Sustainable independent tourism: the role of the information and communication technologies

Abstract

This paper focuses on the role of information and communication technologies (ICT) in the sustainable independent tourism and hospitality. Moreover, it attempts to identify emerging trends in tourism of the 21st century. Nowadays, tourism has become more independent on large travel agencies and package tours and this transition has been caused by the development of Internet and information technologies. Most recently, the rise of the sharing economy had an array of important implications for the tourism sector with such digital platforms as Uber, Airbnb, Gett, Lyft, TripAdvisor, Expedia or Booking.com replacing the traditional ways to travel. Surely, independent tourism is not for everyone and might be restricted to small groups of people. However, it is crucial for sustainable development in tourism and hospitality sector due to the fact that it can replace massive tourism and limit the extent of overtourism in many popular destinations.