Leveraging inter-tourists interactions via chatbots to bridge academia, tourism industries and future societies
| Type of publication: | Article |
| Citation: | |
| Journal: | Journal of Tourism Futures |
| Year: | 2021 |
| Month: | August |
| URL: | https://www.emerald.com/insigh... |
| DOI: | 10.1108/JTF-01-2021-0009 |
| Abstract: | Purpose – The tourism and hospitality sectors are experiencing radical innovation boosted by the advancements in Information and Communication Technologies. Increasingly sophisticated chatbots are introducing novel approaches, re-shaping the dynamics among tourists and service providers, and fostering a remarkable behavioral change in the overall sector. Therefore, the objective of this paper is two-folded: (1) to highlight the academic and industrial standing points with respect to the current chatbots designed/deployed in the tourism sector and (2) to develop a proof-of-concept embodying the most prominent opportunities in the tourism sector. Design/methodology/approach – This work elaborates on the outcomes of a Systematic Literature Review (SLR) and a Focus Group (FG) composed of experts from the tourism industry. Moreover, it presents a proof-of-concept relying on the outcomes obtained from both SLR and FG. Eventually, the proof-of-concept has been tested with experts and practitioners of the tourism sector. Findings – Among the findings elicited by this paper, we can mention the quick evolution of chatbot-based solutions, the need for continuous investments, upskilling, system innovation to tackle the eTourism challenges and the shift toward new dimensions (i.e. tourist-to-tourist-to-chatbot and personalized multi-stakeholder systems). In particular, we focus on the need for chatbot-based activity and thematic aggregation for next-generation tourists and service providers. Originality/value – Both academic- and industrial-centered findings have been structured and discussed to foster the practitioners’ future research. Moreover, the proof-of-concept presented in the paper is the first of its kind, which raised considerable interest from both technical and business-planning perspectives. |
| Keywords: | chatbots, Industry focus group, Social chatbots, Tourism academia, Tourism industry, Virtual Assistants |
| Authors | |
| Added by: | [] |
| Total mark: | 0 |
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