A Conceptual Framework for Adopting Fourth Industrial Revolution Technologies by Tourism SMEs

In this paper, we consider Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) technologies and consider the advantages and disadvantages of introducing these into the SME Tourism industry. Technologies considered include Artificial Intelligence, the Internet of Things, and Big data analytics and how these may facilitate sustainable tourism. Cognizance is given to customer experience that may be gained through online browsing of tourism facilities. Following a qualitative research choice and an inductive research approach, a conceptual framework is synthesized from scholarly literature and theoretically validated, thereby adding a deductive component to the research approach. Future work in this area is noted as surveying stakeholders in the tourism industry to enhance and further validate the framework.