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Tourism 4.0

Every industrial revolution, marked by technological innovations and technical progress, ushers in a new era, profoundly disrupting the social and economic sphere, habits and ways of life.

Since the beginnings of tourism in the 16th century, technological innovations have brought about a revolution in social practices, including tourist practices and forms of tourism.

This first chapter traces the different (r)evolutions of tourism to date and paves the way for reflection on the future (r)evolutions expected in the 21st century in light of the latest digital technological innovations, such as artificial intelligence (AI) and the technologies of so-called Industry "4.0", "5.0" or even "6.0". Given the fact that tourism is the world's leading industry, it is both fascinating and thrilling not to know which paths it will take and where it will lead us in the face of socio-technical changes.

This chapter also aims to present the concept of Tourism 4.0 and to examine its economic and social implications.

1.1. Tourism revolutions

In this first section, I trace the changes in the tourism industry throughout the major socio-technical eras, also called industrial revolutions.

1.1.1. Industrial revolutions and the evolution of tourism

Table 1.1 traces the six industrial revolutions throughout the centuries.

Table 1.1. The six industrial revolutions

Industry Period Technologies 1.0 18th century Mechanical/steam production 2.0 19th century Mass production/electricity 3.0 20th century Automated production/computers and robots 4.0 20th to 21st centuries Information and communication technologies/Internet network, e-commerce and mobile technologies 5.0 21st century Smart technologies/AI 6.0 21st century Cooperation between humans and machines/robots + Internet network + AI

Even though "forms of pre-tourism appeared as early as the 16th century, such as the Grand Tour" (Violier 2016, p. 2), tourism was born at the same time as Industry 1.0 (ibid.). Industry 2.0 and the development of railways and then the automobile democratized the practice of tourism (ibid.). Industry 3.0 accompanied the take-off of mass tourism with the rise of air transport and the golden age of tour operators. Industry 4.0 has revolutionized the tourism sector, with eight out of ten tourists planning their stays online1 on their own and the uberization of accommodation (e.g. Airbnb). So-called "sustainable" tourism, reconciling tourist practices and sustainable development, appeared by the end of the 19th century (Camus et al. 2010). Industries 5.0 and 6.0, relatively new concepts, are based on cooperation between humans and machines, where the efficiency of intelligent digital technologies is at the service of a more sustainable, resilient and human-centric industry (European Commission 2023). Like smart cities, 5.0 and 6.0 technologies are gradually guiding travel practices towards smart tourism and Tourism 4.0 (ibid.).

The concept Industry X.0 was recently proposed in Germany, reminding us that if Industry 6.0 exists, there will be Industry 7.0, etc., and thus Industry X.0 encompasses the digital technologies of tomorrow.

1.1.2. The four revolutions of tourism

According to Violier (2016), the turning points that characterize the evolution of tourist practices can be described as true socio-technical revolutions. In the same source (ibid., pp. 7-8), the author identifies three distinct phases in the evolution of tourism. The first, in the 18th century, corresponded to the invention of tourism, a new form of mobility whose purpose was recreation. The second corresponded to mass tourism, from the end of the 19th century until the middle of the 20th century, signaling the globalization of tourism. The third revolution emerged at the end of the 20th century, with the advent of the Internet. Its digital revolution provoked a real whirlwind for the tourism industry. Recently, public authorities and researchers have agreed to consider a new impetus for tourism, which they call Tourism 4.0, close to the concept of smart tourism (Starc Peceny et al. 2019).

1.2. Smart tourism

According to the European Union, smart tourism facilitates the "access to tourist products, services, spaces and experiences through information and communication technologies", guaranteeing "equal access to all, sustainable development of the local environment" as well as "support for creative industries, local talent and heritage"2.

According to Hunter et al. (2015, p. 105), smart tourism is a "social phenomenon resulting from the convergence of information technologies and the tourist experience".

For Gretzel et al. (2015, p. 181), smart tourism is defined as tourism based on the use of digital technologies promoting sustainable tourist experiences. Through its prism, destinations support the deployment of digital technologies and cooperation between actors to collect and exploit digital data, in order to generate effective value propositions and enrich the tourist experience (ibid.).

Since 2019, the European Union has awarded an annual prize for the "European Capital of Smart Tourism" contest3.

Every year, two European cities are chosen from among the four categories considered the cornerstones of smart tourism, namely: accessibility (linguistic, digital and physical), sustainability (management of natural resources, proactive management of tourist flows and involvement of the local community), digitalization (in order to improve the tourist experience and facilitate access to services) and the protection and exploitation of the destination's cultural heritage.

Table 1.2 shows the winners during the 2019-2024 period.

Table 1.2. Winners of the European Capital of Smart Tourism contest from 2019 to 2024 (European Union official website)

Year Winners 2019 Helsinki (Finland) and Lyon (France) 2020 Malaga (Spain) and Gothenburg (Sweden) 2021 No contest due to the Covid-19 pandemic 2022 Valencia (Spain) and Bordeaux (France) 2023 Paphos (Cyprus) and Seville (Spain) 2024 Dublin (Ireland) and Grosseto (Italy)

According to Biz and Grechi (2021, p. 124), smart tourism improves a destination's "sustainable development in three aspects: environmental, economic and socio-cultural".

In 2022, the city of Bordeaux was awarded for its eco-friendly character: featuring sustainable wine tourism (socio-cultural aspect), drawing up an environmental charter for cruise ships and striving to reduce CO2 emissions, eliminate waste, limit noise pollution (environmental aspect) and inject funds into research to reduce the presence of pesticides in viticulture and to promote urban renovation (transport and monuments). The world capital of wine attracts 2 million wine tourists per year (economic aspect).

Smart tourism also designates "an innovative tourist destination, consolidated by a cutting-edge technological infrastructure, which ensures the sustainable development of the tourist territory, is accessible to everyone, facilitates the interaction and integration of the visitor with the environment, increases the quality of the experience at the destination and improves the resident's quality of life" (ibid.).

Nevertheless, while the concept of smart tourism is close to that of Tourism 4.0, the two are different.

1.3. Tourism 4.0

The concept of Tourism 4.0 is directly linked to that of Industries 4.0, 5.0 and 6.0.

While the term Industry 4.0, corresponding to the fourth industrial revolution, appeared in 2011, that of Tourism 4.0 was promoted under the initiative of Portugal, which used the concept in 2016 during a public call for projects from the World Tourism Organization (UN Tourism, UNWTO until 2023). The notion is still very recent and has been little studied in the scientific literature.

Starc Peceny et al. (2019, p. 1) outline its contours without precisely defining this new "paradigm". Below, I propose a synthetic definition by summarizing their ideas.

Tourism 4.0 corresponds to the application of digital technologies from Industries 4.0, 5.0 and 6.0 to the tourism industry, "to increase the satisfaction with the experiences of all stakeholders in the tourism ecosystem" (ibid., p. 2).

Tourism 4.0 is not limited to the use of digital technologies (e.g. the Internet of Things (IoT), big data, blockchains, AI, virtual and augmented reality, crypto-assets, etc.) but aims...