Applications of New Technologies in Tourism Activities

Dear Colleagues,

Tourism is a relevant contributor to the gross domestic product (GDP) and the development of economies of countries (Yuce, 2020). It plays a key role at promoting sustainability under certain management frameworks (Tussyadiah and Miller, 2019). New technologies enable the growing development of tourism, making it easier to create services for the tourism industry that focus on generating value for tourists. At the same time, new technologies help to improve the efficiency and automation of the processes of the tourism industry (Buhalis and Amaranggana, 2014; Hew et al., 2017). The most recent technological advances have led the tourism industry to adopt new technologies. Accordingly, information on tourists´ behaviors and preferences in their adoption is a relevant input for decision makers. Therefore, it is required to study new technologies from a tourist perspective to understand their needs and thus ensure the successful implementation of new technologies by the tourism industry. Additionally, it is relevant to analyze the usage of new technologies by the tourism industry. Further, technological advances offer solutions to ensure socioeconomic and environmental sustainability (Tussyadiah and Miller, 2019) and new challenges during the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) and later.

This Special Issue is mainly aimed at investigating the effects of new technologies in the tourism context analyzed from the point of view of consumers and/or the tourism industry. Examples of topics for this Special Issue might be new technologies in the tourism context such as big data, Internet of Things (IoT), blockchain, cloud computing, virtual reality, social media, collaborative economy, e-commerce, mobile commerce, mobile payment systems, social commerce, chatbots, robots, voice-activated virtual assistants such as Alexa and Apple Siri, or the role of these technologies in preserving heritage in cultural tourism. Quantitative and qualitative methodologies together with original theoretical contributions are welcome to this Special Issue. Multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary approaches are encouraged in this Special Issue.

Prof. Dr. Elena Carvajal-Trujillo
Prof. Dr. David Castilla-Espino
Guest Editors

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