This special issue focuses on this transformative role of technology, particularly of AI and related big data approaches and theory-development and application possibilities, in destination marketing and management (Bulchand-Gidumal et al., 2023; Murphy et al., 2021). The special issue will emphasize the broader spectrum of transformative technologies including, but also reaching beyond, AI. Current developments in AI provide a fantastic opportunity to explore technology-driven transformations in destinations. We seek to understand how these technologies disrupt traditional models and pave the way for new forms of destination marketing and management (Sorokina et al., 2022). Our focus extends to the implications of technologies like live-streaming, gaming, and the metaverse in destination representation and marketing, the evolving role of destination marketers in the era of AI, and the integration of technology into organizational structures for successful destination management. We also welcome papers that build on the analysis of complex big data generated in smart destinations by means of AI in order to provide valuable insights for destination management. We invite researchers to submit papers that critically discuss and evaluate relevant past studies on these topics, consider institutions and industrial entities in the digital transformation of destinations, debate ontological and ethical aspects of technological transformation, examine the values of stakeholders and researchers and their impact on technological change, embrace diversity and alternative world views, analyze how destination marketing and management organizations (DMOs) can integrate these technologies in their operations, and provide creative perspectives to advance the field (Gretzel et al., 2020; Reinhold et al., 2022).
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Guest editors:
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Special issue information:
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Tourism is at a major crossroads. Destinations must simultaneously meet the triple bottom-line of sustainability (profit, planet, people), generate business opportunities and economic benefits, improve the well-being of residents, and attract high-value tourists while dealing with increased competition, labor shortages, geo-political uncertainties and security risks, and a number of other challenges. Digital technologies, especially artificial intelligence (AI), are expected to play a key role in helping destinations address these increasingly complex demands.
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In fact, technology is already transforming destination marketing and management in profound ways. This special issue focuses on this transformative role of technology, particularly of AI and related big data approaches and theory-development and application possibilities, in destination marketing and management (Bulchand-Gidumal et al., 2023; Murphy et al., 2021). Specifically, the special issue seeks to explore how these technologies are integrated into destination governance, marketing activities, management processes, and experimental offerings. At the same me, it also aims to explore potential barriers to and drawbacks arising from technology-driven transformations.
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Scope and Focus
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This Special Issue builds on and continues the Special Issue on Digital Destinations published in the Journal of Destination Marketing & Management in 2017 (Volume 6, Issue 2).
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To do so, this special issue will emphasize the broader spectrum of transformative technologies including, but also reaching beyond, AI. Current developments in AI provide a fantastic opportunity to explore technology-driven transformations in destinations. We seek to understand how these technologies disrupt traditional models and pave the way for new forms of destination marketing and management. Our focus extends to the implications of technologies like live-streaming, gaming, and the metaverse in destination representation and marketing, the evolving role of destination marketers in the era of AI, and the integration of technology into organizational structures for successful destination management (Sorokina et al., 2022). We also welcome papers that build on the analysis of complex big data generated in smart destinations by means of AI in order to provide valuable insights for destination management. We invite researchers to submit papers that critically discuss and evaluate relevant past studies on these topics, consider institutions and industrial entities in the digital transformation of destinations, debate ontological and ethical aspects of technological transformation, examine the values of stakeholders and researchers and their impact on technological change, embrace diversity and alternative world views, analyze how destination marketing and management organizations (DMOs) can integrate these technologies in their operations, and provide creative perspectives to advance the field (Gretzel et al., 2020; Reinhold et al., 2022).
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Submissions that challenge current assumptions and provide forward-looking, multidisciplinary, and critical perspectives are especially welcome. We also welcome conceptual papers that go beyond case studies, reflecting the nexus of academic-industry perspectives. The submissions should consider practical implications for destination CEOs, COOs, CMOs, and other stakeholders so that the practice of destination marketing and management can be taken forward through research.
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Contributions should not be based on case studies that are not replicable outside of very specific circumstances. Descriptions of specific applications of AI algorithms and systems without theoretical implications should also be avoided.
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References
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Bulchand-Gidumal, J., William Secin, E., O’Connor, P., & Buhalis, D. (2023). Artificial intelligence’s impact on hospitality and tourism marketing: exploring key themes and addressing challenges.Current Issues in Tourism, 1-18.Gretzel, U., Fuchs, M., Baggio, R., Hoepken, W., Law, R., Neidhardt, J., Pesonen, J., Zanker, M., & Xiang, Z. (2020). e-Tourism beyond COVID-19: a call for transformative research. Information Technology & Tourism, 22, 187-203.Murphy, J., Gretzel, U., & Pesonen, J. (2021). Marketing robot services in hospitality andtourism: the role of anthropomorphism. In Future of Tourism Marketing (pp. 16-27).Routledge. Reinhold, S., Beritelli, P., & Laesser, C. (2023). The 2022 consensus on advances indestination management. Journal of Destination Marketing & Management, 29,100797.Sorokina, E., Wang, Y., Fyall, A., Lugosi, P., Torres, E., & Jung, T. (2022). Constructing asmart destination framework: A destination marketing organization perspective.Journal of Destination Marketing & Management, 23, 100688
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