The Fourth Industrial Revolution Technologies in the Tourism Sector in African Countries: Opportunities, Barriers, and Ethical Considerations

The tourism and hospitality sector is one of the sectors with significant revenue generation potential in both developed and developing economies. Even though this sector is a potentially lucrative source of national revenue, it was heavily affected by the COVID-19 pandemic as the measures to curb the spread of the virus restricted movements and personal interactions. Therefore, the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) technologies, also known as Industry 4.0, can be harnessed to improve service delivery in the tourism and hospitality sector in developing countries. However, addressing the challenges of applying these technologies and mitigating the possible negative externalities is crucial. The 4IR technologies and their likely positive and negative impacts have become a contemporary topic of discussion among academics, researchers, industry captains, and policymakers worldwide. Few studies have explored Industry 4.0 in tourism and hospitality, specifically in developing countries. This study employs a critical literature review process to focus on the opportunities, barriers, and implications of using industry 4IR in the tourism sector in developing countries. The chapter established that Industry 4.0 technologies such as big data, cloud computing, artificial intelligence, and Internet of Things were envisaged to transform the tourism and hospital sector. These technologies are expected to modify the sector’s communication, advertising operations, payment and booking platforms, service delivery, productivity, efficiency, and profitability. Owing to the double-edged sword nature of technology (having both transformative and disruptive attributes), those arguing in favour of the enhancement abilities of 4IR tools in the tourism sector point to compelling impacts such as increased market share, focused service delivery, that is, customer needs-oriented, convenience in payments and pre-bookings, virtual tourism, and maximisation of shareholder value. Those sceptical of the application of the technologies suggest possible negative implications such as the impact of the digital divide, digital financial illiteracy, cybercrimes and fraud, confidentiality and ethical considerations, among other exclusions linked to digital technologies.