Special section on generative smart tourism systems and management: Man–machine interaction
Tourists today can search information on their target regions, destinations, restaurants, and entertainment programs in real- time, and often choose the places where people share their experiences (Oliveira & Carlos, 2012). With the advent of smart technologies, tourism is moving toward a new era that includes an ‘on-demand economy’ and a ‘sharing economy.’ These new phenomena are based on Information and Communication Tech- nologies (ICT), which have a significant influence on the operating methods and processes involved in current travel-related indus- tries (e.g., AirBnB.com, Couchsufing.com, and Uber.com) (Gretzel, Koo, Sigala, & Xiang, 2015). The on-demand economy implies “instantaneousness” and “transparency” (Forbes.com, 2015).
