Digitalization of the Alternative Tourism Marketspace: Evidence from an EU Peripheral Economy

Abstract

Tourism development has a significant contribution to the sustainable development of countries and regions through job creation, infrastructure development, cultural preservation, community empowerment, and revenue increase. Within this context, digitalization in the different facets of the tourism marketspace is a powerful tool that promotes competitiveness and economic growth, sustainability, innovation, and regional coherence. Digitalization also calls for the industry actors to have meaningful integration of novel technologies and practices in their operations and strategy. Despite the importance of digital technologies as a competitive antecedent for hospitality ventures, the extant research is mainly anchored on digital marketing and its associations with traditional mass tourism activity. Evidence on other facets of digitalization is far less appreciated, especially in the niche segment of the alternative tourism marketspace. Considering the above developments, our research aim is to assess the contribution of a digital business ecosystem, including a wide array of digital applications, to the competitiveness of the hospitality industry in Greece, with a focus on alternative tourism activities. Our research draws on data collected from a sample of local ventures to investigate the impact of digital technologies on tourists’ attraction and company growth. In the main, our findings record the positive impacts of digitalization, with internet-based technologies standing out as the most influential medium to boost growth and hotels’ sustainability. We contribute by showing that in cases where hospitality ventures remain digitally illiterate, they will most probably face severe competition losses.