Potential of Digitization in the Tourism Industry
The present bachelor thesis “Potentials of Digitization in the Tourism Industry – A comparable Survey between Developed and Emerging Market Economies” deals with the current topic digitization. In particular, this is about digitization in the tourism industry. A comparative empirical study was conducted in Germany and South Africa based on the theoretical foundations. The aim of this comparative study is to find out how far the digitization has already changed the tourism industry and what changes can be expected in the future. In the comparison of the two tourism markets Germany and South Africa, it is interesting to see what differences can be discerned. The German study was carried out on the basis of an online survey in the period from the end of April to the beginning of July 2016. The Anglophone online survey was conducted in South Africa from July 2016 to November 2016. The survey reached a sample of 118 experts in Germany and 110 experts in South Africa. The results, obtained through the help of a structural equation modeling, confirm a positive, significant influence of the potential of digitization on the tourism industry for five hypotheses on the German market and two hypotheses on the South African market. In the survey conducted in Germany, the significant influencing factors are the possible increase in sales, the new business models such as the sharing economy, the traditional booking in travel agencies, the personalization of offers and the changing of the tourism industry through social media. In the data collected in South Africa, the potential increase in sales and virtual reality can be found as significant factors influencing the tourism industry as well.
