THEORETICAL AND METHODOLOGICAL APPROACHES TO DEFINING THE CONCEPT OF "DIGITALIZATION OF A TOURIST DESTINATION"

Abstract

The article is devoted to the theoretical analysis of the main approaches to defining the concept of "digitalization of a tourist destination". It is shown that this concept can be considered from the point of view of process and system approaches, which do not contradict, but complement each other. It has been proven that in modern scientific literature there is no single approach to understanding the concept of "digitalization of a tourist destination". It was determined that the features of the destination are the presence of places (geographic areas), natural, recreational, cultural resources, a wide range of tourist services, and various attractions that are attractive to the consumer. It is substantiated that with the help of digitalization, destinations are transformed from passive locations to dynamic ecosystems that constantly respond to the changing expectations of the modern tourist. Digitization allows destinations to adapt a tourist product to a specific audience united by digital features and increase their satisfaction level, creates a large number of connections that support reputation and make it possible to form a database of regular customers. It was determined that reputation is a key advantage of digitalization for business entities in the tourism industry. Digitalization has been proven to integrate with destination marketing: virtual and augmented reality are becoming transformative tools that allow tourist destinations to present their unique offers in a new way; social media are turning into platforms for demonstrating the competitive advantages of tourist facilities and contributing to the formation of consumers of tourism services who actively participate in events in tourist destinations. An author's approach to the interpretation of the concept of "digitalization of a tourist destination" has been formed.