PurposeThe aim of this paper is to analyze the interrelationship between factors conducive to rural tourism development. This touristic segment has enormous potential but still lacks consistent means and measures to ensure rural tourism's holistic development in India.Design/methodology/approachThe study identified 14 factors, of which nine are from the literature review and five are from interaction with the experts, which influence rural tourism development. The research design comprises three segments, i.e. identifying factors from the literature and expert opinion, conducting interviews with the academic experts and managers, and analyzing the responses recorded. Interpretive structural modeling (ISM) technique is used to determine the interlinkage between the factors and develop a hierarchical relationship.FindingsThe results indicate that infrastructure development, growing environmental conscience, support of local government and community, availability of funds with the government and participation of the private sector are the primary factors channelizing rural tourism development. Also, attitudes of locals to adapt, tourist travel motives, marketing of the destination, destination characteristics and recommendation by others are the major dependent factors identified. The findings broaden the knowledge on suitable channels for rural tourism development and provide vital information for the formulation of flexible strategies for developing rural tourism in India.Originality/valueThis paper's originality lies in providing information to clarify the relationships between factors conducive to rural tourism development, an area where limited research has been done.

This study aims to carry out a systematic review of the literature on the impact of technology in the tourism industry and its application in rural tourism research to serve the objective of socio-economic development. Research articles were selected from journals indexed in Scopus, Web of Science, or those that are listed in the Australian Business Deans Council or University Grants Commission – Consortium for Academic & Research Ethics list. This study provides a summarized conclusion of research trends undergoing rural tourisms area while simultaneously highlighting the themes and areas that could be addressed through the tourism industry. This study tries to establish a link between the use of technology and the development of the rural tourism industry. Also, it concludes that the use of technology has evolved the way that rural tourism could be conducted. Furthermore, it has opened up ways to use rural tourism as a means to solve existing socio-economic challenges in society. This study is new and it certainly adds to the value of researchers and academicians working in this domain by providing them with research areas that require a thought to ponder upon.

The aim of the present study is to identify the factors that propel tourism industry to opt for digitalization and establish a hierarchical relationship among them. The paper further seeks to address how digitalization impacts various stakeholders in tourism industry. Also, various challenges that are arising in course of digitalization in tourism industry are identified and suggestions have been made to resolve these issues. The study makes use of interpretive structural modelling (ISM) to develop a strategic framework related to digitalization in the industry. MICMAC (cross-impact matrix multiplication applied to classification) analysis is used to identify the nature of the factors identified in the framework developed. The results of strategy adopted conclude that customer demand for digitalization, growing essence of sharing economy and presence of social media are important contributors to the enhancement of digitalization in tourism industry. The study highlights the implications for the strategy makers as the outputs from ISM di-graph will allow them to identify and focus more on factors driving the digitalization system and address the various shortcomings in the process effectively.

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Every aspect of the tourist experience has been transformed and automated due to the recent development and application of advanced technology like Artificial Intelligence and robotic services. Tourism and hospitality have seen tremendous changes due to the transformation brought about by the growth of information and communication technologies (ICT). This article will review current research and literature on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and robotics use in hotels and hospitality. The study will majorly centre on three filed of AI and automation applications. First, it explores the present position and current application of artificial intelligence and automation like robotics research in daily modern contemporary society, showcasing their use in each sector of the tourism and hospitality sectors; secondly, it analysed the Artificial intelligence and robotics impact on employment and job opportunities, consumers, and as well as businesses and society at large. Lastly, it examines the possible future trends of AI and robots in the tourism and hospitality sector to see what advantages or dangers may be derived from their use.