Noah Janssens
Digital Tourism: Soulless?
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Noah Janssens
Digital Tourism: Soulless?
The digitalization of tourism has deeply and rapidly transformed the industry. What once required long phone calls, visits to travel agencies, or the use of paper maps can now be resolved in seconds with a single click. The technological revolution has brought efficiency, accessibility, immediacy, and an unprecedented democratization of access to tourism services. However, this evolution also raises a critical question: to what extent is technology replacing the human dimension of travel—the element that connects visitors with people, cultures, and the emotions tied to a destination?
Advances in artificial intelligence, big data, augmented reality, blockchain, virtual assistants, and management platforms have enabled an unprecedented level of personalization in the tourism experience. Booking systems are now faster and more efficient, algorithms recommend destinations tailored to each traveler’s profile, and real-time reviews influence decisions more than any printed brochure. Even migration procedures at airports or hotel check-ins can be completed without human contact, thanks to facial recognition and process automation.
At the same time, tourist destinations have begun investing in smart tourism strategies, creating smart cities and regions where technology is used to monitor visitor flows, optimize resource use, and enhance sustainability. This paradigm presents a unique opportunity to improve service quality, reduce negative impacts, and diversify tourism offerings. However, it also poses clear risks when technological efficiency is prioritized over human warmth.
The dehumanization of tourism is a real concern. While travelers value the comfort and speed that technology offers, many are beginning to express discomfort with impersonal experiences. Interactions with local hosts, spontaneous conversations with hotel staff, or advice from a tour guide who adapts their speech to the group they are accompanying are irreplaceable elements of traditional tourism. These moments of genuine contact enrich the journey, turning it into an emotional, cultural, and transformative experience.
When tourism becomes overly automated, it loses its soul. A clear example is guided tours via audio guides or mobile applications. While useful and affordable, they cannot answer unexpected questions or read participants’ body language. Similarly, customer service chatbots, though available 24/7, do not always understand the nuances of an emotional request or an unusual situation. Hospitality—the very essence of tourism—cannot be reduced to a programmed response.
Tourist rental platforms have also become a subject of debate. While they have opened the market and created new opportunities, in many cases they have eliminated direct contact between host and guest. Automated check-ins, electronic locks, or communication solely via messaging have made the experience more distant, where the city is explored functionally, but without emotional guidance or human connection.
Moreover, digitalization has generated new forms of exclusion. While most young travelers are familiar with apps and digital platforms, a significant portion of the population—especially older individuals or those in vulnerable situations—faces a technological barrier that prevents them from fully participating in today’s tourism. The digital divide thus becomes a form of hidden social exclusion, marginalizing those who do not master digital languages or lack access to smart devices.
In light of this scenario, the tourism sector faces the major challenge of finding a balance between technology and humanity. Digitalization must be a tool for enhancement, not replacement. It’s about leveraging technology’s capacity to resolve logistical and operational aspects without eliminating the human factor that gives meaning to the travel experience. Empathy, the ability to improvise, genuine hospitality, and emotional connection cannot be replaced by any system, no matter how intelligent.
This challenge also calls into question the training of tourism professionals. It is not enough to learn how to handle digital tools; future sector workers must also develop emotional, cultural, and communication skills that allow them to act as active mediators between technology and people. A receptionist who uses an automated management system but knows how to welcome guests with a smile and kind words will always be more valuable than an interactive screen.
Similarly, destinations must design digitalization strategies that do not forget their cultural essence. Local identity, intangible heritage, living traditions, and unique narratives should be promoted not only as app content, but as immersive experiences in which the local community plays a leading role. The 21st-century tourist values authenticity as much as comfort. In a world saturated with digital stimuli, the human element becomes a distinguishing value.
Sustainability also finds a crucial dimension in this debate. Technology can support more responsible tourism by helping reduce emissions, manage resources more effectively, and ease pressure on overcrowded destinations. But if implemented without ethical criteria, it can lead to greater alienation of visitors from their surroundings. Traveling without interacting with the community, without understanding the context or sharing real moments, turns tourism into mere consumption of services—disconnected from its transformative potential.
In this context, some emerging models advocate for a “digitalization with soul,” where technology serves human connection rather than replacing it. These are hybrid models that combine the best of both worlds: platforms that connect travelers with real local guides, hotels that automate processes without abandoning personalized service, museums that use augmented reality while still offering tours led by passionate experts. This approach acknowledges that innovation does not have to be at odds with warmth.
International organizations, such as the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), have repeatedly emphasized the importance of placing people at the center of tourism development. In its Agenda for Tourism 2030, it stresses that digitalization must be inclusive, accessible, and focused on people’s well-being. This orientation is essential to keep sight of tourism’s deeper purpose: to bring cultures closer, foster mutual understanding, and enrich the lives of both travelers and hosts.
Digitalization in tourism is not a problem in itself, but an opportunity. The risk arises when it becomes an end rather than a means. The challenge is to develop smart tourism that goes beyond technological efficiency and aspires to emotional, social, and cultural intelligence. The traveler’s experience must remain, above all, human. Because what we truly remember from a journey is not the speed of check-in or the design of an app, but the look of someone who welcomed us, a story told with passion, or the kind gesture of a stranger in a new place. In times of algorithms and screens, keeping the humanity of tourism alive is not romantic nostalgia—it is an urgent necessity.
Author: Noah Janssens
AI expert
The authors are responsible for the choice and presentation of the facts contained in this document and for the opinions expressed therein, which are not necessarily those of Tourism and Society Think Tank and do not commit the Organization, and should not be attributed to TSTT or its members.
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