Abstract
As one of the most interactive economic activities, tourism has improved significantly since the Internet allowed customers (travelers) to look for and create their trips without the need to go to a travel agency. Through the development of Internet marketing, tourists are able to receive information in real-time and view them on the screens of their devices (computers, laptops, mobile phones or tablets), and consequently they can create their own content and share it with others. Due to this development, we are witnessing a new phenomenon, so-called app capitalism, in which companies like Uber and Airbnb make money on services and goods they do not own and finding new business models in the tourism sector which enable customer-to-customer models. To be able to respond to these changes, the tourism industry needs to bring together knowledge, money, and technology for the purpose of creating new business models. The development of technology in all social spheres, including tourism, has provided a strong tool for consumers in terms of both acquiring and disclosing information to others. One of the rapidly growing technologies which is also one of the cutting-edge technologies entering tourism is blockchain. Blockchain technology captured worldwide attention in 2017 and its implementation has been revolutionizing various industries (e.g., retail, healthcare, tourism). The aim of this paper is to analyze the potential of the tourism industry in terms of blockchain implementation. Blockchain technology provides significant benefits to the tourism industry since its implementation can help increase competitive advantage, improve customer satisfaction and enhance performance. In this paper, the authors present the current situation in the Republic of Croatia and the Republic of Macedonia regarding the use of blockchain technology in the tourism industry. The main findings of this paper comprise the detection of key areas regarding why blockchain technology is not implemented in the tourist industry, and what processes should be handled. By presenting a case study of the implementation of blockchain technology in tourism, the authors analyze the potential of using blockchain technology in the tourism industry and discuss topics for further research.
Highlights
The tourism industry represents one of the main sectors in worldwide economic development.The definition of tourism that is accepted in most of the countries is the one proposing that tourism comprises the activities of persons travelling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes not related to the exercise of an activity remunerated from within the place visited [1]
The main goal of this paper is to investigate the application of blockchain technology in the tourism industry and to check if tourism companies in Croatia and Macedonia are considering its use for their everyday operations
This paper presents the research conducted on the use of blockchain technology in the tourism industry in Croatia and Macedonia
Summary
The tourism industry represents one of the main sectors in worldwide economic development.The definition of tourism that is accepted in most of the countries is the one proposing that tourism comprises the activities of persons travelling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes not related to the exercise of an activity remunerated from within the place visited [1]. The tourism industry represents one of the main sectors in worldwide economic development. In 2018, the total tourism industry contribution to the world economy was 8.8 trillion USD [2], which represents 10.4% of the global Gross. It is important to state that, in this report, the World Travel and Tourism. Today’s tourism is characterized by improving quality as well as a variety of services, all of which are a consequence of the omnipresence of media and readily available modern technologies. Colombo and Bagiio stated that the tourism sector needs to combine technology, knowledge, and money for building innovative and new platforms to satisfy the customer (traveler) needs [4]. The tourism industry will change soon by means of digitalization, which will be triggered by shifting demands and requirements of travelers in relation to tourism products and services [5]
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