Understanding the Challenges of Fake News in the Tourism and Travel Industry: A Systematic Literature Review

Fake news in the tourism industry can influence consumer behavior, expectations, and opinions about the destinations or entertainment options they want to visit. For these reasons, it is important to understand the impact of fake news on the industry and the stakeholders who are impacted by it. The study employed a systematic review methodology and identified thirty-one papers from four academic databases. Thematic analyses were used to analyse the papers. The findings showed that consumers being impacted by fake news resulted in a ripple effect on businesses and countries. It was further reported that fake news was mostly distributed on online platforms such as social media, online reviews, and websites, and offline on editorials, opinion pieces, and entertainment shows. The creators of fake news mainly did it to benefit themselves. Both automated and manual methods were used to identify fake news. Tourism departments can mitigate these challenges by increasing awareness by hosting workshops and online campaigns for businesses and consumers to learn how to look out for fake news. Further investigation can be done into the willingness of the stakeholders to adopt the mentioned guidelines.