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Digital Divide in E-Tourism

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Handbook of e-Tourism

Abstract

The digital revolution and the widespread use of information and communication technologies (ICT) have empowered information management to enhance the social and economic impacts of tourism worldwide. The digital divide is one of the competitiveness issues currently facing tourism organizations and destinations, affecting their capacity to interact effectively in a global tourism environment. Generally understood as a phenomenon of unequal distribution of information, the digital divide can lead to digital and social exclusion, as certain groups of tourists and destinations are unable to participate in the opportunities emerging from the use of the Internet and ICT. In this chapter, we discuss the two most important conceptual models used to interpret the digital divide and the barriers to tourism competitiveness it presents for different territorial areas, from the perspective of both supply and demand. Given that the digital divide has important implications for tourism organizations and destinations, we review the main indicators, tools, and instruments used to measure this phenomenon, as well as the strategies and recommendations employed to minimize it. Finally, we discuss new research approaches to the digital divide, especially those that focus on the link between digital technology, tourism inequalities, and connectivity.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/IT.NET.USER.ZS Accessed Oct. 15 2020.

  2. 2.

    The Digital Readiness Score was developed to holistically measure a country’s level of digital readiness; its seven components determine digital readiness: basic needs, human capital, ease of doing business, business and government investment, start-up environment, technology infrastructure, and technology adoption.

  3. 3.

    The Network Readiness Index measures how likely countries are to exploit the opportunities offered by information and communication technologies; this index is based on 4 “pillars” (technology, people, governance, and impact), 12 sub-pillars, and 62 indicators.

  4. 4.

    The ICT Readiness pillar comprises eight indicators: ICT use for business-to-business transactions, Internet use for business-to-consumer transactions, individuals using the Internet, broadband Internet subscribers, mobile telephone subscriptions, mobile broadband subscriptions, mobile network coverage, and quality of electricity supply.

  5. 5.

    International Telecommunication Union (ITU 2018): In 2017, the largest reductions in price of the mobile-cellular basket were recorded in Africa, and Asia and the Pacific saw the lowest prices for the mobile-cellular basket.

  6. 6.

    Alliance for Affordable Internet (A4AI 2019): Low-income countries increased their affordability scores three times as much as middle-income countries, on average. As a group, low-income countries saw a 15.6% increase in their Affordability Drivers Index score from 2018 to 2019: This compares to 4.5% and 5.1% for lower-middle and upper-middle-income countries, respectively.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Economics and Business, Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain

    Francesc González Reverte & Pablo Díaz Luque

Authors
  1. Francesc González Reverte
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  2. Pablo Díaz Luque
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Pablo Díaz Luque .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Hospitality and Tourism Management, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA, USA

    Zheng Xiang

  2. Department of Tourism Studies and Geography, Mid Sweden University, Östersund, Sweden

    Matthias Fuchs

  3. Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Ulrike Gretzel

  4. Department of Business Informatics, University of Applied Sciences Ravensburg-Weingarten, Weingarten, Germany

    Wolfram Höpken

Section Editor information

  1. The Howard Feiertag Department of Hospitality and Tourism Management, Pamplin College of Business, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, USA

    Zheng Xiang

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Reverte, F.G., Luque, P.D. (2021). Digital Divide in E-Tourism. In: Xiang, Z., Fuchs, M., Gretzel, U., Höpken, W. (eds) Handbook of e-Tourism. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-05324-6_109-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-05324-6_109-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-05324-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-05324-6

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