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Tourism destinations are always seeking new and innovative ways to better market tourism offerings and increase tourism revenues. This paper seeks to highlight a future tourism marketing trend through the use of virtual environments (VE) backed by Distributed Ledger Technologies (DLT's) such as Blockchain. VE is the umbrella term referring to virtu...
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... technology is immutable, transparent, and increases trust which allows for quick, transparent solutions that can either be public or private (Underwood, 2016: 15). The Institute of Development Studies (IDS) (2017: 1) identifies in Table 1 the differences between traditional ledgers with the Blockchain. According to Zheng et al., (2017: 3) Blockchain is enabled by integrating several core technologies such as cryptographic hash, digital signature and a distributed consensus mechanism. ...
Citations
... The increasing number of tourists in the island is related with phenomena of overtourism which combined with the climate crisis threaten the prosperous local tourism industry [1], [2], [3]. The advances in the information and communication technologies as well as in virtual reality (VR) and in augment reality (AR) have facilitated the development of a new type of tourism, the virtual tourism (VT) [4], [5], [6], [7], [8], 9], [10]. The development of VT in Crete can help in the mitigation of the undesired impacts of overtourism and climate crisis on the local tourism industry. ...
... They mentioned that these technologies can create different tourism activities providing added value to tourists. The future in tourism trends focusing on VR has been studied [7]. The authors stated that virtual reality technologies are used in digital marketing while tourism has started to use these technologies. ...
The island of Crete, Greece has plenty of extremely beautiful natural landscapes and rich historical and cultural monuments which attract tourist from all over the world. The island is a popular tourism destination worldwide hosting millions of tourists annually while its tourism industry is prosperous. The current technological progress in virtual reality allows the development of virtual tourism complementarily to traditional physical tourism. The development of virtual tourism in Crete has been studied using SWOT analysis identifying its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. SWOT analysis assists in developing the best strategy for the future management of virtual tourism in the island. Taking into account the challenges that the tourism industry faces nowadays regarding overtourism and climate crisis the development of virtual tourism in Crete complementing physical tourism might mitigate these challenges. The present work could be useful to policy makers and to stakeholders of the prosperous tourism industry in Crete who should develop a strategic plan for the promotion of virtual tourism in the future enriching the tourism product offered to potential visitors.
... According to the protocol used in this research, the first articles on BCT in tourism were published in 2018 (Mofokeng and Matima, 2018a;Mofokeng and Matima 2018b;Önder and Treiblmaier 2018). The number of articles increased from 3 in 2018 to 24 in 2023. ...
Blockchain is an emerging technology, and despite the growing literature on the topic, research on the use of blockchain in the tourism and hospitality industry is still fragmented. Therefore, further research is needed to explore blockchain’s applications, benefits, and obstacles from the perspective of businesses and consumers. This article aims to systematically review the extant blockchain-related literature and understand how this technology can be applied to optimise tourism and hospitality products and enhance tourist experiences. Following PRISMA guidelines, 98 peer-reviewed articles were deemed relevant to this study through a search in Scopus and Web of Science platforms. As a result of mapping research on blockchain in tourism and hospitality industry using Bibliometrix, a framework focused on applications, benefits and obstacles was developed. Findings can be used as a guide by researchers to advance the topic, as well as by stakeholders and policymakers in the field. Managers in tourism and hospitality should understand how to incorporate blockchain in businesses better, and policymakers should endeavour to develop clear regulations, especially for cryptocurrency use, which can lead to an increase in the adoption of blockchain in tourism and hospitality companies.
... Pilkington (2017) examined the application of blockchain technology in Moldova's medical tourism sector, discussing its practical implications for supply chain management, customer reviews, and heritage protection within the context of medical tourism. Mofokeng and Matima (2018) investigated the adoption of blockchain technology in virtual environments for digital tourism marketing, revealing that its application in virtual reality (VR)-based tourism could positively impact the industry. Willie (2019) recommended that discussions on blockchain technology adoption be extended to the destination level, noting that blockchain has already been implemented in the hotel industry for both strategic and practical purposes, with significant benefits including increased operational efficiency, effectiveness, and overall profitability. ...
The integration of Industry 4.0 (I4.0) technologies has significantly transformed the tourism industry. Additionally, the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the adoption of I4.0 technologies in this sector. However, there is limited evidence on how specific I4.0 technologies, such as blockchain, support the tourism industry, particularly in the post-pandemic era. This review seeks to provide insights into emerging research trends that incorporate blockchain technology into the tourism sector. To achieve this, a systematic literature network analysis (SLNA) was conducted, combining a systematic literature review (SLR) with bibliometric analysis. The analysis was based on a corpus of 163 studies published from 2017 to 2024, sourced from the Scopus database, and was carried out using the Biblioshiny tool in R-studio. The findings indicate that blockchain technology has gained popularity in recent years, with most research focusing on developed economies, while there is a notable gap in studies from emerging and developing economies. Tourism practitioners should consider the results of this study from multiple perspectives to enhance their current and future operations and strategies. This study introduces several novel areas, particularly concerning methodology and research context. The innovative SLNA approach was used to review blockchain applications in the tourism industry, though the study was limited to this sector. Future research could explore related topics, such as cryptography, ecosystems, and technology adoption, which are still developing in this and other fields.
... At the time of the first marketing, virtual reality technology received a lot of attention until similar products developed such as HTC, VIVE, and others (Reer et al., 2022). Not only from the industry, academics have also conducted many studies that utilize VR technology in various fields as evidenced by the increase in publications in that year both in the health sector (Dennis and Patterson, 2020;Dyer et al., 2018;So et al., 2019;Tang et al., 2020), tourism (Kim and Hall, 2019;Mofokeng and Matima, 2018), and education (Aebersold, 2018;Mallam et al., 2019;Rosemary, 2016). The peak frequency of publications occurred in 2020 with a total of 106 papers. ...
This study aims to conduct a bibliometric analysis of the use of virtual reality in science education over three decades (1993–2023). The method involved data from Google Scholar-indexed publications using Publish or Perish with keywords related to “virtual reality” and “education” over the past 3 decades. Nine hundred and eighty-six publications were obtained with a total of 131,130 citations with an average of 133 citations/paper and 4371 citations/year. The collected data were then screened to ensure its quality. Next, VOSviewer software was conducted to perform co-authorship and co-occurrence analysis. The results of the co-authorship analysis showed that there were 164 authors eligible to be visualized and divided into 88 clusters, indicating a high level of collaboration among authors in this field. Co-occurrence analysis shows that “virtual reality” has an occurrence of 696 in cluster 5 and “science education” is only 16 in cluster 2 with word networks formed only on the words “virtual reality,” “education,” and “field.” This study emphasizes the need for better VR in science education and more research on its impact on students’ science literacy. It outlines VR usage trends in scienceeducation, informing future studies. The findings particularly highlight the importance of investigating VR’s effectiveness in formal educational settings.
... According to Mofokeng et al. (2018), virtual reality (VR) refers to a computergenerated simulation of three-dimensional settings that allows users to engage with them in a manner that is perceived as authentic or palpable. This contact is enabled through the use of head-mounted displays that are equipped with sensors. ...
... The Australian Airline Qantas' VR Tours of Destinations: The Australian airline Qantas has included a VR experience in a few of its lounges. VR headsets may be used by travellers to take virtual tours of Australian locations while they wait for their flights, which would help them plan their trips and motivate them to see more of the country [49]. ...
Recent technological advancements have transformed the dynamics of interpersonal interaction and communication, creating novel avenues for engagement between companies and consumers. Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) have become pivotal innovations, offering individuals innovative tools to navigate this evolving landscape. The tourism and travel industry has notably embraced these immersive technologies. This study independently aims to explore the applications of AR and VR in tourism marketing, drawing insights from diverse sectors such as hotels, restaurants, applications, and tourism providers in Türkiye and globally. Through a comprehensive literature review, the study elucidates key concepts. Two cases, Dedeman İstanbul Hotel and Marriott International Hotels, were examined using a qualitative research approach focusing on case study analysis. The effectiveness of AR and VR technologies in promoting travel has been evaluated. These selected case studies, analyzed through inductive reasoning, serve to illustrate the varied and impactful use of AR and VR technologies in tourism marketing.
... With these tools, virtual-related technology could capture and depict cultural heritages and become more accessible to a wide range of tourists. This method is vital to conserve and maintain the nature of cultural heritages, especially in inaccessible or no longer existing areas (Beck et al., 2019;Sussmann & Vanhegan, 2000), conservation of tourism resources, application to archaeological tourism (Jude & Ukekwe, 2020) and environmentally sustainable tourism solutions (Mofokeng & Matima, 2018;Wiltshire & Clarke, 2017;Zirbes, 2021). Visualization with previously mentioned tools can support urban planning and sustainable development (Grecea et al., 2016;Talwar et al., 2022). ...
Technology is a crucial part of the tourism industry; supporting businesses with daily operations, while improving customer experiences. Virtual reality (VR) has garnered considerable attention as an emerging technology with the potential to bring about substantial transformations in the tourism industry. Consequently, the concept of virtual tourism has emerged as a contemporary and contentious issue, generating diverse discussions. In the context of tourism digitalization and the growing trend of virtual tourism, a review for exploring the state of the art of this new kind of tourism is essential. This study employed systematic and narrative reviews to explore research domains and highlight an up-to-date insight into the current state of research on virtual tourism. Based on performance mapping and intellectual mapping, keywords and clusters analysis were implemented to explore the current state of research on virtual tourism and suggest some implications for future research agenda. The five clusters included (1) Visualization with computer graphics in cultural heritages; (2) Tourism issues, COVID-19, and virtual reality technology; (3) Virtual reality technology and application in tourism; (4) Virtual tourism characteristics and user experience; and (5) Cyber tourism, internet and information technology. Some implications for future research agenda had been introduced through the analysis of bibliographic coupling depicted by visualization of similarities (VOS) viewer application.
... Based on a bibliometric analysis conducted by Guo et al. (2021), future research should concentrate, apart from others, on blockchain technology. In this context, it is argued by Mofokeng and Matima (2018) that virtual reality-based tourism activities, capable of utilizing distributed ledger technologies, can positively affect the tourism industry and may provide additional revenue in this field. As a result, cryptocurrencies related to tourism and travel are gaining momentum. ...
In this work, the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the major tourism-related cryptocurrencies is investigated. More precisely, the variable lag causality is used, to test whether data related to the pandemic and more precisely, confirmed cases and lockdown stringency index, cause the cryptocurrencies from the field of tourism. Then, a possible long-run relationship is tested, employing the multifractal detrended cross-correlation analysis, and finally, a time-varying regression model through a Bayesian framework is structured. According to the results, the COVID-19 pandemic had a diverse impact, of different magnitude, on the tourism-related cryptocurrencies for the years of the pandemic examined. This paper is the first to examine the impact of the pandemic on tourism, through the financial performance of the relevant cryptocurrencies related to this sector, also comparing the various years of the pandemic.
... However, the existing AR technologies that can benefit the tourism industry have received less attention in the Africa research agenda. The majority of studies on virtual world and tourism in Africa such as Jude and Chike (2020); Lekgau et al. (2021); Mofokeng and Matima (2018) have focused on virtual tourism with virtual reality in Nigeria and South Africa. Hence, more studies are needed in other African countries. ...
... International Journal of Advanced Virtual Reality (2021); Mofokeng and Matima (2018) have been conducted in South Africa and covered mainly virtual tourism and virtual reality. The projection on the importance of AR has an upward trend worldwide as indicated by Statista (2021). ...
This paper aims to explore the virtual world and television advertising of tourism destinations with insights from Africa. The continent of Africa experienced lock-downs and travel restrictions due to the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) global pandemic which affected the tourism sector of many countries. Tanzania did not have a lock-down during the entire COVID-19 global pandemic hence the advantage over other African countries to the extent of being elevated to a middle-income country. Whilst there were positive effects of the pandemic, the negative effects tremendously reduced tourist numbers in destinations. However, existing technologies in the virtual world that can benefit the tourism industry such as Augmented Reality (AR) have received less attention in the Africa research agenda. To expand the scope of AR, this paper specifically explored AR technologies and television advertising of tourism destinations in the context of Tanzania. A literature review method with content analysis is used as methodology approach. The findings have shown that there are opportunities of AR in relation to television advertising of tourism destinations which include the ability to integrate AR technologies with television advertising of tourism destinations. The practical implication is for tourism stakeholders to consider the use of AR technologies to sustain television advertising of tourism destinations.
... Crypto tokens can promote the competitiveness of the tourism and hospitality sector (Erceg et al., 2020) by supporting sustainability (Nunkoo et al., 2021) and the ethical development of their goals (Nuryyev et al., 2020;Tham & Sigala, 2020;Tyan et al., 2020) especially for SMEs and small island economies (Kwok & Koh, 2019). As a strategic tool for poverty reduction through economic activities (Barrutia et al., 2019), the technology and crypto-wildlife nonfungible tokens (NFTs) can act as an alternate source of funding, mainly to boost SMEs or microenterprises (Mofokeng & Matima, 2018b). ...
... H. S. Liu & Dong, 2022;Volgger et al., 2018). In terms of disciplinary orientation, studies focused on BCT led smart mobility and intelligent transport systems (Ahmad & Shah, 2021;Karger et al., 2021;Tyan et al., 2020), tourism value chain use cases (Thees et al., 2020), disintermediation of online travel agencies (OTAs) and tour operators (TO) such as medical tourism facilitators (MTF) (Butt et al., 2022;Parekh et al., 2021;Tyan et al., 2021), travelers' perception and adoption of cryptocurrency (Treiblmaier et al., 2021), sustainable or ethical tourism for economic growth of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and small island economies (SIEs) competitiveness (Kwok & Koh, 2019;Nuryyev et al., 2020;Tham & Sigala, 2020), initial coin offerings (ICOs) and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) as an alternate source of fund-raising (Mofokeng & Matima, 2018a, 2018b, organizational, institutional and technological adoption barriers in hospitality (Filimonau & Naumova, 2020), overall applications and drawbacks of technology in the sector (Kizildag et al., 2020;Treiblmaier, 2021a). ...
Owing to its unparalleled transparency and disintermediation characteristics, blockchain technology has a huge potential to transform the tourism and hospitality industry. Airlines and hotel companies are now turning to blockchain for its multifaceted applications, yet its holistic value realization in the sector is far from reality. The existing literature in terms of theoretical and methodological underpinnings concerning blockchain technology integrated Smart Tourism 4.0 remains limited and fragmented across its lifecycle. With a structured, systematic literature review approach, the study aims to conduct an in-depth review of 56 selected papers obtained from a specific search criterion employed across widespread repositories of Scopus, Web of Science, and EBSCOhost databases, capturing the period from Jan 2012 to May 2022. The study identifies critical research gaps in technology awareness, particularly around the maturity index for a BCT-integrated digitized business model. The emerging themes based on the primary focus areas are summarized and extended further to provide future research directions on the basis of theory, context, and method (TCM) framework. To advance the readers’ understanding to the next level, a few case examples of linked theory, context and methodology are also provided.
由于其无与伦比的透明度和非中介化特征，区块链技术具有巨大的潜力来改变旅游业和酒店业. 航空公司和酒店公司现在正转向区块链, 以实现其多方面的应用, 但其在该领域的整体价值实现远未实现. 关于区块链技术集成智能旅游4.0的理论和方法基础方面的现有文献在其整个生命周期中仍然有限且支离破碎. 该研究采用结构化、系统的文献综述方法, 旨在对从Scopus、科学之网和EBSCO宿主数据库的广泛存储库中采用的特定搜索标准获得的56篇论文进行深入审查, 涵盖2012年1月至2022年5月这段时间. 该研究确定了技术意识方面的关键研究差距, 特别是围绕BCT集成数字化业务模型的成熟度指数. 基于主要关注领域的新兴主题被进一步总结和扩展, 以在理论、背景和方法(TCM)框架的基础上提供未来的研究方向. 为了将读者的理解提升到一个新的层次, 还提供了一些相关理论、背景和方法的案例.
