scholarly journals Use of machine learning technology for tourist and organizational services: high-tech innovation in the hospitality industry

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Omar Parvez
Keyword(s):  
Machine Learning ◽  
Hospitality Industry ◽  
Current Trend ◽  
Tourism Industry ◽  
High Tech ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Learning Technology ◽  
Quality Of Data ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Customer Services

Purpose Technological innovation has been changing the tourism industry precipitously and making the holiday experience more enjoyable and easier than before. The purpose of this study is to identify the current and future changes by the machine learning (ML) system as artificial intelligence in the hospitality industry. Design/methodology/approach This study has a descriptive research approach because building knowledge on technology and applying this knowledge to a tourism research are still new extensions in social studies, especially in tourism. Findings This research shows the value of using ML in the quality of data, features and algorithms besides stating the difficulties of data analysis in hospitality. This research also provides a comparison of automated ML techniques and the use of a robot for customer services in the hotel. Originality/Value This research contributes to the tourism and technology literature by shedding light on the use of ML in tourism advancement to predict future business conditions, revenue, challenges and also to identify the current trend of tourist demand.

scholarly journals Building tourism-resilient communities by incorporating residents’ perceptions? A photo-elicitation study of tourism development in Bruges

2017 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 127-143 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katarzyna Janusz ◽  
Sofie Six ◽  
Dominique Vanneste
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Context ◽  
Current Trend ◽  
Tourism Industry ◽  
Photo Elicitation ◽  
Quality Data ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Visual Methods ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Resilient Communities ◽  
Historical Center

Purpose In a current trend of a growing amount of short city trips, it becomes crucial to understand how local residents perceive the presence of tourists and tourism in their cities and how their socio-cultural context influences those perceptions. The purpose of this paper is to contribute to this understanding which will enable the city planners to take actions to create the well-balanced and resilient communities in which the needs of residents and tourists are equally met. Design/methodology/approach To understand residents’ perceptions’ about tourism in Bruges, this research applied photo-elicitation interviews with 28 residents who lived in various locations in the historical center to understand socio-cultural background of residents, their tourism-related concerns and whether they are in line with what is commonly perceived as problematic in Bruges. Findings Results show that as long as residents can benefit from tourism and tourism-related infrastructure, they support tourism. On the other hand, tourism decreases the liveability of the historical center due to supersession of infrastructure serving the residents by tourist-oriented amenities. Practical implications To build a sustainable and resilient city in the future, the authorities of Bruges should cease further “museumification” of the historical city by breaking the hegemony of tourism industry, providing affordable housing and rethinking the concentration model of tourism. Originality/value The photo-elicitation method proved to produce rich content and good-quality data by stimulating respondents’ memories and evoking experiences and emotions. Thus, this paper recommends that future research about residents’ attitudes is developed around visual methods as they give voice to the residents and are able to uncover issues which are difficult to capture with other methods.

The Israeli travel and tourism industry faces COVID-19: developing guidelines for facilitating and maintaining a nuanced response and recovery to the pandemic

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Joshua Schmidt ◽  
Alex Altshuler
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Context ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Risk Mitigation ◽  
Supply And Demand ◽  
Economic Benefits ◽  
Tourism Industry ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Travel And Tourism ◽  
The Government

Purpose This paper aims to discuss how the tourism industry is contending with the economic and interorganizational challenges wrought by the COVID-19 outbreak and heightened by a lack of communication between the government and local businesses in the state of Israel. The researchers examine the dependency of the tourism industry on the general preparation programs that were developed and are currently being deployed by the relevant national stakeholders and question whether instead, it should use the pandemic as a catalyst for formulating its own nuanced tourism-travel-and-hospitality-oriented strategies and procedures. Design/methodology/approach Applying an ethnographic-based mix-methods research approach, this paper draws on insights from data compiled by fusing existing theoretical and emerging practical knowledge with empirical research (qualitative and quantitative) conducted among numerous relevant macro (governmental/centralized industry) and micro (hotels, travel and tourism operators and service providers) stakeholders as well as potential consumers. Findings It is essential that national and local government bodies form collaborative interorganizational relationships with local stakeholders to jointly activate case-specific hospitality and travel-specific risk mitigation management strategies. Moreover, the pandemic laid bare the tentative and fragile nature of the globalized tourism industry supply and demand chains, a condition that may be remedied via a pivot toward using national or even regional supply chains and goods and service providers. Within Israel, such changes could lead to increased economic benefits that extend beyond the tourism industry to provide certain security-related benefits. Originality/value Relating to idiosyncratic factors relevant to an Israeli cultural context, this paper uses the ethnographic field-borne familiarity of the researchers with the tourism and travel industries in Eilat and the Dead Sea to offer applicable suggestions for leveraging certain industry resources to both meet the demands of the present-day circumstances and cultivate a multifaceted organizational web of macro and micro social, economic and environmental networks so as to foster a more diversified and therefore resilient local tourism and travel economy.

Customer engagement and value co-creation/destruction: the internal fostering and hindering factors and actors in the tourist/hotel experience

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Clement Nangpiire ◽  
Joaquim Silva ◽  
Helena Alves
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Hospitality Industry ◽  
Document Analysis ◽  
Tourism Industry ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Customer Engagement ◽  
Analysis Framework ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Depth Interviews ◽  
Practical Implications

PurposeThe customer as an active and engaged value co-creator raises new challenges for theory and practice, especially in the hospitality industry. However, the connection between engagement and co-creation is little studied in the hotel/tourism literature. This paper proposes a connection between customer engagement (CE) and value co-creation frameworks to ascertain and depict the internal actors' activities and factors that foster or hinder guests' co-creation and destruction of value.Design/methodology/approachThe researchers used qualitative methods (35 in-depth interviews, document analysis and four observation sessions) in seven regions of Ghana to explore the customer's perspective. Data were analyzed with NVivo11 within a thematic analysis framework.FindingsThe findings suggest that positive and negative engagement fosters or hinders guests' interactions, which lead to value co-creation or destruction. The research also discovered that negative interactions occasioned by any factor or actor trigger value destruction at multiple stages of the experience journey.Practical implicationsIndustry players can use the framework developed to assess their businesses, explore and reflect on the proposed value they aim to generate, and thus be more aware of how they can better facilitate value co-creation with their consumers and avoid value destruction.Originality/valueThis research proposes a novel connection between customer interactions, engagement and value co-creation to ascertain and depict the internal actors' activities and factors that foster or hinder customers' experience in the hotel/tourism industry.

Is there such a thing as feminine leadership? Being a leader and not a man in the hospitality industry

2019 ◽  
Vol 31 (7) ◽  
pp. 2970-2993 ◽  
Author(s):  
Basak Denizci Guillet ◽  
Anna Pavesi ◽  
Cathy H.C. Hsu ◽  
Karin Weber
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Leadership Styles ◽  
Women Executives ◽  
Hospitality Industry ◽  
Selection Process ◽  
Tourism Industry ◽  
Women In Leadership ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Leadership Orientations ◽  
Hospitality And Tourism Industry

Purpose The purpose of this study is to examine and discuss whether women executives in the hospitality industry in Hong Kong adopt a feminine, masculine or gender-neutral approach to leadership. Design/methodology/approach This study focuses on women with positional power in senior-level leadership roles within the hospitality and tourism industry in Hong Kong. A qualitative approach was taken to capture the multiple dimensions of these female executive’s leadership orientations. The participants included 24 women executives. Findings Participants’ representations show that women have a multitude of leadership styles that operate on three continua. Not all women executives display leadership orientations that adhere to their indigenous culture values. Individual differences or differences related to the organizational culture are still relevant. Research limitations/implications A low number of women in leadership positions in Hong Kong limited the selection process of participants. There might be a selection bias based on that the participants volunteered to participate in the research study and some declined. Findings are based on participants’ memory to reflect on their leadership styles. Originality/value Because of the traditional and conventional definitions of leadership, women leaders might feel that they should behave in a masculine way to be taken seriously as a leader. There is a need to understand whether women executives today manage to defeat these stereotypes and comfortably display a feminine approach to leadership. A culture that values and leverages feminine approaches in addition to masculine approaches is likely to have higher engagement and retention of women.

Can all sectors of the hospitality and tourism industry be influenced by the innovation of Blockchain technology?

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 112-120 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Willie
Keyword(s):  
Hospitality Industry ◽  
Tourism Industry ◽  
General Introduction ◽  
Operational Effectiveness ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Blockchain Technology ◽  
Technology Applications ◽  
Hospitality And Tourism Industry ◽  
Industry Sectors ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose This paper aims to provide a general introduction to Blockchain technology and how it can be used within the global hospitality industry. In particular, this paper speaks to three industry sectors where Blockchain technology is currently in use. Design/methodology/approach This paper draws on the perspective of an academic who also continues to serve as an industry practitioner within the field of hospitality technology. To this end, the paper provides several examples as to how Blockchain technology can be used to further advance the hospitality profession within a number of different industry sectors. Findings Blockchain technology is being used now within the hospitality industry for both practical and strategic purposes. It can be used in most sectors of the profession and will continue to be used within the hospitality industry for many years ahead. The technology is still relatively new and will continue to become more advanced and sophisticated with the passage of time. Practical implications Many hospitality industry examples are provided as to how Blockchain technology can be used to improve operational effectiveness, efficiencies and overall profitability. Originality/value This paper adds value and contributes to the literature relating to Blockchain technology applications in the international hospitality industry. It represents current and future use that can and should be taken into consideration by both the hospitality industry and academia.

Prospects of the fourth industrial revolution for the hospitality industry: a literature review

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 479-494
Author(s):  
Benjamin Appiah Osei ◽  
Neethiahnanthan Ari Ragavan ◽  
Henry Kofi Mensah
Keyword(s):  
Literature Review ◽  
Hospitality Industry ◽  
Industrial Revolution ◽  
Tourism Industry ◽  
Service Industries ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Fourth Industrial Revolution ◽  
Hospitality And Tourism ◽  
The Impact

Purpose The economy of today has moved toward the fourth industrial revolution (FIR), which is characterized by the adoption of technologies such as cyber-physical systems, internet of things, big data, artificial intelligence and robotics. Globally, there is a lot of awareness created on the influence of the FIR on all industries, including hospitality and tourism. A plethora of studies on FIR have been conducted in the setting of manufacturing industries. Nonetheless, there seems to be in-exhaustive and non-consensual agreement among researchers as to the development and prospects of the FIR for service industries. Therefore, the aim of this paper was to comprehensively review the prospects of the FIR for the hospitality and tourism industry. Design/methodology/approach As a result of the novelty and gaps associated with the FIR in the hospitality literature, the authors explored the concept of FIR using a comprehensive literature review approach. Specifically, this paper reviews existing literature from diverse academic backgrounds, and annotates issues with regard to the evolution and prospects of the FIR for the hospitality industry. Findings Emphatically, the development and principles of FIR were expatiated. Additionally, an exegesis was carried out on the prospects (positives and challenges) of FIR for the hospitality industry. Finally, practical and social implications were also discussed. Originality/value It still remains a discourse among scholars and industry stakeholders as to the prospects of the FIR. This paper clarifies the confusion among researchers and bridges the literature gaps. Moreover, this review serves as a theoretical foundation for future research on the impact of FIR on the hospitality industry.

scholarly journals The future of health tourism in the industrial revolution 4.0 era

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian Kee Mun Wong ◽  
Sarah Alia Sa’aid Hazley
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Real Time ◽  
Industrial Revolution ◽  
Digital Health ◽  
Current Trend ◽  
Tourism Industry ◽  
Healthcare Industry ◽  
Health Tourism ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Future

Purpose The technological advances in the Industrial Revolution (IR) 4.0 era escalate the advancement of the healthcare industry, including the health tourism phenomenon. Based on the current trend in connected health care (e.g. mobile healthcare technology; digital health, etc.), this paper aims to propose that the distance between healthcare providers around the globe and its potential patients can be vastly reduced to almost on a real time basis. Design/methodology/approach A secondary literature review is conducted to identify the key development of IR 4.0 technologies in the healthcare industry and its possible trend leading the health tourism sector. Findings The adoption of IR 4.0 technologies is expected to make seeking treatments overseas more affordable, accessible and health records readily available on a real-time and secured basis. However, it is worth to note that the growth of health tourism raises the eyebrows of society from the security, social and economic perspectives. Originality/value This paper contributes to our understanding that the emergence of IR 4.0 technologies changes the landscape of the health care and health tourism industry. Continuous technology advancement is expected to further shape the future trend and escalate the commercialization aspect of the health tourism industry.

Rise of the machines: towards a conceptual service-robot research framework for the hospitality and tourism industry

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (12) ◽  
pp. 3835-3851
Author(s):  
Glenn McCartney ◽  
Andrew McCartney
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Conceptual Framework ◽  
Hospitality Industry ◽  
Tourism Industry ◽  
Service Robot ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Hospitality And Tourism ◽  
Tourism And Hospitality Industry ◽  
Hospitality And Tourism Industry ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose This study aims to introduce a conceptual framework for service robot (SR) acceptance by customers, employees and policymakers – a framework to help determine corporate decision-making on SR workplace integration. Design/methodology/approach This study reviews SR adoption literature within the tourism and hospitality industry. These SRs may have some level of artificial intelligence capability and possibly anthropomorphic (e.g. humanoid) or zoomorphic (e.g. animal-like) features, contingent on task and design choices. The study then identifies factors that potentially influence employee and consumer acceptance and experiences of SR, as well as policy and compliance factors and all elements of the corporate decision-making process concerning SR adoption in the hospitality setting. Findings This paper reviews the obstacles and benefits of SR adoption in the hospitality industry based on employee, consumer and public policy considerations. Research limitations/implications SRs are increasingly deployed within hospitality and tourism settings. Future studies should further explore the value-adding functions of SRs implemented in existing hospitality operations. Practical implications Hospitality and tourism industry practitioners should integrate the dimensions in the conceptual framework to make fully informed decisions on SR adoption. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is one of the first studies to provide a holistic SR adoption framework offering theoretical and practical implications for ongoing SR research and implementation.

scholarly journals COVID-19: potential effects on Chinese citizens’ lifestyle and travel

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jun Wen ◽  
Metin Kozak ◽  
Shaohua Yang ◽  
Fang Liu
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Hospitality Industry ◽  
Travel Behaviour ◽  
Tourism Industry ◽  
Consumption Patterns ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Future ◽  
Tourism And Hospitality Industry ◽  
Tourism And Hospitality ◽  
Chinese Travellers

Purpose The 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak is projected to have adverse consequences on the global tourism and hospitality industry. This paper aims to examine how the outbreak may alter Chinese tourists’ lifestyle choices, travel behaviour and tourism preferences in the short and long term. Design/methodology/approach This paper is based on the synthesis of news broadcasted by several media outlets to be supported by an overview of the related literature on tourism marketing, tourism management and tourist behaviour. The authors’ experiences investigating trends in tourism and hospitality at the local and international level have also contributed to the study. Findings This paper predicts that COVID-19 will likely affect Chinese travellers’ consumption patterns, such as the growing popularity of free and independent travel, luxury trips and health and wellness tourism. New forms of tourism including slow tourism and smart tourism may also drive future tourism activities. Such changes are likely to force businesses to reconsider their service designs and distribution channels. Research limitations/implications While Chinese and other potential visitors rethink how they travel, professionals, too, should reflect upon how to bring positive or negative changes to the tourism industry following this pandemic. Subsequent research should also consider how to mitigate the effects of similar public health crises in the future. Practical implications Recommendations for industry practitioners and policymakers focus on tailoring travel arrangements to tourists’ backgrounds. The suggestions may help to alleviate outbreak-related stress, offer travellers newly enriching experiences and partially mitigate the effects of COVID-19 on the tourism and hospitality industry. These recommendations can also apply more broadly to global tourist markets. Social implications The COVID-19 outbreak has already brought significant impacts to nearly every society and industry. Tourism scholars and practitioners should carefully consider this tragedy and how it may inform industry and social practices. This and other public health crises represent sterling opportunities to view the industry holistically in terms of its effects on the environment, climate and travellers themselves. Originality/value This paper presumably represents a frontier study, critically examining the possible impacts of COVID-19 on Chinese travellers’ consumption patterns and how the tourism and hospitality industry may respond to such changes in the future.

Understanding travellers’ reactions to robotic services: a multiple case study approach of robotic hotels

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kadir Çakar ◽  
Şehmus Aykol
Keyword(s):  
New Technologies ◽  
Service Industry ◽  
Tourism Industry ◽  
Human Robot Interaction ◽  
Customer Engagement ◽  
High Tech ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Social Distancing ◽  
Study Approach ◽  
Hospitality And Tourism Industry

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate travellers’ behaviour and examine their reactions to high-tech hotels offering robotic services to customers. Design/methodology/approach Data were gathered from user-generated content within the context of a qualitative research method by analysing the online narratives of travellers at TripAdvisor who visited robotic hotels. Data analysis was realised through content analysis, which revealed various themes and categories of traveller behaviour and reactions to technology. Findings Results show that robotic services significantly improve the quality of service offered to travellers, while positively affecting travellers’ intention to revisit robotic hotels within the context of customer engagement behaviours. Research limitations/implications The results of the present research reveal that the introduction of new technologies in the service industry, such as the robotic butler, can have considerable effects on guest behaviour and attitudes. This field has emerged as a new sub-dimension of customer engagement. Practical implications The use of robots will most likely enhance experiences through interaction between customers and robots. Additionally, in cases where social distancing is required, the use of robots in the hospitality and tourism industry may increase the mobility of people wishing to travel by applying social distancing through use of robots in services. Originality/value The study contributes to the extant literature by identifying the concept of adoption as a sub-dimension deriving from human–robot interaction, thus generating the novelty of the research.

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