digital tourism design

A global network for

Destinations, tourism research, tourism events, a global network for.

Streamlining Hiring Processes to Build a More Committed Workforce

In episode 6 of our "Tour Tech: Your 5 Weekly Takeaways to Tourism Success" podcast series, part of the EU-funded Tourbit project, we learn about how digital approaches can improve transparency in recruitment and create a more empowered and dedicated workforce that is a good match for your brand.

Celebrating Female Leaders in Tourism: Diverse Paths, Shared Passion

20 Years of Likes: Facebook's Enduring Impact on Tourism

Designing Inclusive Tourism Experiences for Neurodivergent Travellers

Aligning Visitor Activities with Resident Needs

Discovering Authentic Experiences Through Local Tourism

2024 roadmap.

Get a taste of what's to come from the DTTT as we head into 2024.

Destination

A community of destinations from all over the world. As a member destination you get access to 100's of case studies, development programmes, trend session, events and more.

• Events & Awards
• Strategic Development
• Insights & Resources

A community of universities and research organisations from all over the world. Our research members enjoy an unprecedented view on the work of destinations from a practitioner's perspective.

• Extensive Practitioner Insights
• Guest Lectures & Workshops
• Professional & Industry Pathways

Our corporate partners are the leading providers of digital, technology, data and intelligence services to the tourism industry. Together, DTTT Corporate Partners are committed to making tourism stronger, smarter and more competitive.

• Events & Awards
• Thought Leadership
• Endorsement & Visibility

A community of businesses driven to succeed by gaining the competitive edge as innovative, digital-first champions, carving their way in the new impact-driven visitor and experience economy.

• Latest Trends & Innovation
• Essential Training
• Recognition & Visibility

A community of universities and research organisations from all over the world, in partnership with IFITT. Our research members enjoy an unprecedented view on the work of destinations from a practitioner's perspective.

Client Stories

Skyscanner Unveils Key Travel Trends Shaping Regional Tourism in 2024

Sojern Spotlight: Shining a Light on Eugene, Cascades & Coast's Marketing Masterclass

ClickTripz Joins the DTTT, Empowering DMOs in a Shifting Landscape

Celebrating the best of the best in tourism.

After meticulous evaluation by our expert judging panel, the winners were unveiled alongside the inaugural edition of Future. Destination. Brand. Five stand-out awards recognise the very best of our industry, in addition to a People's Choice Award voted on by thousands.

Celebrating Youth in Tourism

International Youth Day is a holiday created by the United Nations and celebrated annually since 2000. On this day, people are supposed to recognise the importance and the hard work of the youth of the world and how they have made a difference to society. We asked our members to promote a young member of their staff that has worked hard to get where they are today and to share how they got this far and what inspired them.

Celebrating Women in Tourism

The WIT #InspireInclusion campaign celebrates women and diverse voices in tourism, amplifying their contributions and advocating for a more equitable, inclusive tourism industry for all. We invited women from all sectors to join this campaign and share their passion about leveraging the role of women in the tourism industry.

Celebrating Global Tourism

The WTD #TourismAndGreenInvestments campaign is about celebrating destinations that put people and the planet first. These are one step ahead of others in terms of innovation and digitalisation. ‍ As you navigate through the site, you’ll find recent initiatives and incredible projects of destinations working towards a better world.

Industry leading conferences

The biggest tourism event covering the latest trends and developments

X Festival is the tourism industry's flagship event with more than 100 keynote speakers, discussions and fireside chats, covering the latest trends and developments through the lens of destinations, their partners and industry.

Bridging the gap between the tourism industry and technology

Putting design-led collaboration at the core of reshaping tourism, X Design Week provides a platform for some of the industry's most innovative players to come together explore, connect, create and reflect on future tech and tourism trends.

Sustainability Leadership Programme

DMO Leaders Sunset Reception

Latest podcasts.

Listen to the latest podcasts from the DTTT Team and industry experts invited to share their views on current trends and developments.

Keynote Speakers

Workshop facilitation.

Strategy Enquiries

Membership Enquiries

How virtual tourism can rebuild travel for a post-pandemic world

The Faroe Islands is just one destination using new technologies to create a virtual tourism experience Image:  Knud Erik Vinding/Pixabay

.chakra .wef-1c7l3mo{-webkit-transition:all 0.15s ease-out;transition:all 0.15s ease-out;cursor:pointer;-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;outline:none;color:inherit;}.chakra .wef-1c7l3mo:hover,.chakra .wef-1c7l3mo[data-hover]{-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;}.chakra .wef-1c7l3mo:focus,.chakra .wef-1c7l3mo[data-focus]{box-shadow:0 0 0 3px rgba(168,203,251,0.5);} Anu Pillai

.chakra .wef-9dduvl{margin-top:16px;margin-bottom:16px;line-height:1.388;font-size:1.25rem;}@media screen and (min-width:56.5rem){.chakra .wef-9dduvl{font-size:1.125rem;}} Explore and monitor how .chakra .wef-15eoq1r{margin-top:16px;margin-bottom:16px;line-height:1.388;font-size:1.25rem;color:#F7DB5E;}@media screen and (min-width:56.5rem){.chakra .wef-15eoq1r{font-size:1.125rem;}} Travel and Tourism is affecting economies, industries and global issues

.chakra .wef-1nk5u5d{margin-top:16px;margin-bottom:16px;line-height:1.388;color:#2846F8;font-size:1.25rem;}@media screen and (min-width:56.5rem){.chakra .wef-1nk5u5d{font-size:1.125rem;}} Get involved with our crowdsourced digital platform to deliver impact at scale

Stay up to date:, travel and tourism.

• The COVID-19 pandemic has upended the travel and tourism industries;
• Businesses in this sector must build infrastructure and practices that allow people to travel safely in a post-pandemic world and support local communities that benefit from tourism;
• Augmented, virtual and mixed reality technologies can offer alternative ways to travel the world and an exciting new model for the industry.

The tourism industry has hit a nadir owing to the COVID-19 pandemic. It will continue to feel the effects for at least the first three quarters of 2021 – according to a recent UN report , tourist arrivals globally in January 2021 were down 87% when compared to January 2020.

Travel will prevail over post-pandemic anxiety, making it incumbent on the aviation and tourism industry to build safer infrastructure and practices that take care of travellers’ well being.

Have you read?

International tourism is set to plunge by 80% this year – but some regions could recover more quickly, how global tourism can become more sustainable, inclusive and resilient, virtual reality adds to tourism through touch, smell and real people’s experiences.

After a year thwarted by the pandemic and with the future not looking too upbeat for the industry at this juncture, tourism business owners should look at alternative modes of interaction for holidaymakers that can also aid the people and economies who depend on tourism.

The COVID-19 pandemic has noticeably hastened the testing and rollout of forward-looking technologies. Technology has not only enabled citizens globally to interact with loved ones, but also helped industries such as healthcare, information technology, education and many more to work remotely.

In the last few decades, technology has helped travel and tourism industries increase their reach through travel booking websites, videos, blogs and travel photography. Digital tools and content are a vital source of information for vacationists organizing their next holiday or creating a destination wish list. Whilst remote or virtual tourism has been a futuristic theme within industry forums for some time, the world today, shaped by the COVID-19 pandemic, might now be ready to accept it.

A human-centric design that draws insights from cognitive behaviour, social psychology, neuroscience and behavioural economics applied with cutting edge technologies such as augmented, virtual or mixed reality (AR, VR, MR) could be a game-changer. AR, VR and MR can enable a seamless, uninterrupted interactive experience for viewers from their own private space. The design principles will create a frictionless digital user experience and construct a positive perception of a tourist destination.

There have been previous attempts to achieve this feat: if you are an aqua sightseer, you might be aware of a documentary exploring the Great Barrier Reef . Through an interactive website, one can view the clear, tranquil currents of the Pacific Ocean and the biodiversity of the reef, and experience the sounds of a healthy coral reef. Another much-discussed VR experience is Mission 828 which allows you to take a virtual parachute jump from the world’s tallest building, Burj Khalifa in Dubai. The Official Tourist Board of the Faroe Islands has also crafted a virtual experience to entice post-pandemic visitors from across the world.

Imagine a human-centric designed, interactive space online that makes a destination accessible and so real for a sightseer with sound captured by electro-acoustics researchers. You could view holiday sites in a video or through self-navigation using voice or joystick controls, interact with people using video-calling platforms, travel through the streets of said location, eavesdrop on local music and much more. This could be stitched together in a single platform individually or in silos on the internet and further enhanced by setting up physical experience tourism centres locally. Such a setup would allow tourist guides, artisans, craftspeople, hoteliers and transport business to create their own digital and virtual offerings and interact with possible customers.

Here’s how it might look: a vacationer starts their experience from the time their flight commences. The plane descends to the destination runway and pictures of the vicinity from the aircraft window pane are captured. The airport signage welcomes passengers and directs them to a pre-booked taxi. The vacationer gets to choose their first destination and travels through the streets in a chauffeur-driven car whose interactions en route become part of their cherished memories. On arrival, a tourist guide walks you through the destination all controlled with just a tap on your gadget. During the sightseeing, you hear random people speaking, posing for photographs and more. You take a photo to post on social media, go shopping and negotiate with a local vendor to purchase an artwork and get it delivered to your door. You learn how a local dish is prepared and get familiar with local customs.

A virtual platform could even provide an opportunity for people to explore areas that are affected by or fighting terrorism. For example, imagine seeing the diverse wildlife and snow leopard of the Gurez Valley, in the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir, India. It doesn’t stop there: if thought through, one could experience travelling to the South Pole, space and beyond. It could also serve as a learning portal for students to understand geographies, culture, art and history.

With technology improving lives globally, virtual tourism could reignite the tourism industry and its people and help build a more sustainable economic model. As a human-centric platform, it can establish local tourist guides, artisans and others as global citizens in the tourism industry.

Don't miss any update on this topic

Create a free account and access your personalized content collection with our latest publications and analyses.

License and Republishing

World Economic Forum articles may be republished in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International Public License, and in accordance with our Terms of Use.

The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone and not the World Economic Forum.

Related topics:

The agenda .chakra .wef-n7bacu{margin-top:16px;margin-bottom:16px;line-height:1.388;font-weight:400;} weekly.

A weekly update of the most important issues driving the global agenda

.chakra .wef-1dtnjt5{display:-webkit-box;display:-webkit-flex;display:-ms-flexbox;display:flex;-webkit-align-items:center;-webkit-box-align:center;-ms-flex-align:center;align-items:center;-webkit-flex-wrap:wrap;-ms-flex-wrap:wrap;flex-wrap:wrap;} More on Travel and Tourism .chakra .wef-17xejub{-webkit-flex:1;-ms-flex:1;flex:1;justify-self:stretch;-webkit-align-self:stretch;-ms-flex-item-align:stretch;align-self:stretch;} .chakra .wef-nr1rr4{display:-webkit-inline-box;display:-webkit-inline-flex;display:-ms-inline-flexbox;display:inline-flex;white-space:normal;vertical-align:middle;text-transform:uppercase;font-size:0.75rem;border-radius:0.25rem;font-weight:700;-webkit-align-items:center;-webkit-box-align:center;-ms-flex-align:center;align-items:center;line-height:1.2;-webkit-letter-spacing:1.25px;-moz-letter-spacing:1.25px;-ms-letter-spacing:1.25px;letter-spacing:1.25px;background:none;padding:0px;color:#B3B3B3;-webkit-box-decoration-break:clone;box-decoration-break:clone;-webkit-box-decoration-break:clone;}@media screen and (min-width:37.5rem){.chakra .wef-nr1rr4{font-size:0.875rem;}}@media screen and (min-width:56.5rem){.chakra .wef-nr1rr4{font-size:1rem;}} See all

How Japan is attracting digital nomads to shape local economies and innovation

Naoko Tochibayashi and Naoko Kutty

March 28, 2024

Turning tourism into development: Mitigating risks and leveraging heritage assets

Abeer Al Akel and Maimunah Mohd Sharif

February 15, 2024

Buses are key to fuelling Indian women's economic success. Here's why

Priya Singh

February 8, 2024

These are the world’s most powerful passports to have in 2024

Thea de Gallier

January 31, 2024

These are the world’s 9 most powerful passports in 2024

South Korea is launching a special visa for K-pop lovers

Introduction to digital tourism

Book your individual trip , stress-free with local travel experts

• roughguides.com
• introduction-to-digital-tourism

Plan your tailor-made trip with a local expert

Book securely with money-back guarantee

Travel stress-free with local assistance and 24/7 support

written by Tom Fleming

updated 21.10.2020

Have you ever watched a TV advert for a new computer game and struggled to tell the difference between the gameplay graphics and real life?

What is digital tourism?

Why not just go there in real life, in-game photography, find out more.

If your answer is yes, then you could well be onto something. Thanks to recent mind-bending developments in software modelling and in-game design, the digital worlds of today’s games have become so detailed, realistic and vast that an exciting new trend has emerged: digital tourism.

Digital tourism allows “travellers” to recreate all the experiences and feelings of real world exploration, with the small difference that each epic voyage takes place in a digital dimension. It is the crossover between tourism as we know it – or have known it – and gaming. Because over time, the once obvious boundaries between what is “real” and what isn’t have been gradually eroded by developments in technology. These changes have given rise to a brave new world – one that is freed from the laws we are familiar with and is defined by endless possibilities. The thrill you get when you step off a plane or the buzz of exploring somewhere completely new are no longer the exclusive preserve of well-heeled holidaymakers. Instead, digital tourism offers a groundbreaking and thrilling new way to travel.

More and more gamers are choosing to go off the beaten track, becoming fully immersed in their virtual worlds. From the dense overgrown jungle and epic temples of Shadow of the Tomb Raider and the vast open expanses of Metro Exodus’s former Russian Federation to the otherworldly, volatile planet of Anthem and the futuristic, war-torn Halo 5: Guardians, digital tourism caters for all types of travellers.

Tyrant Mine, Anthem

Reality as we know it happens in a flash ­– and a big part of what makes an experience seem “real” is how we feel, experience and remember it. Thanks to technological constraints, video games have not been able to get close to replicating a “real” experience. Until now. Virtual reality and other ground-breaking technologies are driving force behind this change. Now that gamers are starting to experience similar feelings in the virtual world to ones they undergo in the “real” world, who’s to say what’s real and what isn’t?

Part of the appeal of digital tourism is its ready availability. Granted, consoles and games aren’t cheap these days, but neither are flights and hotels. You can engage in digital tourism from the comfort of your own living room, you don’t have to take time off work, get any vaccinations or visas, or deal with any other tiresome travel-related admin – and it’s environmentally friendly too.

There’s also the social factor. Okay, so you don’t meet the people you are gaming with face-to-face, but you can talk to gamers from all over the globe whilst exploring a faraway new world together. Technology has come a long way since the days of dial-up modems and painfully slow internet connections.

But digital tourism is not all about convenience and cost. Due to the variety of games and the vastness of the worlds within, digital tourism provides gamers with a unique chance to have a truly bespoke travel experience. Imagine being able to travel the world – and in some cases entirely new planets – without having to leave your own living room. That’s what digital tourism is all about and why it’s so popular. With so many worlds to choose from, digital tourism offers the user more choice than the real world does, where fantasies run really, really wild.

Digital tourism has become so popular that sub-trends have begun to emerge, such as in-game photography. Travel and photography have always been closely linked – if you don’t have a picture of you standing in front of the Eiffel Tower, did you even go? This relationship, coupled with the huge variety of digital landscapes and the new opportunities presented by them, helps to explain why gamers are taking in-game screengrabs to document their digital travels.

In fact, in-game photography is becoming something of an art form: there are dedicated Instagram accounts and even gallery exhibitions documenting some of the world’s finest in-game snaps. Duncan Harris, who goes by the name Dead End Thrills , is one of the best-known in-game photographers around. He has been “photographing” game scenes for more than ten years, from epic abstract vistas to up-close-and-personal portraits.

Of course, this trend in particular begs the question, are these in-game screen grabs actually photographs? Not in the traditional sense of the word, as they are essentially capturing images of the work done by the game’s developers and designers. However, traditions, words and technologies are all changing, and there is a strong case that they do constitute art. After all, in-game photographers have the same motivation as real-world photographers: to document a moment in time, capture striking images of landmarks and to preserve memories. In-game photography is another example of how technology is changing the way we perceive and experience the world.

Rough Guides have partnered with Xbox to produce The Rough Guide to Xbox, a pioneering new guide that embraces digital tourism. The guide documents and explores the in-game worlds of eight Xbox One X Enhanced games: Forza Horizon 4 , Sea of Thieves , Tom Clancy’s The Division 2 , Shadow of the Tomb Raider , Anthem, Halo 5: Guardians , Metro Exodus and Assassin’s Creed Odyssey . Using Rough Guides’ unique “tell it like it is” ethos and user-friendly format, the guide features maps for each game, along with in-game photography and other useful features, helping to bring each virtual world to life for the reader.

Noctus, Halo 5: Guardians

• Inspiration

Planning your own trip? Prepare for your trip

Use Rough Guides' trusted partners for great rates

Ready to discover tailor-made travel?

Get support from our local experts for stress-free planning & worry-free travels.

UN Tourism | Bringing the world closer

share this content

• Share this article on facebook
• Share this article on twitter
• Share this article on linkedin

Digital tools to revitalize tourism

• All Regions

The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) continues to energize the restart of tourism based on sustainability and innovation. An agreement with MUST Travel & Tech places a digital tool at the service of tourism, allowing users to share their experiences to promote the reactivation of the sector with a view to sustainability. Presented during the UNWTO Mayors' Forum in Porto , Portugal, the tool is an opportunity for the advancement of smart cities, as well as destinations that incorporate technology and innovation in their development.

Already operating in 60 countries, MUST aggregates all the information of interest to travellers in one place. By also integrating key information and analysis from UNWTO, it aims to become a leading tourism application and generate opportunities for destinations.

Technology at the service of development

We welcome innovative ideas and technologies that allow the creation of global and regional innovation ecosystems aimed at accelerating the recovery of tourism for development

Visibility provided through technological tools is an opportunity for those who, along the entire value chain of the sector, require support to restart their activity, from new destinations around rural communities, to destinations with a high degree of infrastructure development.

“We welcome innovative ideas and technologies that allow the creation of global and regional innovation ecosystems aimed at accelerating the recovery of tourism for development,” said UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili upon signing the agreement.

For his part, the CEO of MUST, Pablo López, highlighted that “technology enhances the productivity and resilience of companies. The implementation of digital solutions in line with new trends in the tourism sector allows us to develop a differentiated, personalized and safe tourism product that is more focused on behaviour patterns and the management of spaces that will undoubtedly contribute to the recovery of a key activity for the economy in general”.

Shared objectives

A distinctive element will be the contribution of tourism intelligence from the UNWTO to the users of the tool. In this way, relevant and verified content is combined with data for making informed and evidence-based decisions.

The agreement provides for cooperation in the execution of projects that include, among others:

• Supporting the digital transformation of tourism service providers.
• Fostering tourism development and promotion in a sustainable and inclusive way.
• Boosting innovation in the practices of reservation and consumption of tourism experiences and activities.
• Encouraging the creation of quality content with a focus on cultural heritage and the authenticity of the destination to be promoted.
• Promoting and disseminate the UNWTO “ Best Tourism Villages ” programme on the MUST platform as well as other programmes or events of the Organization.
• Promoting programmes related to innovation, education and investments that are useful for tourism destinations of mutual interest.

The agreement between UNWTO and MUST will be in place until the end of 2024.

UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili, Pablo López, CEO of MUST

Related links

• Download the news release in PDF
• UNWTO Opens Call for ‘Best Tourism Villages’
• UNWTO Mayors Forum for Sustainable Urban Tourism
• Innovation, Education and Investments

Category tags

Related content.

UNWTO and Infecar Launch Startup Competition for Techno...

UNWTO Announces Winning Start-Ups for “Awake Tourism Ch...

The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) and the Tourism ...

UNWTO Calls on Start-ups to Join “Awake Tourism Challen...

Integrating Culture and Tourism: A Resilient Scale for Digital Transformation Innovation

• Published: 22 January 2024

Cite this article

• Chun-Yi Lin 1 ,
• Chen Li 1 ,
• Sadaf Mahmood 2 ,
• Feng Guo 3 &
• Zuoyi Qian 3  

280 Accesses

Explore all metrics

Industries are actively embracing digital transformation for innovative development in the rapidly changing landscape of the global digital economy. Despite digital transformation’s widespread uptake in sectors like manufacturing and information services, it still lacks clear guidelines and measurement standards in the cultural tourism sector. Addressing this gap, China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, in its 14th Five-Year Plan, introduced four fundamental frameworks for digital transformation: digital industrialization, industrial digitalization, digital governance, and data value appreciation. However, the content and dimensions of measurements needed by these frameworks are missing. This study used a strong methodology to fill this void and aid in the efficient implementation of policies by analyzing 3082 literature samples, soliciting input from experts, and verifying the results statistically through 109 questionnaires. The final all-encompassing framework includes 4 aspects, 13 dimensions, and 22 factors, measured across 98 measurement factors and 16 dimensions. The findings of the study provide credible analytical tools for digital innovation and transformation, highlight academic support for the government’s digital transformation framework, and shed light on the government’s governance framework from academic and industry perspectives. Furthermore, it introduces a diagnostic instrument for measuring digital transformation in service industries, particularly in cultural tourism, validates the practical application value of the triple helix theory, and provides quantifiable instruments for global digital transformation in the cultural tourism industry. The results highlight the global applicability of the Chinese government’s frameworks for digital transformation.

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

Access this article

Price includes VAT (Russian Federation)

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Rent this article via DeepDyve

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Research streams on digital transformation from a holistic business perspective: a systematic literature review and citation network analysis

J. Piet Hausberg, Kirsten Liere-Netheler, … Kristin Vogelsang

Challenges for the Digital Transformation of Ecuador’s Tourism Industry: Perceptions of Leaders in Times of Covid-19

Technology as Driver, Enabler and Barrier of Digital Transformation: A Review

Data sharing agreement.

The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Aggarwal, S., Chaudhary, R., Aujla, G. S., Kumar, N., Choo, K. K. R., & Zomaya, A. Y. (2019). Blockchain for smart communities: Applications, challenges and opportunities. Journal of Network and Computer Applications, 144 , 13–48.

Article   Google Scholar  

Ammirato, S., Felicetti, A. M., Linzalone, R., & Carlucci, D. (2022). Digital business models in cultural tourism. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research, 28 (8), 1940–1961.

Annamalah, S., Paraman, P., Ahmed, S., Dass, R., Sentosa, I., Pertheban, T. R., ... & Singh, P. (2023). The role of open innovation and a normalizing mechanism of social capital in the tourism industry. Journal of Open Innovation: Technology, Market, and Complexity , 9 (2), 100056.

Berdik, D., Otoum, S., Schmidt, N., Porter, D., & Jararweh, Y. (2021). A survey on blockchain for information systems management and security. Information Processing & Management, 58 (1), 102397.

Bocken, N. M., & Geradts, T. H. (2020). Barriers and drivers to sustainable business model innovation: Organization design and dynamic capabilities. Long Range Planning, 53 (4), 101950.

Buhalis, D., Harwood, T., Bogicevic, V., Viglia, G., Beldona, S., & Hofacker, C. (2019). Technological disruptions in services: Lessons from tourism and hospitality. Journal of Service Management, 30 (4), 484–506.

Castro, G. D. R., Fernandez, M. C. G., & Colsa, A. U. (2021). Unleashing the convergence amid digitalization and sustainability towards pursuing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): A holistic review. Journal of Cleaner Production, 280 , 122204.

Chen, S., Li, Q., Lei, B., & Wang, N. (2021). Configurational analysis of the driving paths of Chinese digital economy based on the technology–organization–environment framework. SAGE Open, 11 (4), 21582440211054500.

China National Bureau of Statistics. (2021). The statistical classification of the digital economy and its core industries . https://www.stats.gov.cn/sj/tjbz/gjtjbz/202302/t20230213_1902784.html

Ciarli, T., Kenney, M., Massini, S., & Piscitello, L. (2021). Digital technologies, innovation, and skills: Emerging trajectories and challenges. Research Policy, 50 (7), 104289.

Clifton, N., Füzi, A., & Loudon, G. (2022). Coworking in the digital economy: Context, motivations, and outcomes. Futures, 135 , 102439.

Debauche, O., Trani, J. P., Mahmoudi, S., Manneback, P., Bindelle, J., Mahmoudi, S. A., ... & Lebeau, F. (2021). Data management and internet of things: A methodological review in smart farming. Internet of Things , 14 , 100378

DeLone, W., Migliorati, D., & Vaia, G. (2018). CIOs and the digital transformation: A new leadership role. Digital IT governance , 205–230.

ElMassah, S., & Mohieldin, M. (2020). Digital transformation and localizing the sustainable development goals (SDGs). Ecological Economics, 169 , 106490.

Faulkner-Gurstein, R., & Wyatt, D. (2023). Platform NHS: Reconfiguring a public service in the age of digital capitalism. Science, Technology, & Human Values, 48 (4), 888–908.

Fisher, O. J., Watson, N. J., Escrig, J. E., Witt, R., Porcu, L., Bacon, D., ... & Gomes, R. L. (2020). Considerations, challenges and opportunities when developing data-driven models for process manufacturing systems. Computers & Chemical Engineering , 140 , 106881.

Flores, E., Xu, X., & Lu, Y. (2020). Human Capital 4.0: A workforce competence typology for Industry 4.0. Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management , 31 (4), 687–703.

Ghobakhloo, M., Fathi, M., Iranmanesh, M., Maroufkhani, P., & Morales, M. E. (2021). Industry 4.0 ten years on: A bibliometric and systematic review of concepts, sustainability value drivers, and success determinants. Journal of Cleaner Production , 302 , 127052.

González-Rodríguez, M. R., Díaz-Fernández, M. C., & Pino-Mejías, M. Á. (2020). The impact of virtual reality technology on tourists’ experience: A textual data analysis. Soft Computing, 24 (18), 13879–13892.

Graziano, T., & Privitera, D. (2020). Cultural heritage, tourist attractiveness and augmented reality: Insights from Italy. Journal of Heritage Tourism, 15 (6), 666–679.

Gupta, R., Mejia, C., & Kajikawa, Y. (2019). Business, innovation and digital ecosystems landscape survey and knowledge cross sharing. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 147 , 100–109.

Hou, M. (2023). Digital economy, enterprise digital transformation, and digital business model: Evidence from China. Asia Pacific Business Review, 29 (4), 1200–1210.

Hussain, Z. (2021). Paradigm of technological convergence and digital transformation: The challenges of CH sectors in the global COVID-19 pandemic and commencing resilience-based structure for the post-COVID-19 era. Digital Applications in Archaeology and Cultural Heritage, 21 , e00182.

Javaid, M., Haleem, A., Singh, R. P., Suman, R., & Gonzalez, E. S. (2022). Understanding the adoption of Industry 4.0 technologies in improving environmental sustainability. Sustainable Operations and Computers, 3 , 203–217.

Krasmann, S. (2020). The logic of the surface: On the epistemology of algorithms in times of big data. Information, Communication & Society, 23 (14), 2096–2109.

Kraus, S., Jones, P., Kailer, N., Weinmann, A., Chaparro-Banegas, N., & Roig-Tierno, N. (2021). Digital transformation: An overview of the current state of the art of research. SAGE Open, 11 (3), 21582440211047576.

Kshetri, N. (2014). The emerging role of Big Data in key development issues: Opportunities, challenges, and concerns. Big Data & Society, 1 (2), 2053951714564227.

Kvalvik, P., Sánchez-Gordón, M., & Colomo-Palacios, R. (2022). Beyond technology in smart cities: A multivocal literature review on data governance. Aslib Journal of Information Management., 75 (6), 1235–1252.

Langley, D. J. (2022). Digital product-service systems: The role of data in the transition to servitization business models. Sustainability, 14 (3), 1303.

Li, L., Yi, Z., Jiang, F., Zhang, S., & Zhou, J. (2023). Exploring the mechanism of digital transformation empowering green innovation in construction enterprises. Developments in the Built Environment, 15 , 100199.

Litina, A., Makridis, C. A., & Tsiachtsiras, G. (2021). Do product market reforms raise innovation? Evidence from micro-data across 12 countries. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 169 , 120841.

Litvinenko, V. S. (2020). Digital economy as a factor in the technological development of the mineral sector. Natural Resources Research, 29 (3), 1521–1541.

Liu, M., Li, C., Wang, S., & Li, Q. (2023). Digital transformation, risk-taking, and innovation: Evidence from data on listed enterprises in China. Journal of Innovation & Knowledge, 8 (1), 100332.

Luo, S., Yimamu, N., Li, Y., Wu, H., Irfan, M., & Hao, Y. (2023). Digitalization and sustainable development: How could digital economy development improve green innovation in China? Business Strategy and the Environment, 32 (4), 1847–1871.

Ma, Z., & Guo, Y. (2023). Leveraging intangible cultural heritage resources for advancing China’s knowledge-based economy. Journal of the Knowledge Economy , 1–33.

Mariani, M., Bresciani, S., & Dagnino, G. B. (2021). The competitive productivity (CP) of tourism destinations: An integrative conceptual framework and a reflection on big data and analytics. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 33 (9), 2970–3002.

Matt, D. T., Pedrini, G., Bonfanti, A., & Orzes, G. (2023). Industrial digitalization. A systematic literature review and research agenda. European Management Journal , 41 (1), 47–78.

Matthess, M., & Kunkel, S. (2020). Structural change and digitalization in developing countries: Conceptually linking the two transformations. Technology in Society, 63 , 101428.

Möhlmann, M. (2015). Collaborative consumption: Determinants of satisfaction and the likelihood of using a sharing economy option again. Journal of Consumer Behaviour, 14 (3), 193–207.

Nambisan, S., Wright, M., & Feldman, M. (2019). The digital transformation of innovation and entrepreneurship: Progress, challenges and key themes. Research Policy, 48 (8), 103773.

Pencarelli, T. (2020). The digital revolution in the travel and tourism industry. Information Technology & Tourism, 22 (3), 455–476.

Qiao, W., Ju, Y., Dong, P., & Tiong, R. L. (2023). How to realize value creation of digital transformation? A system dynamics model. Expert Systems with Applications , 122667.

Rong, J., Wang, W., & Zhang, H. (2023). Does artificial intelligence improve energy productivity in China’s industrial sector? Empirical evidence based on the spatial moderation model. Energy & Environment , 0958305X231177732.

Schönherr, S., Eller, R., Kallmuenzer, A., & Peters, M. (2023). Organisational learning and sustainable tourism: The enabling role of digital transformation. Journal of Knowledge Management, 27 (11), 82–100.

Shrivastava, A., Krishna, K. M., Rinawa, M. L., Soni, M., Ramkumar, G., & Jaiswal, S. (2023). Inclusion of IoT, ML, and blockchain technologies in next generation industry 4.0 environment. Materials Today: Proceedings, 80 , 3471–3475.

Google Scholar  

Sima, V., Gheorghe, I. G., Subić, J., & Nancu, D. (2020). Influences of the industry 4.0 revolution on the human capital development and consumer behavior: A systematic review. Sustainability , 12 (10), 4035.

Tlili, A., Altinay, F., Altinay, Z., & Zhang, Y. (2021). Envisioning the future of technology integration for accessible hospitality and tourism. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 33 (12), 4460–4482.

Xiang, X., Yang, G., & Sun, H. (2022). The impact of the digital economy on low-carbon, inclusive growth: Promoting or restraining. Sustainability, 14 (12), 7187.

Yang, H. M., & Jiang, L. (2021). Digital economy, spatial effects and total factor productivity. Stat. Res, 38 (04), 3–15.

Yijun, L., Xuetao, J., & Tianchang, Z. (2021). Did cultural finance policies improve financing efficiency of cultural corporates in China? Based on the empirical analysis of listed companies in 2006–2018. In Proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Economic Management and Green Development (pp. 439–446). Springer Singapore.

Zakić, K. (2021). New development paradigm within the Chinese 14th five-year plan-Chinese vision of modern China. The Review of International Affairs, 72 (1183), 67–87.

Zhang, Q., Sun, X., & Zhang, M. (2022). Data matters: A strategic action framework for data governance. Information & Management, 59 (4), 103642.

Zhang, T., & Li, N. (2023). Measuring digital economy: From the perspective of digital industrialization and industry digitalization. Procedia Computer Science, 221 , 1006–1012.

Zhu, K., Dong, S., Xu, S. X., & Kraemer, K. L. (2006). Innovation diffusion in global contexts: Determinants of post-adoption digital transformation of European companies. European Journal of Information Systems, 15 , 601–616.

Download references

This work was supported by the Fujian Provincial Social Science Foundation (grant numbers FJ2022T020).

Author information

Authors and affiliations.

School of Humanities, Fujian University of Technology, Fujian, China

Chun-Yi Lin & Chen Li

Department of Sociology, the Women University Multan, Multan, Pakistan

Sadaf Mahmood

School of Management, Wenzhou Business College, Zhejiang, China

Feng Guo & Zuoyi Qian

You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Zuoyi Qian .

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest.

The authors declare no conflict of interests.

Additional information

Publisher's note.

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

This article is part of the Topical Collection on Innovation Management in Asia

Rights and permissions

Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Lin, CY., Li, C., Mahmood, S. et al. Integrating Culture and Tourism: A Resilient Scale for Digital Transformation Innovation. J Knowl Econ (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13132-024-01753-y

Download citation

Received : 17 October 2023

Accepted : 11 January 2024

Published : 22 January 2024

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/s13132-024-01753-y

Share this article

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

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

Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative

• Digital transformation
• Measurement framework
• Digital economy development
• Triple helix collaboration
• Multi-dimensional digitalization

Advertisement

• Find a journal
• Publish with us
• Track your research

• Travel, Tourism & Hospitality ›

Leisure Travel

Digitalization of the travel industry - statistics & facts

Online bookings and online reviews, the impact of social media on travel, key insights.

Detailed statistics

Online travel market size worldwide 2017-2028

Travel & leisure industry digital advertising share in selected global countries 2022

Most popular travel and tourism websites worldwide 2024

Editor’s Picks Current statistics on this topic

Current statistics on this topic.

Online Travel Market

Distribution of sales channels in the travel and tourism market worldwide 2018-2028

Related topics

Recommended.

• Online travel market
• Mobile travel trends
• Impact of technology on travel and tourism
• Booking Holdings Inc.
• Tripadvisor

Recommended statistics

Digital marketing in the travel industry.

• Premium Statistic Distribution of sales channels in the travel and tourism market worldwide 2018-2028
• Premium Statistic Travel & leisure industry digital advertising share in selected global countries 2022
• Premium Statistic Transport & tourism's display ad spend in the U.S. 2019-2021
• Premium Statistic Transport & tourism ad spend on digital display in the UK 2019-2021
• Premium Statistic Spending on Google of leading online travel agencies (OTAs) worldwide 2019-2024
• Premium Statistic Google spending as a share of marketing expenses of leading OTAs worldwide 2019-2024
• Premium Statistic Advertising effectiveness among U.S. travelers 2022
• Premium Statistic Leading types of ads considered as engaging among U.S. travelers 2022

Revenue share of sales channels of the travel and tourism market worldwide from 2018 to 2028

Travel & leisure industry digital advertising share in selected global countries 2022

Travel and leisure industry share of digital advertising spending in selected countries worldwide in 2022

Transport & tourism's display ad spend in the U.S. 2019-2021

Transport and tourism digital static display advertising spending in the United States from 2019 to 2021 (in million U.S. dollars)

Transport & tourism ad spend on digital display in the UK 2019-2021

Transport and tourism advertising spending on digital static display in the United Kingdom (UK) from 2019 to 2021 (in million U.S. dollars)

Spending on Google of leading online travel agencies (OTAs) worldwide 2019-2024

Estimated expenditure on Google advertising of leading online travel agencies (OTAs) worldwide from 2019 to 2023, with a forecast for 2024 (in million U.S. dollars)

Google spending as a share of marketing expenses of leading OTAs worldwide 2019-2024

Estimated Google advertising spending as a share of marketing expenses of leading online travel agencies (OTAs) worldwide from 2019 to 2023, with a forecast for 2024

Advertising effectiveness among U.S. travelers 2022

Share of travelers who were motivated to make a booking influenced by selected types of ads in the United States as of May 2022

Leading types of ads considered as engaging among U.S. travelers 2022

Share of travelers motivated to engage with selected types of advertising in the United States as of May 2022

Travel websites

• Premium Statistic Most popular travel and tourism websites worldwide 2024
• Premium Statistic Total visits to travel and tourism website booking.com worldwide 2021-2024
• Premium Statistic Share of visits to the travel website booking.com worldwide 2024, by country
• Premium Statistic Total visits to travel and tourism website tripadvisor.com worldwide 2020-2024
• Premium Statistic Share of visits to the travel website tripadvisor.com worldwide 2024, by country
• Premium Statistic Number of user reviews and ratings on Tripadvisor worldwide 2014-2023
• Premium Statistic ACSI - U.S. customer satisfaction with online travel websites as of 2023

Most visited travel and tourism websites worldwide as of April 2024 (in million visits)

Total visits to travel and tourism website booking.com worldwide 2021-2024

Estimated total number of visits to the travel and tourism website booking.com worldwide from December 2021 to March 2024 (in millions)

Share of visits to the travel website booking.com worldwide 2024, by country

Share of visits to the travel and tourism website booking.com worldwide as of March 2024, by country

Total visits to travel and tourism website tripadvisor.com worldwide 2020-2024

Estimated total number of visits to the travel and tourism website tripadvisor.com worldwide from August 2020 to March 2024 (in millions)

Share of visits to the travel website tripadvisor.com worldwide 2024, by country

Share of visits to the travel and tourism website tripadvisor.com worldwide as of March 2024, by country

Number of user reviews and ratings on Tripadvisor worldwide 2014-2023

Total number of user reviews and ratings on Tripadvisor worldwide from 2014 to 2023 (in millions)

ACSI - U.S. customer satisfaction with online travel websites as of 2023

U.S. customer satisfaction with online travel websites from 2000 to 2023 (index score)

Online travel planning and booking

• Premium Statistic Voice assistant usage in selected countries 2022, by sector
• Premium Statistic Main reasons why travelers felt frustrated when planning a trip worldwide 2023
• Premium Statistic Reasons for feeling frustrated when planning trips worldwide 2023, by tourist type
• Premium Statistic Travelers' expected use of selected planning tools for trips in 2033 worldwide 2022
• Premium Statistic Most searched travel terms on Google in the UK 2022-2023
• Premium Statistic Leading holiday travel provider websites in the UK Q4 2023, by share of voice
• Premium Statistic Travel product online bookings in the U.S. 2023
• Premium Statistic Travel product online bookings in Canada 2023
• Premium Statistic Travel product online bookings in the UK 2023

Voice assistant usage in selected countries 2022, by sector

Share of consumers using voice-activated searches in selected countries worldwide as of May 2022, by sector

Main reasons why travelers felt frustrated when planning a trip worldwide 2023

Main reasons why travelers felt frustrated when planning a trip online worldwide as of March 2023

Reasons for feeling frustrated when planning trips worldwide 2023, by tourist type

Main reasons why travelers felt frustrated when planning a trip online worldwide as of March 2023, by type of tourist

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

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

Most searched travel terms on Google in the UK 2022-2023

Volume of Google search for travel-related terms in the United Kingdom (UK) from November 2022 to April 2023

Leading holiday travel provider websites in the UK Q4 2023, by share of voice

Leading websites for holiday searches in the United Kingdom in 4th quarter of 2023, by share of voice

Travel product online bookings in the U.S. 2023

Travel product online bookings in the U.S. as of December 2023

Travel product online bookings in Canada 2023

Travel product online bookings in Canada as of December 2023

Travel product online bookings in the UK 2023

Travel product online bookings in the UK as of December 2023

Social media

• Premium Statistic Facebook brand post engagement 2023, by vertical
• Premium Statistic Instagram brand post engagement 2023, by vertical
• Premium Statistic X/Twitter brand post engagement 2023, by vertical
• Premium Statistic Important digital transformation topics among accommodation businesses in Europe 2023
• Premium Statistic Most talked about products/topics online in the U.S. 2023
• Premium Statistic Most talked about products/topics online in the UK 2023
• Premium Statistic U.S. consumers: leading social media presence of travel services 2021
• Premium Statistic U.S. consumers: leading social media presence of travel services 2021, by generation

Facebook brand post engagement 2023, by vertical

Average engagement rate with brand posts on Facebook in 2023, by vertical

Instagram brand post engagement 2023, by vertical

Average engagement rate with brand posts on Instagram in 2023, by vertical

X/Twitter brand post engagement 2023, by vertical

Average engagement rate with brand posts on X (formerly Twitter) in 2023, by vertical

Important digital transformation topics among accommodation businesses in Europe 2023

Most important digital transformation topics among accommodation businesses in Europe as of May 2023

Most talked about products/topics online in the U.S. 2023

Most talked about products/topics online in the U.S. as of December 2023

Most talked about products/topics online in the UK 2023

Most talked about products/topics online in the UK as of December 2023

U.S. consumers: leading social media presence of travel services 2021

Travel accommodation brand with the leading social media presence according to consumers in the United States as of August 2021

U.S. consumers: leading social media presence of travel services 2021, by generation

Travel accommodation brand with the leading social media presence according to consumers in the United States as of August 2021, by generation

Further reports Get the best reports to understand your industry

Get the best reports to understand your industry.

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

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

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

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

Research trends of digital tourism: a bibliometric analysis

Tourism Critiques

ISSN : 2633-1225

Article publication date: 30 May 2023

Issue publication date: 27 November 2023

Discussions about digital tourism continue to increase among scholars as Information Communication and Technology (ICT) infrastructure develops. Dynamic changes due to technological aspects have given rise to various developments in the tourism industry. Therefore, this study aims to evaluate the scientific structure of the development of digital tourism topics through a bibliometric analysis approach. In total, 102 publications from research on digital tourism were taken from Scopus database between 2001 and 2021, for further bibliometric analysis using the VOSviewer application. Interesting findings describe the most cited digital tourism publications, the contribution of digital tourism by various authors, institutions, countries, co-citation analysis, bibliographic coupling, and co-occurrence for the main trends of digital tourism. This study compiles a detailed review of digital tourism research. This article adds substantial value to the digital tourism topic by analyzing bibliometric data. It provided scientific information regarding digital tourism for other researchers and future research.

• Digital tourism
• Tourism industry
• Bibliometric analysis

Roziqin, A. , Kurniawan, A.S. , Hijri, Y.S. and Kismartini, K. (2023), "Research trends of digital tourism: a bibliometric analysis", Tourism Critiques , Vol. 4 No. 1/2, pp. 28-47. https://doi.org/10.1108/TRC-11-2022-0028

Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2023, Ali Roziqin, Alferdo Satya Kurniawan, Yana Syafriyana Hijri and Kismartini Kismartini.

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

1. Introduction

The rapid development of information and communication technologies (ICT) impacts all fields, including the tourism industry ( Alford and Jones, 2020 ; Bødker and Munar, 2014 ; Kalia et al. , 2022 ; Watkins et al. , 2018 ; Zhao, 2014 ). In the 21st century, the tourism industry is expected to transform information and engagement tools ( Dexeus, 2018 ; Navío-Marco et al. , 2018 ; van Nuenen and Scarles, 2021 ). Many industries rely on digital technologies to run their operations. Major economic segments use digital technologies to improve their capabilities ( Akhtar et al. , 2021 ). Currently, the industry trend is easy to access online or on the internet ( Belonozhko et al. , 2018 ). The online system provides interactive convenience and has a global reach at the speed of interaction between tourists ( Puspawati and Ristanto, 2018 ). Therefore, all entities need to adapt and innovate appropriately to survive in an era of uncertainty. It takes creativity and good promotional innovation (Del Vecchio et al. , 2015) because the digital era has given potential tourists the freedom to quickly and precisely obtain information on the internet ( Dexeus, 2018 ; Zhang, 2014 ).

Nowadays, tourists are getting smarter ( Pan, 2016 ), and those who understand the online concept can quickly obtain information through smartphones and tablet computers ( Watkins et al. , 2018 ). The travel industry also does not rely on offline but online ( Kayumovich et al. , 2020 ), and many countries are preparing a sizeable digital tourism market to compete and attract foreign tourists ( Huang and Liu, 2011 ). Marketing makes planning and developing tourism destinations easier ( Khurramov et al. , 2020 ). Many other conveniences accrue to vacationers who use digital tourism, such as the ability to skip the ticket counter and get straight to the attraction of their choice and the speed with which they may arrange their transportation and lodging.

According to united national world tourism organization (UNWTO) data, world tourism visitors reached 1.3 billion in 2001, while in 2021, it is estimated that 2.3 billion tourists have traveled. Tourists do not only travel conventionally but also online or using the internet. Li et al. (2020) explained that about 70 million and 14.2 million people in Japan and Taiwan use the internet. The concept cannot be separated from the role of the millennial generation ( Iorio et al. , 2020 ) targeted to increase tourism because most of this generation spends time in a digital environment ( Bennett et al. , 2008 ).

Information technology users are spread worldwide to market tourism by using digital tourism websites ( Mathew and Soliman, 2021 ; Ziyadin et al. , 2018 ). It is significant to be used in modern times because online information and communication development are straightforward ( Liu et al. , 2016 ). For example, smartphones and intelligent tourism are powerful tools for visitors to aid in traveling. The ownership of different technology devices impacts the contribution of mobile travel bookings to the entire travel industry ( Adeola and Evans, 2019 ).

The development of digital tourism in the past decade has increased following the trend of digitization in all fields. Many publications discuss the idea in various countries, but no research explains the scientific structure of the latest development trends. This study evaluates digital tourism to obtain scientific information and research mapping as input for developing topics using a bibliometric approach. The analysis is expected to provide an up-to-date view of a particular scientific topic based on a recognized bibliographic database/previous publication.

2. Literature review

Digital tourism is an information service system based on networks, technology and databases ( Adeola and Evans, 2019 ; Wu, 2020 ). It forms complex projects, from surveys and evaluation of tourism resources to planning ( Ziyadin et al. , 2018 ). Supporting service facilities needed are marketing of tourism product designs, protection of resources and the ecological environment related to geology and geomorphology, land use at all levels and transportation aspects ( Bounab et al. , 2020 ). Digital or electronic tourism (e-tourism) combines one of the fastest-growing technologies, such as telecommunications and information technology, the hospitality industry and strategic planning ( Happ and Ivancsóné Horváth, 2020 ; Mistilis et al. , 2014 ; Navío-Marco et al. , 2018 ). Digital tourism also can be defined as the use of technologies to improve the tourist experience ( Adeola and Evans, 2019 ).

The trend is an alternative by stakeholders due to the impact of the current spread of COVID-19 ( Akhtar et al. , 2021 ). Restricted mobility and social distancing significantly affect the decline of the world tourism industry sector ( Gössling et al. , 2020 ). Most people will use the internet and mobile devices to obtain information, explore, interact and experience travel ( Ruiz-Gómez et al. , 2018 ), such as millennials ( Ketter, 2020 ; Kim and Park, 2020 ). Veiga et al. (2017) conveyed that millennials have the potential to change the work pattern of the tourism industry with their strong digital skills. According to Liu et al. (2019) , they can share their travel experiences in one tourist destination through their social media, such as Facebook and Instagram, which can influence other people to be interested in visiting these tourist destinations. Therefore, there is a significant change in consumer behavior patterns ( Navío-Marco et al. , 2018 ) and a disruption in the tourism sector ( Buhalis et al. , 2019 ). For example, taking selfies posted on social media has become a new trend in tourism.

The use of digital information and communication technology also helps the development of tourism. An online system will reduce promotional costs, increase employee effectiveness and make ordering easier ( Watkins et al. , 2018 ). Customers can share information and research assessments based on purpose, quality of service in hotels and restaurants and environmental conditions through new technologies, such as Facebook, Twitter and blogs ( Dessovic and Egger, 2011 ). For travelers, technology may be a valuable tool in a variety of ways, including the acquisition of information on desired destinations, climate and weather patterns, hotels, scenery, geopolitical and economic situations, trip arrangements, online purchasing and payments and preserving memories ( Kumar and Kumar, 2020 ). On a peer-to-peer basis, digitizing tourism can also increase the sharing economy among actors ( van Nuenen and Scarles, 2021 ).

The use of technology can improve the tourist experience by posting recommendations for attractions on the Web or using reality technology ( Poux et al. , 2020 ). Examples are TripAdvisor, Airbnb, MakeMy Trip and other local apps. Additionally, the benefits of digital tourism attract tourists to digital experiences by building an environment that can be conducted interactively ( Stors and Baltes, 2018 ). Innovation, especially with information technology, has a positive impact on several sides of tourism.

3. Research methods

This study uses bibliometric analysis to search for the formal nature of the scientific domain in a rigorous, systematic and innovative way ( Leong et al. , 2021 ; Sánchez et al. , 2017 ) by using quantitative and qualitative analysis derived from publications on previous research ( Azizatun et al. , 2021 ; Herrera-Franco et al. , 2020 ; Leong et al. , 2021 ). Indicators, such as the total number of authors and publications, citations, institutions and countries, were used to analyze data. Research trends in this study focus on scientific structure in the specific field of digital tourism on a certain period, starts from the annual output and subject areas, top cite articles by the most productive authors, most contributing institutions and countries. Furthermore, bibliometric studies are carried out using a database and a specific period.

The bibliometric analysis shows a map of tourism’s distribution of knowledge structures, measurement and evaluation in some particular topic ( Robertson et al. , 2020 ). Several studies using the bibliometric approach in the tourism topic include ( Singh and Bashar, 2021 ) concerning e-tourism; ( Suban et al. , 2021 ) related to halal and Islam; ( Sánchez et al. , 2017 ) about wine; ( Liu and Li, 2020 ) and ( Khanra et al. , 2021 ) related to ecotourism;, ( Knani et al. , 2022 ) about the role artificial intelligence in hospitality and tourism; ( Herrera-Franco et al. , 2020 ) about geo-tourism; and ( Kalia et al. , 2022 ) about the past three decades of digital tourism.

Each of these studies has made a scientific contribution in looking at trends in specific topics and succeeded in providing comprehensive information. Especially from Kalia et al. (2022) argued that new research areas in digital tourism include consumer behavior, technology and sustainability, management of smart destinations and the internet as a platform for marketing and communication. When Kalia et al. (2022) analyzes the current direction of digital tourism research (2020), this study aims to evaluate the scientific structure of digital tourism based on the Scopus database (2021). Additionally, in the limitations, Kalia et al. (2022) used broad keywords that allow for bias in determining the number of articles reviewed. Therefore, in this study, we focus and specifically use the keyword digital tourism in searching for document titles to ensure the topics discussed are appropriate and minimize bias on other topics.

Data processing was carried out through data sets obtained from the Scopus database and then processed with VOSviewer. VOSViewer is used to construct and visualize the bibliometric network ( van Eck and Waltman, 2010 ), which will form information related to the field of study, developments and existing trends. Some of the features are cooccurrence, coauthorship and bibliographic coupling. According to Suban et al. (2021) , the VOS viewer graphically displays the nodal network through the use of two defined weights, such as the quantity and overall strength of the links. A lot of numbers of software for bibliometric analysis, such as Citespace, Bibexcel, Pajek, Gephi, SciMat, Sci2, R Studio and UCINET. Each software has its own advantages and deficiency; it is important depends on the case study or research questions ( Donthu et al. , 2021 ; Miraj et al. , 2020 ). The VOSviewer was chosen for usage in this study. The rationale is that, in comparison to other software tools, VOSviewer provides a large number of functions for visualizing bibliometric networks and scientifically mapping networks. Furthermore, the software has been used in several previous research studies and features a special text mining tool for visualizing bibliometric networks. For these reasons, this study thought VOSviewer was sufficient to meet its goals.

Scopus was selected as the index because it is the world’s largest abstract and citation database for peer-reviewed journals, books and conference proceedings. Another side, it offers in-depth information on the field’s global research output. Collecting the data set in the Scopus database, the authors provide a limit for two decades, namely, 2001–2021, to see the latest developments in the 21st century, where technology has become a culture and slowly enters all lines of human society. The Scopus data set was analyzed using MS Excel for data description, and the stages are described in detail in Figure 1 .

Substantively, the four stages in Figure 1 serve to map research on digital tourism with the keyword from the title category. The bibliometric method can provide a new mapping regarding the latest developments in digital tourism research and its position with other research topics ( Singh and Bashar, 2021 ). The bibliometric analysis will assist practitioners in discussing future digital tourism studies.

For the next chapter, the research results are divided into several sub-sections. First provides annual output and subject areas regarding digital tourism topic. Second, it discusses regarding top cited articles by the most productive authors. Third, the researcher discusses about most contributing institutions and countries from digital tourism research. Further, it discusses regarding bibliometric network analysis. Finally, based on the research cluster of digital tourism, the researcher proposes a future research agenda.

4. Results and discussion

4.1 annual output and subject areas.

Articles about digital tourism first appeared in 2004 ( Ghafoor et al. , 2004 ), discussing multiagent systems related to digital tourism, the development of intelligent agents to receive information quickly and agents that can provide insight by managing the system and transferring knowledge. In line with the discussion, the momentum of digital tourism should be assisted by human intelligence in managing digital aspects.

Based on Figure 2 , discussions and publications related to digital tourism continue to develop simultaneously. From 2007 to 2017, 33 articles were published by several authors, and the information is increasingly diverse with the existing linkages. In 2001–2010 digital tourism was about the usage of websites, desktop and laptop. In 2011–2021, it was more about social media, software applications and mobile phones. Some academics predicted that in the next decade, digital tourism will be about virtual reality ( Zhu et al. , 2023 ) and metaverse tourism ( Buhalis et al. , 2023 ). One important thing in this trend is the positive value of technology can provide innovations to the public (Del Vecchio et al. , 2015). Increasing the number of digital tourism articles since 2017 proves that many academics are starting to take an interest in the development of digital tourism.

Research on digital tourism gained momentum when the COVID-19 pandemic hit the world in 2020–2021. Restrictions and social activities have had a negative impact on the tourism industry ( Akhtar et al. , 2021 ; Gössling et al. , 2020 ). Digitalization of tourism is considered an alternative for tourism industry players. According to Akhtar et al. (2021) , future digital tourism research development will focus on using technology for marketing, mobile apps and virtual reality. Optimizing digital tourism for economic growth is using training and development for school and college students to increase awareness and create innovations.

The use of technology in digital tourism should adapt to the times ( Almeida-Santana et al. , 2020 ). Research on the concept continues to increase and is also influenced by the development of the internet and social media ( Adeola and Evans, 2019 ; Munar and Gyimóthy, 2013 ). In various countries, tourism industries are growing by using digital-based platforms as an alternative to marketing. The influence of digital information spreads quickly throughout the world. Most European Union countries purchase tourism services or packages online ( Ruiz-Gómez et al. , 2018 ). This arises from the massive development of information technology in various sectors of people’s lives, including tourism, which impacts consumer behavior patterns in accessing products or services.

Figure 3 shows the importance of discussing Digital Tourism’s multiperspective managing digital data. It does not only pay attention to or focus on one scope but relates to other scopes. The development has spread to social science, economics, business, management and accounting, arts and humanities. The discussion about digital tourism is dominated by social science, business, management and accounting and computer science ( Tosida et al. , 2020b ).

The development of digital tourism, combined with digital-based local wisdom, can positively impact the economic and business fields ( Subali et al. , 2018 ). The numbers are very multiperspective and not only related to technological developments.

4.2 Top cited articles by most productive authors

Based on the 102 scientific documents analyzed, Table 1 shows the top 10 articles or the most cited in the period based on the search, such as the article entitled “Progress in information technology and tourism management: 30 years on and 20 years after the internet – Revisiting Buhalis and Law’s landmark study about e-Tourism” by Navío-Marco et al. (2018) . The article has been cited or quoted 89 times, describing the analysis and evaluation of the sustainable development of tourism websites. The numerous citations are all global issues examined and studied urgently. Mistilis et al. (2014) articles titled “Future e-Destination Marketing: Perspective of an Australian Tourism Stakeholder Network” have been quoted or cited 60 times.

The high number of citations from each article indicates that it has a significant scientific influence on other research. This is because the topic is a strategic issue and has an established theoretical value, such as Navío-Marco et al. (2018) on trend and development of e-tourism, Mistilis et al. (2014) on stakeholder engagement and networks of e-tourism ( Watkins et al. , 2018 ) and ( Adeola and Evans, 2019 ) on tourism and ICT. Each article that gets the most citations mostly has an academic contribution for further research. Additionally, the influence of big names in publishing journals can also be a consideration for other researchers to cite as primary data.

For 20 years, studies on digital tourism have involved many authors. Figure 4 shows the ten most productive authors who often publish articles on the topic. Benyon, D is the most productive author producing four articles on digital tourism, especially the blended spaces framework ( Benyon et al. , 2014 ; O’Keefe and Benyon, 2015 ). In addition, one of the articles from Benyon, D entitled “Presence and digital tourism,” has been widely cited by other researchers as many as 35. Miao, F had four articles on fuzzy analysis hierarchy process (FAHP)-Based Digital Tourism Engineering Research, with the essential findings being seven factors. The main factors in evaluating digital tourism are infrastructure construction, data support, technology systems, application platforms, industrial size systems, security systems, planning and organization ( Miao et al. , 2009 ). Furthermore, Bon, A.T., and Ziyadin, S published three articles, and in the order of 5 to 10, two were produced articles by Adi, S; Andria, F; Ardiansyah. D; Blembayeva, A; Bonacini; Chen R. Even though the number of articles from the most authors only has four articles, each paper has made a consistent scientific contribution to further research, whether it is the theory used or the phenomenon being explained.

4.3 Most contributing institutions and countries

Reviving tourism potential using technological developments has attracted studies from different research institutes. Figure 5 shows that Edinburgh Napier and Chengdu University of Technology produced five and four articles. In order from 3 to 6, universities are donating three publications each. One of the publications from Al Farabi Kazakh National University discusses the main aspects of digital tourism modernization. The formation in Kazakhstan is environmentally oriented and uses near field communication (NFC) technology ( Madiyarova et al. , 2018 ). Even though Edinburg Napier University and Europe have the most significant number of documents, countries in the Asian region continue to conduct digital tourism studies.

Figure 6 shows the ten countries with the most contributors to published articles. China is at the top by donating 22 documents, followed by Spain, the USA, Indonesia, the UK, Australia, Germany, Kazakhstan and Malaysia. From the available data, European Union countries provide digital tourism articles. Indonesia and China also played a significant role in developing digital tourism. This follows the predictions that big countries such as Indonesia, the USA and China will dominate the world’s economic power in the next few years, including the tourism industry ( Giorgi et al. , 2020 ; Pramana et al. , 2021 ). The number of documents is only small evidence of the variations in the contribution of science to digital tourism, considering that the database used is only Scopus. Studies only focus on international recognition research; hence, several countries with the most documents are productive with internationally recognized standards (Scopus).

4.5 Bibliometric network analysis

Cooccurrence features are used on VOSviewer to create graphic maps based on the author and search for keywords to understand the relationship’s structure with the digital tourism concept cluster. Figure 7 shows the coauthorship analyzed using VOSviewer ( van Eck and Waltman, 2010 ) with a minimum threshold of two. Furthermore, the relationship between the authors will appear in Figure 6 , where Bon, A.T dominates by frequently conducting joint research with other authors. An example of research results from Bon, A.T, Hidayat, M, Tosida, E.T is “Strengthening the competitiveness of micro-businesses based on local wisdom through digital tourism education collaboration” ( Tosida et al. , 2020a ).

Figure 8 shows the related names with the same reference document, and the authors have interrelated references. The most numerous documents were Navio-Marco J in 2018, with publications explaining information technology and tourism management advances. The second was Mistilis N in 2014, which explained strategic efforts for tourism destinations to encourage digital tourism marketing ( Mistilis et al. , 2014 ).

Table 2 and Figure 9 explain the connectivity or coverage related to digital tourism. Each cluster has an interrelated concept in case studies of clusters 1 and 2 related to information communication technology in tourism. In a diverse global society, the transformation of information technology is a factor in economic development, especially tourism. Technological advances gave birth to the internet, contributing to tourism by providing information when planning a vacation ( Qian and Zhou, 2017 ). Information technology produces changes and new paradigms as opportunities and challenges in driving the tourism industry digitally ( Zolotovskiy et al. , 2020 ).

Clusters 3 and 4 explain digital tourism marketing, where digitalization in modern times is not rare. Digitalization can make it easier and expand tourism marketing ( Madiyarova et al. , 2018 ). By using digital marketing, marketing costs can be reduced rather than conventional methods. Tourists can easily see digital marketing, and the interest in visiting a tourist destination can be high. This is because substantive marketing can provide the understanding and persuasion to be interested in tourist destinations ( da Silva-Pina et al. , 2018 ). Therefore, digital tourism marketing is critical to boosting tourism destinations. Clusters 5 and 6 provide a general description of the innovations. The digital strategy is a managerial process of developing digital tourism to achieve benefits in specific tourist destinations and should also be able to run sustainably ( Bec et al. , 2019 ).

Professional human resources are needed to provide intelligent innovation. The development of digital tourist destinations applies not only to artificial tourist attractions but also to cultural or heritage tourism ( Chareyron et al. , 2020 ). Therefore, human resources will determine the direction of innovation that is developed. Clusters 7–10 provide information about digital tourism through a collaborative process in developing tourism destinations ( Gao et al. , 2010 ). The safety of tourists should be considered in digital tourism when developing tourism destinations. Applications or search sites regarding digital tourism should be provided with a security system when making transactions. It requires collaboration between tourism developers and the government or third parties to develop tourism destinations in line with a guaranteed security system ( Shrestha et al. , 2020 ).

Collaboration in developing tourism destinations can also be conducted using social media applications, and every smartphone user has a social media account ( Adi and Heripracoyo, 2018 ). Since the tourism industry cannot stand alone, good cooperation is needed for promoting and marketing digital tourism ( Stors and Baltes, 2018 ). In addition, this study explains potential future research regarding four topics, namely, millennials, marketing strategy, metaverse tourism and virtual tours which are quite far apart and not connected. It demonstrates that these four topics have not been extensively researched as of yet. At the same time, there are still few scholars who link other themes like sustainable tourism, technological innovation and tourism experience. This visualization certainly provides information for future researchers to adjust the research topics to be discussed, making it easier to find novelty or research gaps.

During the 2001–2010 period, as explained in Figure 2 , there were not many articles that discussed digital tourism in detail. In total, there are only eight documents, such as the development of mobile agents ( Ghafoor et al. , 2004 ) and the use of geospatial information technology to optimize digital tourism ( Chen et al. , 2009 ; Gao et al. , 2010 ). So, the trend in this decade is the geospatial technology system in digital tourism. Furthermore, in the 2011–2021 period, discussions regarding digital tourism began to appear significantly, starting in 2018, along with the massive development of information and communication technology in society. The research trend in this period is the use of the internet and innovation in the tourism sector, including the benefits of e-commerce and social media in supporting digital tourism. Some examples of papers in this period are Madiyarova et al. (2018) about modern trends in digital tourism; van Nuenen and Scarles (2021) regarding the advancement of digital media for tourism; and Almeida-Santana et al. (2020) about the new ecosystem of digital tourism.

5. Conclusion

This study evaluates and provides a comprehensive understanding of the latest digital tourism research consisting of annual output and subject areas, influential works, most productive authors, universities or institutions and most productive countries on the topic of digital tourism, as well as bibliometric analysis of digital tourism topic within the scope of the publication. Furthermore, this study uses bibliometric analysis reviewed using the VOSviewer and can provide a visualization analysis to scholars interested in digital tourism. There are 102 documents analyzed in the Scopus database and the cooccurrence, coauthorship and bibliographic coupling features. This comprehensive scientific information is helpful for further research to determine mapping research related to digital tourism.

This study found that the trend of digital tourism publications continues to increase. The topic is multidisciplinary, with the dominant areas being computer science, social sciences and business management. Many authors, universities and research institutes in various countries collaborate to conduct research related to digital tourism. Benyon, D and Miao, F are the top two authors who contribute most to digital tourism research based on the number of publications. Meanwhile, Edinburg Napier University is the most productive institution, with five published documents. China is the most productive country, and the topic of digital tourism has 10 clusters, with the dominant concept being communication technology in tourism.

This review demonstrated the fundamental developments in the field of digital tourism over the past two decades and provided the pertinent data that would be needed for future authors to publish their work. It is also intended to guide scholars interested in the topic of digital tourism by providing more space for contextual papers. For countries that are developing and will be develop digital tourism, they can make digital tourism models references in countries that have the highest number of publications, such as China, Spain and the UK, as confirms the findings of Kalia et al. (2022) . These can be started through collaboration between institutions, countries and practitioners in the digital tourism industry to conduct research and publication in journals to improve conditions and realistic needs in the field, especially for developing countries in the Asia, Africa and South America regions.

The findings increasingly emphasized that changes occur because developments in information technology make tourism move rapidly. The application of digital tourism is related to implementing information and communication technology in the tourism industry. Building on the work of other scholars, this study offers certain practical implications for tourism managers and policymakers. From a managerial perspective, this article suggests that business managers should formulate and execute more extensive strategies to cover the requirements all of tourists while, especially on millennial tourist, metaverse tourism and virtual tourism.

This bibliometric research finding might be used to educate tourist manager on how to respond to a new behavior of tourist in the digital era. They would get a competitive advantage as a result of this bibliometric. A growing number of research on the digital tourism sector in every country in the world, as well as cross-country studies between developed and developing countries, are greatly encouraged to make the industry more acceptable, profitable and sustainable.

Managers should consider applying for digital tourism based on cluster findings and research trend, for instance, communication technology as supported by ( Pawłowska-Legwand, 2020 ; Ruiz-Gómez et al. , 2018 ), tourism experience and virtual tour as argued by ( Knani et al. , 2022 ; Leal et al. , 2020 ; Zhu et al. , 2023 ), sustainable tourism as explained by ( Scott, 2014 ; Del Vecchio et al. , 2018 ) and website usability as supported by ( da Silva-Pina et al. , 2018 ). Furthermore, smart strategies should be used to improve access inclusively, including dealing with destinations that have internet network problems by building adequate digital infrastructure. For policymakers, the government should provide economic incentives such as low taxes for digital tourism industry developers, increase digital capacity for managers and everyone involved in the digital tourism industry, and help to overcome digital dividends by building digital infrastructure evenly. The government should also setup a committee that could develop, establish and monitor digital tourism development. The government should devise strategies to encourage digital tourism through a mature and comprehensive planning in reading the development of the tourism sector in the future.

5.1 Limitations and future research

This study uses only one reputable international database, namely, Scopus. Within the scope of reputable international publications, there are other international databases, such as Web of Science or Clarivate Analytics. Hence, further research can use several databases to cover this limitation. It is also limited by the period of the documents analyzed in the past 10 years and the specific topics, namely, digital tourism. The topic is selected due to the increasing use of information technology in the tourism sector. Bibliometric analysis cannot provide a detailed description of the development of specific topics due to various factors, especially in the practical aspect. This study can be essential for studying digital tourism, especially mapping relevant topics from previous research. Referring to the existing literature, future research on digital tourism should develop empirical studies to contribute to academic research and society, especially the role of social media and internet to improving the digital tourism sector.

Research stages and description

Annual digital tourism research results (2001–2021)

Field of digital tourism is based on the Scopus database

Most productive authors

10 most productive institutions

Documents by country (Top 10)

Coauthorship by country and author

Bibliographic coupling

Clustering concept item

Ten most cited article from scopus database

Source: Table by authors

Adeola , O. and Evans , O. ( 2019 ), “ Digital tourism: mobile phones, internet and tourism in Africa ”, Tourism Recreation Research , Vol. 44 No. 2 , pp. 190 - 202 .

Adi , S. and Heripracoyo , S. ( 2018 ), “ Potential benefits and logical design of web collaboration to support tourism promotion and marketing at provincial level in Indonesia ”, International Journal of Mechanical Engineering and Technology , Vol. 9 No. 11 , pp. 177 - 191 .

Akhtar , N. , Khan , N. , Mahroof Khan , M. , Ashraf , S. , Hashmi , M.S. , Khan , M.M. and Hishan , S.S. ( 2021 ), “ Post-COVID 19 tourism: will digital tourism replace mass tourism? ”, Sustainability , Vol. 13 No. 10 , pp. 1 - 18 .

Alford , P. and Jones , R. ( 2020 ), “ The lone digital tourism entrepreneur: knowledge acquisition and collaborative transfer ”, Tourism Management , Vol. 81 , p. 104139 , doi: 10.1016/j.tourman.2020.104139 .

Almeida-Santana , A. , David-Negre , T. and Moreno-Gil , S. ( 2020 ), “ New digital tourism ecosystem: understanding the relationship between information sources and sharing economy platforms ”, International Journal of Tourism Cities , Vol. 6 No. 2 , pp. 335 - 345 .

Azizatun , B. , Roziqin , A. , Suhermanto , D.F. and Fajrina , A.N. ( 2021 ), “ The policy studies journal: a bibliometric and mapping study from 2015-2020 ”, Library Philosophy and Practice , Vol. 5881 , pp. 1 - 18 .

Bec , A. , Moyle , B. , Timms , K. , Schaffer , V. , Skavronskaya , L. and Little , C. ( 2019 ), “ Management of immersive heritage tourism experiences: a conceptual model ”, Tourism Management , Vol. 72 , pp. 117 - 120 .

Belonozhko , M.L. , Belonozhko , L.N. and Siteva , S.S. ( 2018 ), “ Digital tourism in the development of the Arctic region ”, Journal of Environmental Management and Tourism , Vol. 9 No. 6 , pp. 1154 - 1164 .

Bennett , S. , Maton , K. and Kervin , L. ( 2008 ), “ The ‘digital natives’ debate: a critical review of the evidence ”, British Journal of Educational Technology , Vol. 39 No. 5 , pp. 775 - 786 .

Benyon , D. , Quigley , A. , O’Keefe , B. and Riva , G. ( 2014 ), “ Presence and digital tourism ”, AI and Society , Vol. 29 No. 4 , pp. 521 - 529 .

Bødker , M. and Munar , A.M. ( 2014 ), “ New territories in information technologies and tourism research ”, The Wiley Blackwell Companion to Tourism , Wiley , New York, NY , pp. 262 - 274 .

Bounab , Y. , Oussalah , M. and Ferdenache , A. ( 2020 ), “ Reconciling image captioning and user’s comments for urban tourism ”, 10th International Conference on Image Processing Theory, Tools and Applications , IPTA 2020, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc., CMVS, University of Oulu, Faculty of ITEE , Oulu , doi: 10.1109/IPTA50016.2020.9286602 .

Buhalis , D. , Harwood , T. , Bogicevic , V. , Viglia , G. , Beldona , S. and Hofacker , C. ( 2019 ), “ Technological disruptions in services: lessons from tourism and hospitality ”, Journal of Service Management , Vol. 30 No. 4 , pp. 484 - 506 .

Buhalis , D. , Leung , D. and Lin , M. ( 2023 ), “ Metaverse as a disruptive technology revolutionising tourism management and marketing ”, Tourism Management, Elsevier Ltd , Vol. 97 , p. 104724 .

Chareyron , G. , Quelhas , U. and Travers , N. ( 2020 ), “ Tourism analysis on graphs with Neo4Tourism ”, in U , L.H. , Yang , J. , Cai , Y. , Karlapalem , K. , Liu , A. and Huang , X. (Eds), 20th International Conference on Web Information Systems Engineering, WISE 2019 and on the International Workshop on Web Information Systems in the Era of AI, 2019 , CCIS, Springer, Léonard de Vinci Pôle Universitaire, Research Center , Paris La Défense, France , Vol. 1155 , pp. 37 - 44 .

Chen , J. , Miao , F. , Wang , W. and Wang , H. ( 2009 ), “ Design and implementation of ggearth spatial data service application system ”, 2nd International Conference on Earth Observation for Global Changes , Key Laboratory of Earth Exploration, Information Techniques of Ministry of Education, Chengdu University of Technology , China , Vol. 7471 , doi: 10.1117/12.836772 .

da Silva-Pina , A.J. , Hernández-Mogollón , J.M. and Campón-Cerro , A.M. ( 2018 ), “ Tourism destination management organization website usability: a qualitative evaluation model ”, Revista Portuguesa de Estudos Regionais, Associacao Portuguesa para o Desenvolvimento Regional (APDR), Universidade de Extremadura (Espanha), Quadro Superior da Confederação do Turismo para as areas dos Estudos Economicos, Organismo Intermédio, Marketing Digital e Projetos de Investigaçao em Turismo , Lisboa, Portugal , No. 49 , pp. 23 - 40 .

Del Vecchio , P. , Mele , G. , Ndou , V. and Secundo , G. ( 2018 ), “ Open innovation and social big data for sustainability: evidence from the tourism industry ”, Sustainability (Switzerland) , Vol. 10 No. 9 , pp. 3215, pp. 1 - 15 .

Del Vecchio , P. , Valentina , N. and Giuseppina , P. ( 2015 ), “ A methodology for the virtual destination management based on users’ involvement: perspectives and opportunities for the smart growth of destinations ”, in K.S., S. (Ed.) , 26th International Business Information Management Association Conference – Innovation Management and Sustainable Economic Competitive Advantage: From Regional Development to Global Growth, IBIMA 2015 , International Business Information Management Association, IBIMA, Laboratory of Management Engineering, Department of Engineering for Innovation, University of Salento , Lecce , pp. 2547 - 2559 .

Dessovic , R. and Egger , R. ( 2011 ), “ Digital tourism assistant: enquiry management solution for destinations ”, ETourism Case Studies: Management and Marketing Issues , Taylor and Francis, Elements.at New Media Solutions GmbH , Salzburg , pp. 382 - 390 .

Dexeus , C.R. ( 2018 ), “ The deepening effects of the digital revolution ”, The Future of Tourism: Innovation and Sustainability , Springer International Publishing, State-Owned Enterprise for the Management of Innovation and Tourism Technologies (SEGITTUR) , Madrid , pp. 43 - 69 .

Donthu , N. , Kumar , S. , Mukherjee , D. , Pandey , N. and Lim , W.M. ( 2021 ), “ How to conduct a bibliometric analysis: an overview and guidelines ”, Journal of Business Research , Vol. 133 , pp. 285 - 296 .

Gao , T. , Du , J. , Sun , Z. and Jia , Y. ( 2010 ), “ Digital tourism integrated service system realization ”, 2010 International Conference on Networking, Sensing and Control , ICNSC 2010 , School of Computer Science, Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications , Beijing , pp. 232 - 237 .

Ghafoor , A. , Rehman , M.U. , Khan , Z.A. , Ali , A. , Farooq Ahmad , H. and Suguri , H. ( 2004 ), “ SAGE: next generation multi-agent system ”, in H.R ., A. (Ed.), Proceedings of the International Conference on Parallel and Distributed Processing Techniques and Applications , PDPTA’04 , Vol. 1 , NUST Inst. of Information Technology , Chaklala Scheme III , Rawalpindi , pp. 139 - 145 .

Giorgi , E. , Cattaneo , T. , Ni , M. and Enr , R. ( 2020 ), “ Sustainability and effectiveness of Chinese outline for national tourism and leisure ”, Sustainability (Switzerland) , Vol. 12 No. 3 , pp. 1161, pp. 1 - 30 .

Gössling , S. , Scott , D. and Hall , C.M. ( 2020 ), “ Pandemics, tourism and global change: a rapid assessment of COVID-19 ”, Journal of Sustainable Tourism , Vol. 29 No. 1 , pp. 1 - 20 .

Happ , E. and Ivancsóné Horváth , Z. ( 2020 ), “ A study of digital marketing tools usage habits among Hungarian tourists ”, GeoJournal of Tourism and Geosites , Vol. 32 No. 4 , pp. 1283 - 1289 .

Herrera-Franco , G. , Montalván-Burbano , N. , Carrión-Mero , P. , Apolo-Masache , B. and Jaya-Montalvo , M. ( 2020 ), “ Research trends in geotourism: a bibliometric analysis using the Scopus database ”, Geosciences (Switzerland) , Vol. 10 No. 10 , pp. 1 - 29 .

Huang , H. and Liu , W. ( 2011 ), “ Development of three dimensional digital tourism presentation system based on google earth API ”, 2011 IEEE International Conference on Spatial Data Mining and Geographical Knowledge Services, ICSDM 2011 – In Conjunction with 8th Beijing International Workshop on Geographical Information Science , BJ-IWGIS 2011 , College of Civil Engineering and Architecture, China Three Gorges University , 443002, Yichang, Hubei Province , pp. 300 - 302 .

Iorio , C. , Pandolfo , G. , D’Ambrosio , A. and Siciliano , R. ( 2020 ), “ Mining big data in tourism ”, Quality and Quantity , Vol. 54 Nos 5/6 , pp. 1655 - 1669 .

Kalia , P. , Mladenović , D. and Acevedo-Duque , Á. ( 2022 ), “ Decoding the trends and the emerging research directions of digital tourism in the last three decades: a bibliometric analysis ”, SAGE Open , Vol. 12 No. 4 , doi: 10.1177/21582440221128179 .

Kayumovich , K.O. , Alimovich , F.E. , Khudoynazarovich , S.A. , Shavkatovna , S.S. and Supiyevna , B.M. ( 2020 ), “ Opportunities of mobile marketing in tourism ”, Journal of Critical Reviews , Vol. 7 No. 12 , pp. 94 - 98 .

Ketter , E. ( 2020 ), “ Millennial travel: tourism micro-trends of European generation Y ”, Journal of Tourism Futures , Vol. 7 No. 2 , pp. 192 - 196 .

Khanra , S. , Dhir , A. , Kaur , P. and Mäntymäki , M. ( 2021 ), “ Bibliometric analysis and literature review of ecotourism: toward sustainable development ”, Tourism Management Perspectives , Vol. 37 , p. 100777 , doi: 10.1016/j.tmp.2020.100777 .

Khurramov , O.K. , Fayzieva , S.A. , Saidova , F.K. , Khalilov , B.B. and Fayzieva , S.K. ( 2020 ), “ Directions for improvement digital tourism and tourism info structure in Uzbekistan ”, Journal of Critical Reviews , Vol. 7 No. 5 , pp. 366 - 369 .

Kim , D.Y. and Park , S. ( 2020 ), “ Rethinking millennials: how are they shaping the tourism industry? ”, Asia Pacific Journal of Tourism Research , Vol. 25 No. 1 , pp. 1 - 2 .

Knani , M. , Echchakoui , S. and Ladhari , R. ( 2022 ), “ Artificial intelligence in tourism and hospitality: bibliometric analysis and research agenda ”, International Journal of Hospitality Management , Vol. 107 , p. 103317 .

Kumar , N. and Kumar , R.R. ( 2020 ), “ Relationship between ICT and international tourism demand: a study of major tourist destinations ”, Tourism Economics , Vol. 26 No. 6 , pp. 908 - 925 .

Leal , F. , Malheiro , B. , Veloso , B. and Burguillo , J.C. ( 2020 ), “ Responsible processing of crowdsourced tourism data ”, Journal of Sustainable Tourism , Vol. 29 No. 5 , pp. 1 - 21 .

Leong , Y.R. , Tajudeen , F.P. and Yeong , W.C. ( 2021 ), “ Bibliometric and content analysis of the Internet of Things research: a social science perspective ”, Online Information Review , Vol. 45 No. 6 , pp. 1148 - 1166 .

Li , M.L. , Chen , M.S. and Sato , K. ( 2020 ), “ Digital map design elements for local tourism: comparing user cognition between age of 20s and above 60 ”, edited by H., S., S., K., T., Y., T., K., K., M., P., L., K., C. , et al ., 8th International Conference on Kansei Engineering and Emotion Research , KEER 2020 , Springer , Chiba University, Chiba , pp. 263 - 8522 .

Liu , Y. , Chen , R. , Chris , C. and ZhenJie , H. ( 2016 ), “ Key techniques of virtual reality for the development of digital tourism systems ”, International Journal of Simulation: Systems, Science and Technology , Vol. 17 No. 18 , pp. 6.1 - 6.5 .

Liu , S. and Li , W.Y. ( 2020 ), “ Ecotourism research progress: a bibliometric analysis during 1990–2016 ”, SAGE Open , Vol. 10 No. 2 , doi: 10.1177/2158244020924052 .

Liu , H. , Wu , L. and Li , X.R. ( 2019 ), “ Social media envy: How experience sharing on social networking sites drives millennials’ aspirational tourism consumption ”, Journal of Travel Research , Vol. 58 No. 3 , pp. 355 - 369 .

Madiyarova , A. , Ziyadin , S. , Blembayeva , A. and Doszhan , R. ( 2018 ), “ Modern trends in digitalization of tourism industry ”, in K.S., S. (Ed.) , 32nd International Business Information Management Association Conference , IBIMA 2018, International Business Information Management Association, IBIMA, Al-Farabi Kazakh National University , Kazakhstan, Almaty , pp. 7990 - 7997 .

Mathew , V. and Soliman , M. ( 2021 ), “ Does digital content marketing affect tourism consumer behavior? An extension of technology acceptance model ”, Journal of Consumer Behaviour , Vol. 20 No. 1 , pp. 61 - 75 .

Miao , F. , Guo , X.-R. and Liu , R. ( 2009 ), “ The research on digital tourism engineering evaluation method based on FAHP ”, 2009 2nd Conference on Power Electronics and Intelligent Transportation System , PEITS 2009 , Key Laboratory of Earth Exploration and Information Techniques, Ministry of Education, Chengdu University of Technology , Chengdu , Vol. 1 , pp. 408 - 411 .

Miraj , P. , Berawi , M.A. , Zagloel , T.Y. , Sari , M. and Saroji , G. ( 2020 ), “ Research trend of dry port studies: a two-decade systematic review ”, Maritime Policy and Management , Vol. 48 No. 4 , pp. 563 - 582 .

Mistilis , N. , Buhalis , D. and Gretzel , U. ( 2014 ), “ Future eDestination marketing: perspective of an Australian tourism stakeholder network ”, Journal of Travel Research , Vol. 53 No. 6 , pp. 778 - 790 .

Munar , A.M. and Gyimóthy , S. ( 2013 ), “ Critical digital tourism studies ”, Tourism Social Science Series , Vol. 18 , pp. 245 - 311 .

Navío-Marco , J. , Ruiz-Gómez , L.M. and Sevilla-Sevilla , C. ( 2018 ), “ Progress in information technology and tourism management: 30 years on and 20 years after the internet – revisiting buhalis and law’s landmark study about eTourism ”, Tourism Management , Vol. 69 , pp. 460 - 470 .

O’Keefe , B. and Benyon , D. ( 2015 ), “ Using the blended spaces framework to design heritage stories with schoolchildren ”, International Journal of Child-Computer Interaction , Vol. 6 , pp. 7 - 16 .

Pan , L.X. ( 2016 ), “ The application of virtual reality technology to digital tourism systems ”, International Journal of Simulation: Systems, Science and Technology , Vol. 17 No. 18 , pp. 2.1 - 2.5 .

Pawłowska-Legwand , A. ( 2020 ), “ One-way communication or co-creating tourism experience already? Polish perspective on the use of ICT by DMOs ”, E-Review of Tourism Research , Vol. 18 , pp. 342 - 362 .

Poux , F. , Valembois , Q. , Mattes , C. , Kobbelt , L. and Billen , R. ( 2020 ), “ Initial user-centered design of a virtual reality heritage system: applications for digital tourism ”, Remote Sensing , Vol. 12 No. 16 , doi: 10.3390/RS12162583 .

Pramana , S. , Pramartha , D.Y. , Ermawan , G.Y. , Deli , N.F. and Srimulyani , W. ( 2021 ), “ Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on tourism in Indonesia ”, Current Issues in Tourism , Vol. 25 No. 15 , pp. 1226 - 1241 .

Puspawati , D.P. and Ristanto , H. ( 2018 ), “ Strategi promosi digital untuk pengembangan pariwisata kota magelang ”, Jurnal Jendela Inovasi Daerah , Vol. 1 No. 2 , pp. 1 - 20 .

Qian , L. and Zhou , X. ( 2017 ), “ Research on B/S mode digital tourism system design based on computer platform ”, Agro Food Industry Hi-Tech , Vol. 28 No. 3 , pp. 318 - 322 .

Robertson , J. , Pitt , L. and Ferreira , C. ( 2020 ), “ Entrepreneurial ecosystems and the public sector: a bibliographic analysis ”, Socio-economic Planning Sciences , Vol. 72 , p. 100862 .

Ruiz-Gómez , L.M. , Navío-Marco , J. and Rodríguez-Hevía , L.F. ( 2018 ), “ Dynamics of digital tourism’s consumers in the EU ”, Information Technology and Tourism , Vol. 20 s Nos 1/4 , pp. 59 - 81 .

Sánchez , A.D. , de la Cruz Del Río Rama , M. and García , J.Á. ( 2017 ), “ Bibliometric analysis of publications on wine tourism in the databases Scopus and WoS ”, European Research on Management and Business Economics , Vol. 23 No. 1 , pp. 8 - 15 .

Scott , D. ( 2014 ), “ Climate-change implications for tourism ”, in Lew , A.A. , Hall , C.M. and Williams , A.M. (Eds), The Wiley Blackwell Companion to Tourism , John Wiley and Sons , Victoria , pp. 466 - 478 .

Shrestha , D. , Wenan , T. , Khadka , A. and Jeong , S.R. ( 2020 ), “ Digital tourism security system for Nepal ”, KSII Transactions on Internet and Information Systems , Vol. 14 No. 11 , pp. 4331 - 4354 .

Singh , S. and Bashar , A. ( 2021 ), “ A bibliometric review on the development in e-tourism research ”, International Hospitality Review , doi: 10.1108/ihr-03-2021-0015 .

Stors , N. and Baltes , S. ( 2018 ), “ Constructing urban tourism space digitally: a study of Airbnb listings in two Berlin neighborhoods ”, Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction , Association for Computing Machinery, Tourism Geography, University of Trier , Trier , Vol. 2 No. CSCW , doi: 10.1145/3274435 .

Subali , M. , Andriansyah , M. , Saptono , D. , Purwanto , I. , Antonius , I.S. , Rahmadi , H. and Sudjono , L.A.L. ( 2018 ), “ Development of Banten E-heritage using virtual reality technology on mobile device ”, 3rd International Conference on Informatics and Computing, ICIC 2018 , Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc., Informatics Engineering, Sekolah Tinggi Teknik Multimedia Cendikia Abditama , Tangerang , doi: 10.1109/IAC.2018.8780544 .

Suban , S.A. , Madhan , K. and Shagirbasha , S. ( 2021 ), “ A bibliometric analysis of halal and Islamic tourism ”, International Hospitality Review , doi: 10.1108/ihr-05-2021-0038 .

Tosida , E.T. , Muhaimin , A. , Hidayat , M. , Ardiansyah , D. , Andria , F. and Bon , A.T. ( 2020a ), “ Strengthening the competitiveness of micro-businesses based on local wisdom through digital tourism education collaboration ”, Proceedings of the 5th NA International Conference on Industrial Engineering and Operations Management , IOEM 2020 , IEOM Society, Department of Computer Science, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Universitas Pakuan , Indonesia .

Tosida , E.T. , Permana , A. , Karlitasari , L. , Ardiansyah , D. , Andria , F. and Bon , A.T. ( 2020b ), “ Digital tourism education collaboration for strengthening micro business and post covid-19 sustainable education models ”, Proceedings of the 5th NA International Conference on Industrial Engineering and Operations Management , IOEM 2020 , IEOM Society, Department of Computer Science, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Universitas Pakuan , Indonesia , pp. 2 - 10 .

van Eck , N.J. and Waltman , L. ( 2010 ), “ Software survey: VOSviewer, a computer program for bibliometric mapping ”, Scientometrics , Vol. 84 No. 2 , pp. 523 - 538 .

van Nuenen , T. and Scarles , C. ( 2021 ), “ Advancements in technology and digital media in tourism ”, Tourist Studies , Vol. 21 No. 1 , pp. 119 - 132 .

Veiga , C. , Santos , M.C. , Águas , P. and Santos , J.A.C. ( 2017 ), “ Are millennials transforming global tourism? Challenges for destinations and companies ”, Worldwide Hospitality and Tourism Themes , Vol. 9 No. 6 , pp. 603 - 616 .

Watkins , M. , Ziyadin , S. , Imatayeva , A. , Kurmangalieva , A. and Blembayeva , A. ( 2018 ), “ Digital tourism as a key factor in the development of the economy ”, Economic Annals-ХХI , Vol. 169 Nos 1/2 , pp. 40 - 45 .

Wu , W. ( 2020 ), “ Analysis of digital tourism, virtual tourism and wisdom tourism ”, edited by Z., X., R.M., P., M., H. and O., L.-G . International Conference on Cyber Security Intelligence and Analytics, CSIA 2020 , Springer Science and Business Media Deutschland GmbH, Business School Tourism Department, Jianghan University , Wuhan .

Zhang , J. ( 2014 ), “ Multimedia technology of digital tourism based on android system ”, in Z., W., L., G., T., T., D., Y., D., Y., K., Y., D., Y. , et al . (Eds) , International Conference on Machine Tool Technology and Mechatronics Engineering , ICMTTME 2014 , Trans Tech Publications Ltd, School of Tourism and Land Resource, Jiujiang University , Jiujiang , Vols 644/650 , pp. 2915 - 2919 .

Zhao , L.L. ( 2014 ), “ Design and application of digital tourism platform ”, in Lin, J.Z., Yan, T.H., Xu, X.S. and Jiang, Z.Y. (Eds.) , 4th International Conference on Advanced Design and Manufacturing Engineering, ADME 2014 , Trans Tech Publications Ltd, Economy and Government Department of Chifeng College, Inner Mongolia , Chifeng , Vols 635/637 , pp. 1711 - 1714 .

Zhu , C. , Wu , D.C.W. , Hall , C.M. , Fong , L.H.N. , Koupaei , S.N. and Lin , F. ( 2023 ), “ Exploring non-immersive virtual reality experiences in tourism: empirical evidence from a world heritage site ”, International Journal of Tourism Research , doi: 10.1002/jtr.2574 .

Ziyadin , S. , Dauliyeva , G. , Kalymbekova , Z. and Turlybekova , A. ( 2018 ), “ Key aspects of digital tourism modernization ”, in K.S., S. (Eds) , 31st International Business Information Management Association Conference: Innovation Management and Education Excellence through Vision 2020, IBIMA 2018 , International Business Information Management Association, IBIMA, Al-Farabi Kazakh National University , Almaty , pp. 2065 - 2070 .

Zolotovskiy , V.A. , Davydova , M.L. , Bokov , Y.A. and Stelnik , Y.V. ( 2020 ), “ Objective special aspects of legal regulation of promotion in tourism within the context of digital tourism development in Russia ”, Lecture Notes in Networks and Systems , Springer, Volgograd State University , Volgograd, Russian Federation .

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, Universitas Muhammadiyah Malang for this supported this research, through research blockgrant with number E.6.k/022/FISIP/UMM/1/2022. Thanks also to the anonymous reviewers who provided critical comments to improve our manuscript quality.

Corresponding author

About the authors.

Ali Roziqin is a Lecturer in the Department of Government Studies, Universitas Muhammadiyah Malang, Indonesia. He obtained his bachelor’s degree from the Department of Public Administration at Universitas Diponegoro, Indonesia. He holds a Master of Public Administration from the Universitas Gadjah Mada, Indonesia. His research interests are in bureaucracy, public policy and administration, and public sector innovation. He has published papers in international and national journals.

Alferdo Satya Kurniawan is a Research Assistant in the Department of Government Studies, Universitas Muhammadiyah Malang. His focused research is bureaucracy and tourism governance.

Yana Syafriyana Hijri is a Lecturer in the Department of Government Studies, Universitas Muhammadiyah Malang, Indonesia. He earned his bachelor’s degree from the same department. Further, he got a master’s degree in Political Sciences, Universitas Indonesia.

Kismartini Kismartini is Senior Lecturer in the Department of Public Administration, Universitas Muhammadiyah Malang. She got her doctoral degree from the Universitas Brawijaya. Recently, active as an author and reviewer in reputable national and international journals. She is specialized in areas of public policy, tourism and maritime affairs.

Related articles

We’re listening — tell us what you think, something didn’t work….

Report bugs here

All feedback is valuable

Please share your general feedback

Join us on our journey

Platform update page.

Visit emeraldpublishing.com/platformupdate to discover the latest news and updates

Questions & More Information

Answers to the most commonly asked questions here

Table of Contents

6 Key Components of a Digital Tourism Marketing Strategy

• September 27, 2023
• Digital Marketing , Strategy , Travel Marketing

Digital tourism marketing is the way to reach new audiences in the modern day. However, staying current on effective strategies with constant innovation takes time and effort.

How can your brand get started with an effective strategy?

Forge Apollo is a video and digital marketing agency for travel brands. Today, we’re sharing the six primary components every tourism digital marketing strategy should start with.

A website is the heart of a brand’s digital presence. Every other tourism digital marketing effort will link back to your website. Plus, 69.8% of travelers use search engines to plan their trips.

To appear in search results and run effective campaigns, a travel brand’s website should include the following:

• A modern, accessible design
• Excellent user experience
• Effective copywriting
• Consistent branding

For example, Philadelphia-based travel digital marketing agency Forge Apollo redesigned The Grand Victorian Hotel’s website when ICONA Resorts acquired it to match ICONA’s branding and provide a better user experience.

2. Search Ads

Remember when we said 69.8% of travelers use search engines for planning? Pay-per-click search engine advertisements ensure your brand appears in key results areas when users seek destinations, travel logistics, accommodations, and activities.

These ads are a crucial part of your strategy for meeting potential travelers where they’re looking for you.

3. Organic & Paid Social

It’s no secret that people love to share their travel experiences on social media. But did you know that they also search for their next vacation plan there?

48% of people use Instagram to help choose vacation destinations, and 35% discover new places when scrolling.

It’s essential that your brand is present on your organic page. Paid advertisements on social also play an important role in strategy.

Brands can hyper-target social ads to reach their target audience based on attributes like age, gender, location, interests, and more. Paid social ads put you in front of your audience when they’re in a relaxed, scrolling state of mind.

Plus, retargeting options allow you to target people who have already taken actions like visiting your website or clicking other ads to stay top of mind.

4. Video Content

91% of businesses use video for marketing efforts, and 87% say it has helped increase sales. If your brand isn’t using video marketing, you’re already behind.

The best tourism campaigns use video because it resonates emotionally with the viewer. For example, Forge Apollo produced a video to resonate with a resort brand’s audience to share via email to drive millions of dollars in incremental revenue and bookings.

Some video production partners can help you maximize your ROI from a single video shoot by producing content you can use in organic and paid campaigns across multiple platforms. For example, Forge Apollo created over 240 high-end assets from a single shoot for AMR.

5. Blog Content

Websites with a blog have 434% more pages indexed in search results. Blogs typically target longer keywords lower in competition and farther down in the funnel. They answer specific questions your target audience has and move them towards conversion.

Plus, they help you rank better in search engines by giving more context to your expertise and showing search engines that your website stays fresh.

For example, posts about popular activities in your area or tips for traveling to your location can help move potential customers down the funnel toward conversion.

Email marketing nurtures leads toward conversion and convinces current customers to purchase again.

When someone shares their contact information by signing up for a newsletter or filling out a form, for example, lead nurturing campaigns use strategic messaging to move them down the funnel toward purchase. 

It’s easier to upsell your current customers than acquire new ones. Sharing updates, new activities, or exclusive deals with existing customers can increase bookings.

Turn to Forge Apollo for Tourism Marketing

These six components can help your brand create a solid digital marketing strategy. Combining digital and video marketing backs Forge Apollo’s effective travel marketing strategies. Contact Forge Apollo in Philadelphia for professional video and digital marketing to drive your travel business.

MORE BLOG POSTS

• April 3, 2024

5 Ways to Use a Blog (That Aren’t SEO)

• March 27, 2024

What is Threads? Should Your Brand Use It?

• March 21, 2024

Our New Marketing Packages Makes Your Digital Presence Easy

• March 14, 2024

5 Best Practices for Healthcare Video Production

• March 5, 2024

How Hotels Should Respond to Reviews

• February 28, 2024

5 Ways a Graphic Designer Can Help Your Business

Don’t miss out, subscribe to our newsletter.

Get Our Newsletter

What is digital tourism? Much more than a definition

Home / Blog / Customer Experience / What is digital tourism? Much more than a definition

Table of contents

Updated on 30/09/2022

What is digital tourism ? Many things: the integration of new technologies in the tourism sector, an economically relevant sector, an opportunity for business operators, but also a new paradigm that changes not only the rules of the game, but also tourists themselves and how they think about travel.

In a country like Italy, it is worthwhile to look at the concept of digital tourism and, above all, its role within the Italian economy and its relevance in the sector as a whole. On the other hand, for Italy tourism is a fundamental sector, considered by many to be our “oil,” one of our main sources of wealth, which, despite that, can also be undervalued

One of the ways to enhance it and make it even more productive is to open it to digital transformation . Today, digitization is an obligatory choice, not only for increasing the number of people traveling and moving, but for increasing the quality of the experience itself, leaving a lasting impression with all tourists, Italian and foreign.

What is digital tourism? 

Let’s start with a definition of the topic at hand. What is digital tourism? The term “ digital tourism ” refers to how we use digital tools to organize, manage and even enjoy the travel experience.   

“Digital tourism” therefore uses all of the tools of digital transformation to change how we travel and how the sector itself operates. Much like other sectors, here too, digital transformation has completely changed and continues to change how we travel.  

The relevance of digital tourism

But does this “new sector” have its own relevance compared to the tourism sector in general? To answer this question we need to clarify a couple of things.

The first is that tourism is an incredibly complex sector and one that is difficult to measure since the statistics related to this field never concern “a single sector but a very diverse set of services” . After all, tourism can be measured from different points of view: for example, from the perspective of supply or demand. Therefore, it is assessed through different information sources.

In the first case, statistics will refer to the capacity and occupancy of accommodation facilities, while surveys will be based on information collected directly from travelers, at borders or through traditional household surveys. Secondly, these statistics , already volatile and elusive in themselves, are made even more complicated to detect and calibrate this year due to the recent Covid-19 emergency that has impacted the surveys themselves, distorting or even interrupting them.

All of this is to say that the assessment of the relevance of digital tourism within the tourism sector is very difficult. To have a clear picture of the current situation will require that we take into account data from a couple of years ago—less recent but safer. Having made this necessary premise we can answer the question asked above: how relevant is digital tourism? The answer is much more than what we may have thought.

A powerful sector 

According to data from research conducted by the Milan International Stock Exchange, in 2022 the sector grew by 43%, representing a real driving business.

According to research by the Observatory for Digital Innovation in Tourism, this growth was particularly affected in 2021 by digital tourism, which posted a 55% increase compared to 2020  this is an even more remarkable result if we consider the +1% of transactions recorded by official channels in the same period. This means that digital tourism has a significant economical importance, also in light of the fact that the internet and digital solutions, in general, are becoming increasingly relevant and widespread in this sector.

There are further statistics that can confirm that a lot of trips were booked through a website or smartphone without any human intervention .

Digital tourism is much more than just a simple reservation

Given that digital tourism is indeed an important contributor to the economy, it is necessary to clarify something.

When we talk about digital tourism, we must not make the mistake of believing that the digital component plays a role only in the booking and payment of a trip , accommodation, or transportation. On the contrary, digital transformation manifests itself along all phases of the journey, following the path the tourist takes in his customer experience step by step.

The internet is now an essential component of the experience that every tourist makes when he or she decides to travel. From searching to purchasing, from writing reviews to publishing them: at least one of these actions is carried out online by any tourist during their vacation period. As a tourist yourself, you can just imagine how pervasive and influential the digital component can be when it comes to all these activities.

TripAdvisor is a good example. For some time now, the most famous restaurant and hotel review platform in the world has become a permanent reference point for travelers: when you visit a new city or want to try a new restaurant, one of the first things travelers will do is to search TripAdvisor and read the reviews of other tourists.

In other words, what was once the old analog word of mouth has been replaced by digital word of mouth that is in some ways much more effective. In fact, as shown by the University of Oxford’s Oxford Economics research company, TripAdvisor is absolutely capable of influencing most of the activities that travelers undertake. Already in 2017, this platform played a key role in increasing the number of trips, pushing tourists to spend 15% more, thus moving an amount equal to $80 billion to the sector, until today that counts almost more than a million reviews.

Digital tourism influences analog tourism

In addition to TripAdvisor, there are many other examples that we can make to understand how the relevance of digital tourism is not only limited to the economic aspect. On the contrary, digital tourism is even able to change and influence the geography and routes of even “analog” tourism. One of the most enlightening cases is that of Instagram . 

Posting photos, selfies, and stories of vacations and trips has become a summer ritual that few people now manage to escape. Over time, what can be considered a simple pastime to share their experiences with friends has become something more: Instagram, in fact, has become a real “catalog” of trips to choose from. Among other things, it is a catalog with a formidable ability to influence users in the choice of their next destinations.

Research commissioned by EasyJet of tourists between 18 and 68 years old found that 5 5% of respondents booked their trip based exclusively on images seen on Instagram . In particular, more than 30% of the more than 2,000 people interviewed also stated that they chose their destination thinking about the so-called “photo opportunity” , i.e. the possibility to post nice photos on social networks. This has meant that some destinations that were once considered “off the beaten path” are now coveted places for mass tourism.

This happened to the Trolltunga , a rock formation in Norway, which was largely unknown to most people until recently; only 1,000 people had flown over this remote place in 2009. It only took 10 years and a growing photographic echo on Instagram and, in January 2019 alone, there were already over 100,000 photos on Instagram with the Trolltunga hashtag.

This means that a few trending photos are enough to move the choice of travel of several thousand people, with all that this entails in terms of business.

What is digital tourism? First of all a great opportunity

The above example not only serves to demonstrate what we said at the beginning, that digital tourism can have a great business relevance; it also shows how this sector can represent an incredible opportunity for growth and development . Moreover, it was the progressive integration of new digital solutions in the tourism sector that gave rise to new travel (and business) models.

Think of AirBnB , the most famous hosting platform in the world, which, in just a few years has revolutionized the way to travel and host people. Today, the platform is a tourism giant. Couchsurfing , the hospitality exchange service and social network that allows people to provide their own sofa or rooms in their home for short periods to tourists from all over the world, is also popular.

However, when we talk about the opportunities offered by digital tourism, we’re also referring to all the tools made available by the digital transformation that can be used to further grow existing activities. 

For example, think of the opportunity that the internet offers to small hotels and B&Bs who can now take part in some of the largest online booking portals (Lastminute, Expedia, eDreams etc.) o r the opportunity to u se tools like digital newsletters to continue to maintain relationships with customers, making them aware of new activities and services, or allowing the business to offer personalized deals and special offers based on the type of customer.  

In addition, social networks are a formidable resource for helping introduce a business to future customers, showing what makes your business special and unique. We’ve already seen how social networks are able to influence the choices of tourists: having a well-kept and attractive Instagram page can push users to discover your business in person. And a simple and complete Facebook page is a very useful tool to give tourists all the necessary information and to simplify communications, making them quick and immediate.

What is digital tourism? A way to improve the “tourism experience”

However, digital tourism is not only simpler bookings, image sharing on social media, or marketing tools amplified by digital tools.

Digital tourism also represents a new approach to the kind of experience that professionals in the sector can offer tourists.

For example, through the Internet of things (IoT), you can host your guests in intelligent rooms, able to react to a simple voice gesture of the guest , who in this way, has at his disposal a real personal virtual assistant able to immediately meet all of his needs and requests (digitalmarketingturistico.it). Or think about the use of Big Data , which is a useful strategic tool for small hotels as well as for airlines and major travel sites alike.

It is thanks to Big Data that all these operators can perfectly profile their clients and build a highly personalized offer that is in line with their characteristics and preferences. After all, it is no mystery that the tourist 2.0, that is, the tourist at the time of the digital transformation, expects this from the companies he or she is doing business with. Today’s tourists expect an experience that is unique and personalized, digital and memorable at the same time. 

On closer inspection, in fact, digital transformation has not only “changed the tourism business”, introducing tools and technologies useful to those who want to grow and enrich their business, it has also irreversibly transformed the tourist and, consequently, its priorities.

The use and influence of social media are just one example of this “anthropological” change that, on closer inspection, has been much more radical and decisive than you might think and which must be taken into account if you want to be successful in this sector. This is another topic that we will explore in more detail in our next post.

With a background in classical studies and law, Edoardo is a young digital copywriter with a passion for storytelling, especially around the theme of innovation.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Remember me

Related Articles

Check out the latest articles in our Blog

Join our newsletter

Want to work remotely in Italy? The country just launched its new digital nomad visa.

Remote workers with dreams of working from the rolling hills of Tuscany or the cliffs of Positano are now one step closer to making that reality. Italy launched a new digital nomad visa.

Two years after its announcement, the highly anticipated digital nomad visa officially became available for those eligible on April 4.  

“Italian-style, everything happens slowly,” said Nick Metta, a lawyer for the law firm Studio Legale Metta , which has helped Americans relocate to Italy for decades. “Now there is a pipeline of people waiting just to file the application. It's been a long-awaited visa.” 

Most of Metta’s clients would previously apply for a student visa, which allowed them to work part time in Italy. 

Under the new visa, people will be able to work from Italy for one year, with the option to renew once their visa is due for expiration. Without a visa, U.S. travelers could only stay in Italy for up to 90 days without the ability to work.

Learn more: Best travel insurance

The launch makes Italy the latest European country to offer a digital nomad visa , which has already been available in Greece and Hungary. 

Here’s everything we know about the digital nomad visa for Italy:

Destinations behind a paywall? What to know about the increasing tourist fees worldwide.

Who can apply for a digital nomad visa in Italy?

According to the official decree , the visa is meant for those who “carry out a highly qualified work activity through the use of technological tools that allow you to work remotely.” 

The regulations define eligible applicants as “digital nomads,” self-employed freelancers, “remote workers,” or those employed by a company outside of Italy and can work from anywhere, according to Studio Legale Metta.

To qualify for the visa, the applicant has to meet certain requirements:

◾ A university or college degree or an accredited professional license.

◾ Six months of work experience in the industry, or five years for applicants without a university degree.

◾ An existing employment contract.

◾ A criminal record check.

◾ Proof of an annual income of 28,000 euros (about $29,880.06).

◾ Evidence of housing in Italy.

◾ Evidence of health insurance coverage.

Applicants can also apply to have family members join them on their Italian move, but the government has to give the final approval. 

How do I apply for the digital nomad visa in Italy?

Thankfully, Metta said the paperwork for the digital nomad visa isn’t “too complicated.” 

The first stop for interested applicants will be the Italian Consulate for their area. “Consulates are basically the front of the government to receive the applications,” Metta said. Interested applicants can book an appointment with the consulate and start gathering their necessary documents. People can also apply by mailing in their application. (However, Metta did mention consulate websites are often confusing and outdated, so working with a relocation service can make things easier.)

To apply, applicants will also need a passport with an expiration date at least three months after the end of the visa period and two passport-sized photos.

Relocation services can also help people navigate the sometimes complicated process of applying for a visa, such as negotiating early termination penalties with landlords in Italy. 

These services also help people with state and tax planning, especially if people own assets in the U.S., like a house. Once in Italy, people need to register their residency with the town hall, which will determine what sort of taxes they’ll pay. People can speak to an international tax specialist to figure out their future taxes as well. 

How much will the visa cost?

According to Studio Legale Metta, the application fee is 116 euros (about $123.78) per person.

How long will the application process take?

Not too long, actually. Metta estimates the process could take just three weeks if applicants are “well-organized and have all your tax documents filed.”

Kathleen Wong is a travel reporter for USA TODAY based in Hawaii. You can reach her at [email protected] .

The Very Best Things We Spotted at Milan Design Week 2024

From futuristic inflatables to topsy-turvy office furniture, here are just a few of the things that we’re obsessing over at design’s biggest party.

Delcourt Collection’s “Horses in My Dreams” Exhibition

One of my favorite things about coming to Europe for the furniture fairs is finding smaller scale work that’s perfect for apartment living. “Horses in My Dreams,” an exhibition of 15 new pieces from Delcourt Collection , stuck with me for offering the exact opposite. Visitors were greeted by a colossal cabinet that could, in a pinch, double as housing itself, and turned the corner to find an outsize pendant light hanging over a table occupying the square footage of a city-friendly terrace, all exquisitely hand-finished. An extensive range of fabrics is all done in-house as well and appeared on upholstered seating and a bed. My favorite was used on a series of folding screens that featured a pattern designed by founder Christophe Delcourt’s daughter, Iris. — Sean Santiago, deputy editor

Korean Craft at Rossana Orlandi

Curator Jooyeon Choi has created one of the most beautiful exhibitions at Milan Design Week, “Thoughts on Thickness,” focusing on Korean craft. The show is an exploration of materiality, from the resin wall sculptures of Yongkyoung Kim to Sekyung Lee’s surprising plates with elaborate designs made of human hair. A highlight is a pavilion devoted to tea, which features a wall-size folded paper landscape mural by Changwon Lee that cascades with tea leaves, infusing the room with their intoxicating scent. — Ingrid Abramovitch, executive editor

Allegra Hicks’s Metamorphosis Collection

Designer Allegra Hicks showed “Metamorphosis” at Nilufar Depot, an exhibition of six pieces that cleverly showcased her own crochet work by using it as a mold for cast-bronze lighting fixtures and tables. The idea was to connect what has historically been women’s work with the more masculine art of metalsmithing. While it’s a technique that can be seen in much of Hicks’s work, the sconces on view begged a second look. – S.S.

Ikea’s Pop-Up Dance Party

No surprise, the king of flatpack furniture knows how to throw a helluva pop-up. At Padiglione Visconti—a sprawling warehouse where sets and costumes for the Teatro alla Scala opera house are made—Ikea presented 1st, an installation that celebrates all the emotions that come with creating your first home. In addition to a labyrinth of vignettes celebrating Ikea’s latest launches (this fall, you can anticipate a collection of actually chic gaming furniture, plus updated versions of the Poäng chair and Klippon sofa), the venue featured a towering stack of scaffolding supporting a stage for discussions with various design luminaries (think Google’s Ivy Ross and Rossana Hu of the architect duo Neri&Hu). Come nightfall, however, the place transforms into a massive club with free performances from some of the hottest local artists in Milan, from hip-hop to Italo disco. Programming runs through Saturday, so if you’re still in town, pop on by and be prepared to get a little loose. —Anna Fixsen, deputy digital editor

Nifemi Marcus Bello’s Omi Iyo Collection

Designer and artist Nifemi Marcus-Bello has steadily been gaining attention for his sensitive, smart designs for domestic life, almost all of them made in his native Nigeria. For Milan Design Week, he brings back the poetic installation Omi Iyọ, which debuted during Miami Design Week last year and is now on view at the 5VIE space in Milan. Omi Iyọ , which came out of an encounter with an African refugee in Venice two years ago, is a living sculpture with a central shiplike form made of mirror-polished stainless steel. As viewers look on, locally sourced salt from Italy pours slowly from its center onto the platform below. Like a haunting hourglass of high design, it serves as a metaphor for the lives lost at sea in forced displacement, poignant in its first location in Miami and just as much so here in Milan. — Camille Okhio, senior design writer

Objects of Common Interest at Alcova

The ever active duo behind Objects of Common Interest , Eleni Petaloti and Leonidas Trampoukis are up to their necks in Milan-based design interventions this week. At Alcova, where they showed an outdoor inflatable fountain last year, their pavilion, or “garden house”—also inflatable—lends itself to the leisure of this year’s visitors. Like a bombolono split in half, it’s a much needed dose of levity and hilarity in what for many is the most hectic week of the year. If you’re in the mood for something more stable, there’s always the ceramics they designed with Bitossi Ceramiche, also at Alcova. And if you, like us, can’t get enough of these geniuses, they’ve installed an eggplant-hued room for retiring, Purple Nebula, inspired by celestial phenomena at Nilufar Depot that’s very much worth a stop in. —C.O.

Andromeda Collection by LSM Studio

Unifor, part of the Molteni Group, is known for designing chic, elevated office furniture, but its latest collection is so elegant, it can easily be used in residential contexts as well. Designed by longtime collaborators LSM Studio, the line includes a series of small side tables, a sideboard, a long table, seating and more. Seamlessly blending aluminum, chrome, and glass, each piece beautifully reflects its surrounding environment—an exercise in seamlessly blending open space with elegant design. The cherry on top was the installation at the brand’s showroom, executed by Studio Klass, which, outside, sets each piece on a tilted, circular platform. It emulates the Andromeda Theatre in central Italy, where Klass staged and photographed the pieces for Unifor, further demonstrating the collection’s versatility and impact. — Helena Madden, market editor

WKND Lab’s Knotted Creations at Alcova

At Alcova, Seoul-based design duo Eunji Jun and Halin Lee of WKND Lab offered a literal twist on an ancient tradition: Korean knot-making, or maedeup. These elaborately-tied objects are traditionally gifted as good luck charms. In WKND Lab’s interpretation, however, these braided tokens have been reinterpreted as soft, beautifully complex wall sconces, accessories, and even furniture, all braided from puffy cloth ropes. Jun and Lee describe their work as “functional art with material-driven narratives”—and this was one story we were thrilled to experience. —A.F.

Foscarini’s Habitus Lighting

Italian lighting has a long history of combining technology with handmade craft. For an exquisite installation at the Milan showroom of Foscarini, artist and designer Andrea Anastasio teamed up with Amal, an India and Rome-based firm specializing in embroidery for haute couture, to create a small capsule collection that feels like an art show. Anastasio designed lighting that combines LED with beading made by skilled artisans in India. Some pieces combine glass beads, aluminum and LEDs in a series with echoes of artist Dan Flavin. Another group veils LEDs under strings of colorful beads with black centers for an effect reminiscent of an eclipse. Foscarini calls the grouping “experimental” (translation: not for sale), but here’s hoping the company will see the light and put them into production. —I.A.

Squash Collection by Faye Toogood

Got curves? Poltrona Frau collaborated with British designer Faye Toogood for the first time this year, debuting a plump, playful collection at its sprawling showroom on Via Alessandro Manzoni. Offerings include an ottoman, side table, mirror, and rug, but it’s the voluptuous armchair that has us most excited. Its rounded silhouette feels almost like a contemporary take on Frau’s iconic Vanity Fair seat—further evidence of the brand’s continued relevance, even decades later. —H.M.

Limbo Accra at Alcova

True to its name, Limbo Accra is adept at inhabiting the in between. For its first presentation at Alcova, the Amsterdam and Ghana based design studio released an edition of 10 lacquered wood Euclid Stools. A meeting of East and West, past and present, the stool takes its name from Dante Alighieri’s Divine Comedy and acts as a symbol of the space a soul takes on its journey to the afterlife. It is transmorphic, appearing as an A-frame structure on one side, and on the other recalling the Savonarola chair, itself pregnant with meaning as the victim of the Inquisition it was named after. —C.O.

Milan Design Week 2024

ELLE DECOR Celebrates Its 35th Anniversary

David Lynch Unveils Surreal Salone Installation

A Gio Ponti Sofa Gets a Fresh Reissue

Meet the Artist Who’s Making Solar Panels Sexy

Missoni Took Over an Influencer’s House

The Ultimate Milan Restaurant Guide

Ralph Lauren’s Latest Home Launch Revs Its Engine

A Chic Person’s Guide to Shopping in Milan

Where a Milanese Tastemaker Eats, Shops and Sleeps

The 11 Best Hotels in Milan to Book in 2024

A Racist Exhibition Mars Milan Design Week

An official website of the United States government

Here’s how you know

Official websites use .gov A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS A lock ( Lock A locked padlock ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

U.S. Department of Commerce

• Press Releases

Was this page helpful?

U.s. secretary of commerce gina raimondo to travel to kenya to highlight important bilateral commercial relationship, burgeoning digital opportunities to advance u.s. and kenyan societies and economies, office of public affairs.

U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo will travel to Nairobi, Kenya from April 23 to April 25.  Secretary Raimondo will lead a delegation of private sector companies from the President’s Advisory Council on Doing Business in Africa (PAC-DBIA). She will highlight the U.S.-Kenya bilateral commercial and investment relationship and flourishing digital space in Kenya, and throughout Africa, that is helping to shape the world for the better and create exciting opportunities for partnerships with the United States. While in Nairobi, Secretary Raimondo will meet with Kenyan government officials, as well as trade and digital ministers from across Africa. She will also engage with U.S. and Kenyan private sector representatives and speak with women and youth leaders in science, technology and creative industries. The Secretary’s visit builds on the Department of Commerce-wide Africa strategy announced by Deputy Secretary Graves last fall at the AGOA forum in South Africa and underscores the enormous potential that comes with technological advances to support our societies and economies to address global challenges.

HALO Space unveils capsule design for stratospheric space 'glamping'

A Spanish balloon company plans to begin flying paying space tourists in 2026

LONDON — Stratospheric balloon company HALO Space plans to offer aspiring space travelers the space tourism equivalent of glamping. Instead of tight space suits and stomach-churning G-forces typically attached to a rocket flight, the company's pressurized capsule, attached to a helium-filled balloon, will offer comfy swivel seats, giant windows and a selection of fine cuisine.

The Spanish-headquartered firm unveiled the design of the 3.9-ton (3.5 metric tonnes) Aurora capsule at an event in London on Wednesday, April 10, and said it hoped to begin commercial operations in 2026. 

Unlike suborbital space tourism companies such as Virgin Galactic and Blue Origin , HALO Space won't be taking passengers high enough to experience weightlessness . The flight will be a rather leisurely affair lasting up to six hours, almost four of which will be spent hovering in the stratosphere some 22 miles (35 kilometers) above Earth's surface. There, high above the cloud tops, passengers will be able to admire the star-studded blackness of space above, as well as the curvature of the planet shrouded in the atmosphere beneath their feet.

Related: Space Perspective is nearly ready to fly tourists on luxury balloon rides near the edge of space (exclusive)

"When you talk to astronauts, they tell you that this experience of watching the planet from above is really something unique and extraordinary," HALO Space CEO Carlos Mira said in the press conference. "So far, only 650 humans have had the opportunity to experience this overview effect. But you don’t need to go all the way to space to have it. We hope to offer this experience to 1,000 people by 2030."

HALO Space is one of two companies currently readying its balloon technology to begin commercial operations in the next two years. The other is Florida-based Space Perspective, which revealed a completed test model of their Spaceship Neptune in February. HALO Space said they have conducted five test flights with a mockup and plan to take off for the first crewed test in 2025 before commencing flights with paying passengers a year later. 

Both companies hope their propositions will attract a wider customer base than the jerky rocket rides of Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic, which propel daredevil clients on short joy rides to the edge of space and back. Reaching an altitude nearly three times higher than stratospheric balloons, Virgin Galactic and Blue Origin's spacecraft experience several-minute-long spells of microgravity before falling back to Earth . 

Get the Space.com Newsletter

Breaking space news, the latest updates on rocket launches, skywatching events and more!

At $164,000 per seat, a trip with HALO Space will cost about a third of the price of a Virgin Galactic flight and won't require any advanced medical certifications. 

"The take-off will be like being in an elevator," said Mira. "The ascent is soft and gentle, climbing at 12 miles per hour."

The 16-foot-wide (5 meters) and 11.5-foot-tall (3.5 m) capsule will be made of aluminum alloy and composite materials. With an internal space of 30.4 square feet (2.8 square meters), the spaceship could host eight paying passengers, plus a pilot. The internal atmosphere will be maintained by a life-support system similar to that of an aircraft. Yet despite this crammed interior and the extreme environment outside the capsule, passengers should still feel perfectly comfortable and able to relax.

"It's meant to be a sort of a glamping experience," Frank Stephenson, creative director and founder of Frank Stephenson Design who led the design work said at the conference. "It's a high-level experience for these people who are used to flying first class rather than economy."

Stephenson, who had previously worked for high-end car makers including BMW, Ferrari, Maserati and McLaren, said the biggest challenge was keeping the capsule light enough so that it can be safely lifted by the balloon while still making sure every aspect of the interior lives up to the expectations of passengers. 

“It's very easy to add weight to things and make it super comfortable," Stephenson said. "It's more difficult to reduce weight, reduce material and still make it feel like a very unique experience."

When fully inflated, the stratospheric balloon will be 460 feet (140 meters) tall, towering over the gleaming space capsule. The balloon is designed to detach from the capsule during descent. The capsule will then be brought down to a landing under a steerable parachute. Mira said the balloon technology is inherently safer than rockets loaded with explosive fuels. It also produces no greenhouse gas emissions, making the experience 100 percent compliant with the most stringent environmental protection standards.

—  Space Perspective wants to take tourists on balloon rides to the stratosphere

—  Space Perspective partners with Exclusive Resorts for balloon rides to the stratosphere

—  Space Perspective starts selling seats for balloon rides

"We are using mature technologies," said Mira. "Balloons in general have been around for more than 200 years. This type of balloon, stratospheric balloons, have been around for almost 100 years. The first human went to the stratosphere on a balloon in 1931."

HALO Space plans to fly from spaceports in the Mojave Desert in the U.S., Spain, Australia and Saudi Arabia. The company is currently working with the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration to receive a license before its first crewed flight next year.  

Join our Space Forums to keep talking space on the latest missions, night sky and more! And if you have a news tip, correction or comment, let us know at: [email protected].

Tereza is a London-based science and technology journalist, aspiring fiction writer and amateur gymnast. Originally from Prague, the Czech Republic, she spent the first seven years of her career working as a reporter, script-writer and presenter for various TV programmes of the Czech Public Service Television. She later took a career break to pursue further education and added a Master's in Science from the International Space University, France, to her Bachelor's in Journalism and Master's in Cultural Anthropology from Prague's Charles University. She worked as a reporter at the Engineering and Technology magazine, freelanced for a range of publications including Live Science, Space.com, Professional Engineering, Via Satellite and Space News and served as a maternity cover science editor at the European Space Agency.

Mysterious dark matter may leave clues in 'strings of pearls' trailing our galaxy

Dark energy could be getting weaker, suggesting the universe will end in a 'Big Crunch'

'Devil Comet' 12P/Pons-Brooks reaches peak brightness tonight. Here's how to see it

Most Popular

• 2 Cosmonaut Muhammed Faris, first Syrian in space, dies at 72
• 3 This Week In Space podcast: Episode 107 — Mars Sample Return Blues
• 4 Lego Star Wars Millennium Falcon (2024) review
• 5 Those magic minutes during April 8's solar eclipse brought me to tears