The Importance of Smart Technologies in Tourism Businesses. Toward Metaverse and Tourism Data Space

The topic of smart tourism businesses is so far under-researched. Smart tourism businesses are the critical element of the smart tourism ecosystem; however, little is known about technology adoption and data sharing to strengthen their smart approach. The chapter aims to analyze the importance of smart technologies in hospitality and catering facilities, travel agencies, cable car businesses, and sport and recreational facilities for enhancing tourist experience and performance of the business. It also analyzes data collection and sharing in tourism businesses. The chapter comprehensively analyzes the smart tourism concept from the business perspective. The chapter uses quantitative and qualitative research methods. Based on the classification of technologies on stimulating extra-sensory, hyper-personalized, and beyond-automation experiences, the chapter outlines future directions on the use of the metaverse in tourism businesses. Moreover, the research identifies that the participation of businesses in the tourism data space can reduce the barriers to data sharing among businesses.