Book Review: Future of Tourism Marketing edited by Seongseop (Sam) Kim and Dan Wang (Routledge; 1st Edition (15th June 2021); Pages: 128)

Abstract

The rapid emergence and vast adoption of information and communication technologies (ICT) have transformed tourism marketing strategies from a conservative, static marketing model to an emerging, transformative conception. The transformative power of ICT has created a paradigm shift in the tourism industry by providing an opportunity for tourism service providers and tourists to co-create value. Moreover, recent technological developments have paved the way for new markets, product/ service innovations, management practices, and competitive strategies, thus forming a complex socio-technical tourism ecosystem. Meanwhile, postmodern, digitally savvy tourists expect tourism service providers to be more active in digital platforms. Consequently, a burgeoning research stream has started looking into these new developments, capabilities, and changes driven by ICT advancement in the tourism and hospitality industry in recent times. Moreover, to better understand and anticipate these fundamental changes, novel theoretical lenses, approaches, concepts, themes, and even research methods have emerged lately. Future of Tourism Marketing, edited by two renowned contemporary tourism scholars, Seongseop (Sam) Kim and Dan Wang, adds to this growing research stream by emphasizing how ICT developments have revolutionized conventional tourism marketing strategies. The reviewer used the academic approach as applied by Gamage (2021) and Peiris et al. (2020) in reviewing this book.