The Changing Landscape of Tourism - The Impact of New Technologies and AI

The use of new technologies in tourism has always been an intriguing topic. What we used to consider a luxury in tourism, such as air conditioning, is now a standard feature in hotels. Today, we can see technology as something that future passengers and all other stakeholders will rely on heavily. Artificial intelligence (AI) is booming again, as it is back at the center of discussions with the popularity of ChatGPT, a chat bot.

It is worth reminding that technology has completely revolutionized the travel and vacation experience in recent years. Airplane and hotel bookings are almost like trading on the stock market, subject to gamification. Travelers keep track of ticket, hotel, and other tourist attraction prices to make purchases at the right time and price. Additionally, companies have atomized their services to charge extra for various options added to the base price of the service. This has been accompanied by a shift in payment methods, such as credit cards and increased tokenization, which is accompanied by the popularization of cryptocurrencies with younger audiences.

These trends are especially evident in upcoming targets, such as multi and hyper worlds that are sure to come, and younger audiences will ultimately be natives. For those who follow discussions on the use of technology in tourism, it is clear that mobile phones have dominated the media space since 2018. Mobile phones have given travelers much better control over their trips, from travel planning and accessing additional travel and destination information to sharing social content with others.

Moreover, mobile phones have enabled travelers to stay in constant contact with their loved ones, romantic partners, and work. The pandemic reality has resulted in trends such as digital nomads who combine travel and remote work due to the development of technology. With social media, data are available immediately, allowing travelers to follow eulogies and criticisms in real-time, as well as restaurant information and recommendations, and instructions on how to get to the beach and other key information

Domagoj Bebić is a associate professor of Strategic Communication and New Media Linkedin: Domagoj Bebić