The primary objective of this theme issue is to analyze global tourism trends reshaped in the post-COVID-19 era through a multidimensional perspective and to reveal the strategic impacts of these changes on the future of the tourism industry.
To gain a deep understanding of the complex and dynamic nature of global tourism trends, this theme issue predominantly employs qualitative research methods, including bibliometric analyses, semi-structured interviews focusing on participant experiences, content analyses of user-generated content on digital platforms and case study designs. A thematic synthesis approach was employed to identify recurring patterns, cross-cutting themes and strategic insights across the diverse case studies and bibliometric data in order to synthesize the findings of the 13 research papers.
The findings indicate that in a rapidly changing world, the tourism sector must adapt to these shifts by diversifying tourism types to achieve a competitive advantage. Specifically, stakeholders must account for evolving tourist preferences and demands, aligning the operations of destinations and tourism businesses with smart tourism technologies amidst increasing digitalization. Furthermore, there is a strategic necessity to rationally leverage social media, which offers superior marketing opportunities.
The originality of this work lies in its holistic future projection, which integrates concepts of technological innovation (AI, digitalization) and human-centered experiential tourism (spirituality, ethnic cuisine, solo travel) – elements that are typically treated independently in literature. It provides a chronological context that spans from the post-pandemic transformation of the tourism industry to the niche markets of the future. More importantly, it serves as a unique reference for tourism academics, policymakers and industry professionals on how to achieve competitive advantage in a digitalizing world while preserving human and cultural fabric.
