The Impact of Blockchain Technology Adoption on Tourism Industry: A Systematic Literature Review

Abstract

The current COVID-19 pandemic has led to the acceleration of the digitization process and to a shifting to Industry 4.0. Blockchain (BC) is one of the technologies that has been introduced worldwide in recent years. It has been beneficial for the tourism industry, in addition to many other sectors. This article investigates the advantages and disadvantages of BC adoption in the tourism industry, as well as the possible solutions to overcome the challenges. This paper conducts a systematic literature review (SLR) that consists of the operations for detecting, selecting, categorizing, and analyzing relevant articles on a specified subject. It is evident from the results that the majority of the academic works illustrate the benefits of BC implementation and explain its potential by providing diverse models of BC-based systems. However, since BC is a young technology, numerous challenges have appeared on the path to its full adoption in the tourism industry. Possible solutions are the achievement of a collaborative approach among the stakeholders, the deepening of academic research in the field, testing more models of BC-based systems, and the establishment of relevant policies. Consequently, the implications for the theory, practice, policy, and research of this work are significant.

Generation Z, tourism and hospitality: the legacy of COVID-19

“…This improvement can also guarantee and certify the sanitation of the structures, facilitate social distancing, favour guest traceability and other measures and make people free to enjoy their vacations with clear information (Monaco, 2021;Morrone et al, 2021). Moreover blockchain technology has been introduced in this framework (Rana et al, 2022) and a strategic evolution is referred to information and communication technologies (ICT) for smart proposals (O'Connor, 2023). Another positive aspect of the introduction of what above mentioned is related to the achievement of a more sustainable image too (Kordha et al, 2019), reducing operating costs through service automation (Sudhagar, 2019) or ensuring competitiveness and long-term success (Romano et al, 2014).…”

How blockchain technology generates a trust-based competitive advantage in the wine industry: a resource based view perspective

“…Some researchers assert that the benefits of BCT are related to its ability to achieve a high level of transparency regarding food contents and origins and increase consumers’ trust in food companies (Dolgui et al , 2018; Hobin et al , 2017). However, the ability of the management of firms in the food supply chain to use BCT efficiently should not be ignored (Valeri and Baggio, 2020), nor should the importance of partnership and collaboration (Adamashvili et al , 2020; Rana et al , 2022). Indeed, as some researchers emphasise, factors that support BCT adoption include the technical skills of employees, financial resources and government policies (Kim and Kim, 2019; Su and Tan, 2020; Zeng et al , 2021).…”

Digital transformation in tourism: bibliometric literature review based on machine learning approach

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