A ten-year review analysis of the impact of digitization on tourism development (2012–2022)

Abstract

Many tourism-related activities have been suspended due to the nationally enforced lockdown to combat the Coronavirus pandemic. The tourism industry suffered immensely from the lockdown, and as a result of this, digital tourism began gaining traction and attracted public attention. This study analyses the impact of digitalization on the social and economic sustainability of the tourism industry via systematic literature network analysis. The findings indicated that digitalization impacts economic sustainability, encompassing economic benefits in tourism product development, tourism consumption, and industrial development. Moreover, digitalization fosters social development, cultural awareness, and tourism participation in digital technology and cultural heritage. This study identified publication trends and research hotspots using bibliometric analysis, and it was confirmed that Sustainability was the top journal in published digital and tourism sustainability-related articles, followed by the International Journal of Tourism Research, Tourism Management, and Current Issues in Tourism. This study resulted in two implications: identifying the knowledge gap and evidence-based decision-making based on the (previous) literature. Recommendation for future research is also discussed in this study, which is helpful to policymakers, tourism planners, and researchers to develop strategies grounded in research.