Big data in action: An overview of big data studies in tourism and hospitality literature

Abstract

Tourism research has marched into the big data arena and brought remarkable developments. Despite the promising role of big data and increasing volume of research, it is worth noting that current big data research in the tourism and hospitality field is rather vague or insufficient, particularly from the perspectives of its philosophical grounding, methodological approaches, and implications. This article aims to provide a comprehensive review of big data research from the tourism and hospitality literature. A content analysis of 146 big-data-related articles identifies the research and methodological trends in these fields. The findings reveal that big data have expanded the scope of tourism research. It offers useful and practical knowledge for destination, hotel, revenue, and reputation management. However, big data research is rather limited in methodologies, and there is a need for more solid theoretical and philosophical footings for significant knowledge generation.