Tour 22:477–488

Stankov U, Filimonau V, Slivar I (2019) Calm ICT design in hotels: a critical review of applications and implications. Int J Hosp Manag 82:298–307

Stylos N, Fotiadis AK, Shin D, Huan TC (2021) Beyond smart systems adoption: enabling diffusion and assimilation of smartness in hospitality. Int J Hosp Manag 98:103042

tom Dieck C, Jung TH, tom Dieck D (2018) Enhancing art gallery visitors’ learning experience using wearable augmented reality: generic learning outcomes perspective. Curr Issues Tour 21(17):2014–2034

Tussyadiah IP (2012) A concept of location-based social network marketing. J Trav Tour Mark 29:205–220

Tussyadiah IP, Fesenmaier DR (2009) Mediating tourist experiences: access to places via shared videos. Ann Tour Res 36(1):24–40

Tussyadiah IP, Wang D (2016) Tourists’ attitudes towards proactive smartphone systems. J Travel Res 55(4):493–508

Tussyadiah IP, Li S, Miller G (2019) Privacy protection in tourism: where we are and where we should be heading for. In: Information and communication technologies in tourism 2019. Springer, Cham, pp 278–290

Viglia G, Minazzi R, Buhalis D (2016) The influence of e-word-of-mouth on hotel occupancy rate. Int J Contemp Hosp Manag 28(9):2035–2051

Vogt C, Fesenmaier DR (1998) Expanding the functional information search model. Ann Tour Res 25(3):551–578

Volo S (2018) Tourism data sources: from official statistics to big data. In: Cooper C, Volo S, Gartner WC (eds) The Sage handbook of tourism management. SAGE, London, pp 193–201

Volo S (2020) The experience of emotion: directions for tourism design. Ann Tour Res 86. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annals.2020.103097

Volo S (2021) Tourist experience: a marketing perspective. In: Sharpley R (ed) Routledge handbook of the tourist experience. Routledge, London, pp 549–563

Volo S, D’Acunto D (2020) Service management in the E-tourism era. In: Xiang et al (eds) Handbook of E-tourism. Springer https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-05324-6_73-1

Volo S, Irimiás A (2021) Instagram: visual methods in tourism research. Ann Tour Res 91. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annals.2020.103098

Wang Y, Yu Q, Fesenmaier DR (2002) Defining the virtual tourist community: implications for tourism marketing. Tour Manag 23:407–417

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

White NR, White PB (2007) Home and away: tourists in a connected world. Ann Tour Res 34(1):88–104

Woods O, Shee SY (2021) “Doing it for the ‘gram?” The representational politics of popular humanitarianism. Ann Tour Res 87:103107

Wu MY, Pearce PL (2016) Tourism blogging motivations: why do Chinese tourists create little “Lonely Planets”? J Travel Res 55(4):537–549

Xiang Z, Fesenmaier DR (2020) Travel information search. In: Handbook of e-Tourism. Springer, pp 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-05324-6_55-1

Xiang Z, Gretzel U (2010) Role of social media in online travel information search. Tour Manag 31(2):179–188

Xiang Z, Magnini VP, Fesenmaier DR (2015) Information technology and consumer behavior in travel and tourism: insights from travel planning using the Internet. J Ret Consum Stud 22:244–249

Ye Q, Law R, Gu B (2009) The impact of online user reviews on hotel room sales. Int J Hosp Manag 28(1):180–182

Yoo KH, Gretzel U (2008) What motivates consumers to write online travel reviews? Inf Technol Tour 10(4):283–295

Yu GB, Sirgy MJ, Bosnjak M (2020) The effects of holiday leisure travel on subjective well-being: the moderating role of experience sharing. J Travel Res. https://doi.org/10.1177/0047287520966381

Zach F, Gretzel U (2012) Tourist-activated networks: implications for dynamic bundling and EN route recommendations. Inf Technol Tour 13(3):239–257

Zhang Z, Ye Q, Law R, Li Y (2010) The impact of e-word-of-mouth on the online popularity of restaurants: a comparison of consumer reviews and editor reviews. Int J Hosp Manag 29: 694–700

Download references

Author information

Authors and affiliations.

Faculty of Economics and Management, TOMTE, Free University of Bozen-Bolzano, Bruneck-Bolzano, Italy

Faculty of Economics and Management, Free University of Bozen-Bolzano, Bruneck-Brunico, Italy

You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to S. Volo .

Editor information

Editors and affiliations.

Department of Hospitality and Tourism Management, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA, USA

Zheng Xiang

Department of Tourism Studies and Geography, Mid Sweden University, Östersund, Sweden

Matthias Fuchs

Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA

Ulrike Gretzel

Department of Business Informatics, University of Applied Sciences Ravensburg-Weingarten, Weingarten, Germany

Wolfram Höpken

Section Editor information

Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism, Center for Public Relations, University of Southern California, Watt Way 3502, 90089, Los Angeles, CA, USA

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2022 Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this entry

Cite this entry.

Volo, S., Irimiás, A. (2022). Consumer Behavior in e-Tourism. In: Xiang, Z., Fuchs, M., Gretzel, U., Höpken, W. (eds) Handbook of e-Tourism. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-05324-6_8-1

Download citation

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-05324-6_8-1

Published : 17 December 2021

Publisher Name : Springer, Cham

Print ISBN : 978-3-030-05324-6

Online ISBN : 978-3-030-05324-6

eBook Packages : Springer Reference Business and Management Reference Module Humanities and Social Sciences Reference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences

• Publish with us

Policies and ethics

• Find a journal
• Track your research

• Dictionaries home
• American English
• Collocations
• German-English
• Grammar home
• Practical English Usage
• Learn & Practise Grammar (Beta)
• Word Lists home
• My Word Lists
• Recent additions
• Resources home
• Text Checker

Definition of tourism noun from the Oxford Advanced American Dictionary

• have/take a vacation/a break/a day off/a year off/time off
• go on/be on vacation/leave/honeymoon/safari/sabbatical/a trip/a tour/a cruise/a pilgrimage
• go backpacking/camping/sightseeing
• plan a trip/a vacation/your itinerary
• reserve a hotel room/a flight/tickets
• have/make/cancel a reservation
• rent a condo/a vacation home/a cabin
• rent a car/bicycle/moped/scooter/Jet Ski
• stay in a hotel/a bed and breakfast/a youth hostel/a villa/a trailer/a vacation home/a resort/a timeshare
• cost/charge $100 a/per night for a suite/a single/double/twin room
• check into/out of a hotel/a motel/your room
• pack/unpack your suitcase/bags
• call/order room service
• cancel/cut short a trip/vacation
• apply for/get/renew a/your passport
• take out/buy/get travel insurance
• catch/miss your plane/train/ferry/connecting flight
• fly (in)/travel (in) first/business/economy class
• make/have a brief/two-day/twelve-hour layover/stopover in Hong Kong
• experience/cause/lead to delays
• check (in)/collect/get/lose your baggage/luggage
• be charged for/pay excess baggage fees
• board/get on/leave/get off the aircraft/plane/ship/ferry
• taxi down/leave/approach/hit/overshoot the runway
• experience/hit/encounter (mild/severe) turbulence
• suffer from/recover from/get over your jet lag/motion sickness
• be seasick/carsick
• attract/draw/bring tourists/visitors
• encourage/promote/hurt tourism
• promote/develop ecotourism
• build/develop/visit a tourist/tropical/beach/ski resort
• work for/be operated by a major hotel chain
• be served by/compete with low-fare/low-cost/budget airlines
• use/go to/have a travel agent
• contact/check with your travel agent/tour operator
• buy/be on/go on a package deal/vacation/tour
• buy/bring back (tacky/overpriced) souvenirs

Questions about grammar and vocabulary?

Find the answers with Practical English Usage online, your indispensable guide to problems in English.

Nearby words

Tourism synonyms

What is another word for tourism .

• touristry travel for pleasure
• travel travel for pleasure
• passage travel for pleasure
• globetrotting travel for pleasure
• exploration travel for pleasure
• peregrination
• sightseeing
• service sector
• vacation industry
• leisure industry
• holiday business
• seeing the sights
• backpacking
• transference
• transmittal
• transmittance
• visiting the attractions
• going to places of interest
• service industries

• ABBREVIATIONS
• BIOGRAPHIES
• CALCULATORS
• CONVERSIONS
• DEFINITIONS

  Vocabulary      

What is another word for tourism ?

Synonyms for tourism ˈtʊər ɪz əm tourism, this thesaurus page includes all potential synonyms, words with the same meaning and similar terms for the word tourism ., princeton's wordnet rate this synonym: 2.7 / 7 votes.

tourism, touristry noun

the business of providing services to tourists

"Tourism is a major business in Bermuda"

Synonyms: touristry

PPDB, the paraphrase database Rate these paraphrases: 1.5 / 2 votes

List of paraphrases for "tourism":

tourist , tourisme , turismo , travel , touristique , sightseeing , touristic , tour , tourism-related , passenger , tourists , scenic

How to pronounce tourism?

How to say tourism in sign language, words popularity by usage frequency, how to use tourism in a sentence.

Assistant Treasurer Kelly O'Dwyer :

[The review] is looking at much broader issues around labor force, particularly in rural and regional communities and how it affects our farmers but also our tourism sector as well.

Rebecca Kinney :

This type of tourism attracts people interested in the detritus of capitalism.

Morgan Stanley :

A suspension of Schengen would undermine the functioning of the single market, hurting cross-border trade, transport and tourism.

Shih Chao-hui :

Look, we are in the business of tourism, not education or religion, so the question should be, will the park generate business opportunities and we believe the answer is yes.

Marco Fontanari :

Many of those who used to work in tourism have found another kind of work.

Use the citation below to add these synonyms to your bibliography:

Style: MLA Chicago APA

"tourism." Synonyms.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 18 Apr. 2024. < https://www.synonyms.com/synonym/tourism >.

Discuss these tourism synonyms with the community:

Report Comment

We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe. If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.

You need to be logged in to favorite .

Create a new account.

Your name: * Required

Your email address: * Required

Pick a user name: * Required

Username: * Required

Password: * Required

Forgot your password?    Retrieve it

Are we missing a good synonym for tourism ?

Image credit, the web's largest resource for, synonyms & antonyms, a member of the stands4 network, image or illustration of.

Free, no signup required :

Add to chrome, add to firefox, browse synonyms.com, are you a human thesaurus, synonym for oxymoron, nearby & related entries:.

• tourer noun
• Tourette syndrome
• touring car noun
• tourism noun
• tourism-related
• tourist noun
• tourist class noun
• tourist court noun

Alternative searches for tourism :

• Search for tourism on Amazon

• Cambridge Dictionary +Plus

Meaning of tourism in English

Your browser doesn't support HTML5 audio

• We must ensure that tourism develops in harmony with the environment .
• The island is being destroyed by the relentless march of tourism.
• It is unclear how to mitigate the effects of tourism on the island .
• Service industries such as tourism have become more important in the post-industrial age .
• The region's reliance on tourism is unwise .
• air corridor
• amenity kit
• caravanning
• high season
• package tour
• phrase book
• post-holiday
• put something up
• ranger station
• tourist trap
• trailer park

tourism | American Dictionary

Tourism | business english, examples of tourism, translations of tourism.

Get a quick, free translation!

Word of the Day

be chasing your tail

to be busy doing a lot of things but achieving very little

Binding, nailing, and gluing: talking about fastening things together

Learn more with +Plus

• Recent and Recommended {{#preferredDictionaries}} {{name}} {{/preferredDictionaries}}
• Definitions Clear explanations of natural written and spoken English English Learner’s Dictionary Essential British English Essential American English
• Grammar and thesaurus Usage explanations of natural written and spoken English Grammar Thesaurus
• Pronunciation British and American pronunciations with audio English Pronunciation
• English–Chinese (Simplified) Chinese (Simplified)–English
• English–Chinese (Traditional) Chinese (Traditional)–English
• English–Dutch Dutch–English
• English–French French–English
• English–German German–English
• English–Indonesian Indonesian–English
• English–Italian Italian–English
• English–Japanese Japanese–English
• English–Norwegian Norwegian–English
• English–Polish Polish–English
• English–Portuguese Portuguese–English
• English–Spanish Spanish–English
• English–Swedish Swedish–English
• Dictionary +Plus Word Lists
• English    Noun
• American    Noun
• Business    Noun
• Translations
• All translations

Add tourism to one of your lists below, or create a new one.

{{message}}

Something went wrong.

There was a problem sending your report.