Leading digital transformation in Tourism and Hospitality

Abstract

At times of greater instability and uncertainty, which typically lead to high and widespread disruption, leadership is of particular importance to the resilience and survival of a substantial number of players across the tourism value chain.

Digital technologies have been responsible not only for creating new business models, more innovative networking practices or digitising workforces but also for underpinning new processes across the whole value chain of tourism operations, from production to sales, promotion, distribution and new forms of consumption. Digitalisation widens the base of economic activities, promoting skilled employment and sustainably supporting faster development, particularly tourism and hospitality.

This chapter aims to contribute to a deeper understanding of the importance of leadership for an effective digital transformation of tourism and hospitality. It also becomes crucial to identify which factors wield more significant influence on strategic leadership by assessing the leaders’ roles in decision-making and their levels of awareness of digital transformation, which led to the semi-structured interview of 29 tourism leaders. Despite this focus on the leaders’ competencies for digitalisation, no new strategy can be envisioned without change; whatever its nature, digital or other, change depends on strong and effective leadership.