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Tourism, information technologies and sustainability: an exploratory review

Gössling, Stefan LU (2016) In Journal of Sustainable Tourism
Abstract
Considerable attention has been paid in recent years to the fundamental changes in the global tourism system related to the emergence of information technologies (IT), and, specifically, the rise of social media. Opportunities to search travel-related information, to reserve and book, evaluate and judge; to receive travel advice and to communicate one's mobility patterns have all profoundly changed the practices of performing tourism, with concomitant repercussions for the management and marketing of businesses and destinations. This paper provides a discussion of the implications of these changes for the sustainability of the global tourism system. Based on an exploratory research design, key changes in the tourism system are identified... (More)
Considerable attention has been paid in recent years to the fundamental changes in the global tourism system related to the emergence of information technologies (IT), and, specifically, the rise of social media. Opportunities to search travel-related information, to reserve and book, evaluate and judge; to receive travel advice and to communicate one's mobility patterns have all profoundly changed the practices of performing tourism, with concomitant repercussions for the management and marketing of businesses and destinations. This paper provides a discussion of the implications of these changes for the sustainability of the global tourism system. Based on an exploratory research design, key changes in the tourism system are identified and discussed with regard to their environmental, socio-cultural and psychological, as well as economic significance. The paper concludes that IT affects the tourism system in numerous and complex ways, with mixed outcomes for sustainability: while most changes would currently appear to be ambivalent – and some outright negative – there is considerable potential for IT to support more sustainable tourism. Yet, this would require considerable changes in the tourism system on global, national and individual business' levels, and require tourism academics to probe many new issues (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Information technology, social media, reservation platforms, sustainable tourism
in
Journal of Sustainable Tourism
publisher
Routledge
external identifiers
  • scopus:84959048216
ISSN
0966-9582
DOI
10.1080/09669582.2015.1122017
language
English
LU publication?
yes
additional info
Published online: 25 Feb 2016
id
962a6696-4b80-44c5-8f97-b1a7ffffb2c1 (old id 8834307)
date added to LUP
2016-04-01 10:19:45
date last changed
2023-01-02 03:30:54
@article{962a6696-4b80-44c5-8f97-b1a7ffffb2c1,
  abstract     = {{Considerable attention has been paid in recent years to the fundamental changes in the global tourism system related to the emergence of information technologies (IT), and, specifically, the rise of social media. Opportunities to search travel-related information, to reserve and book, evaluate and judge; to receive travel advice and to communicate one's mobility patterns have all profoundly changed the practices of performing tourism, with concomitant repercussions for the management and marketing of businesses and destinations. This paper provides a discussion of the implications of these changes for the sustainability of the global tourism system. Based on an exploratory research design, key changes in the tourism system are identified and discussed with regard to their environmental, socio-cultural and psychological, as well as economic significance. The paper concludes that IT affects the tourism system in numerous and complex ways, with mixed outcomes for sustainability: while most changes would currently appear to be ambivalent – and some outright negative – there is considerable potential for IT to support more sustainable tourism. Yet, this would require considerable changes in the tourism system on global, national and individual business' levels, and require tourism academics to probe many new issues}},
  author       = {{Gössling, Stefan}},
  issn         = {{0966-9582}},
  keywords     = {{Information technology; social media; reservation platforms; sustainable tourism}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  publisher    = {{Routledge}},
  series       = {{Journal of Sustainable Tourism}},
  title        = {{Tourism, information technologies and sustainability: an exploratory review}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09669582.2015.1122017}},
  doi          = {{10.1080/09669582.2015.1122017}},
  year         = {{2016}},
}