Digital Innovation Adoption in South African National Parks, Hotels, and Airports

The twenty-first century is characterized by digital technology tools such as the Internet of Things (IoT), machine learning, cloud computing, and robotics that have helped to reshape the global tourism industry. This chapter, therefore, aims to explore the various digital innovations that have been adopted by the tourism fraternity. A qualitative research design was utilized using secondary data from Google Scholar and annual reports from different players in the South African tourism industry such as South Africa National Parks (SANParks), Southern Sun hotels, air transport, and the airports industry. The findings of the study reveal that digital technology has been useful in introducing new services and products, improving processes, and hastening processes and services. Further findings show that digital innovation achieves and enhances customer satisfaction. The study implies that continuous improvement in all business facets brings a sustainable competitive advantage to the tourism industry. This chapter recommends digital innovation at every level of tourist enterprise whether it is front office, back office, work processes, or customer interface, and encapsulates it in each tourism enterprise policy.