Digitalizing Tourism: A Challenge Against Excessive Dehumanization – ‘They Promise Experiences but Deliver the Worst’

Tourism is following a path that banking started years ago: the digitalization of all possible services to reduce costs, minimize human errors, streamline operations, and make data-driven decisions. However, various studies warn that the dehumanization of this activity can lead to undesirable consequences such as a generalized offering, the depersonalization of customer service and human resource management, and ineffective responses to incidents.

Brana Jianu, a researcher at the University of Surrey (United Kingdom) and author of a study in Science Direct (International Journal of Hospitality Management), states that “digital management is transforming how hotels operate, from shift scheduling to task assignment, with algorithms making decisions that were previously reserved for human managers.” This change, which she describes as “seismic,” questions not only the future of frontline management but also the overall experience of employees within hotels. As these systems become entrenched, the risk of dehumanization and alienation among workers increases, creating an urgent need for effective solutions.

For the researcher, this upheaval forces managers to “evolve from controllers to coaches.” “This transformation is not just about adopting technology; it is about humanizing the workplace and ensuring that staff remain at the center of activities.”

Xabi Zabala, operations director of the tourism technology firm HBX Group, argues that the digitalization of services should empower employees, not displace them. “By automating repetitive or administrative tasks, we free up time for teams to focus on providing closer and more personalized service, making human interaction an increasingly important and differentiating factor,” he asserts.

Contrary to this, Manuel Fidalgo, a bank employee who traveled to Manchester using a highly advertised accommodation platform, experienced significant issues. He had warned in advance about flight schedules (which arrived in the early morning) and requested a human representative for reporting issues. He received no response, and when he arrived in the English city with his wife and three children, the directions for picking up the key were wrong, the establishment holding it was closed, and only a machine was available, providing no solutions to his problems. “We had to urgently find two rooms in a hotel. The next morning, neither the owner nor the company that now promises experiences replied. We certainly had an experience, but it was the worst possible. I have never used them again since that abandonment; I canceled my account, and just hearing the name of the app gives me anxiety.”

Nevertheless, the trend of digitalization is unstoppable, with new artificial intelligence agents promising to manage the entire journey, from tickets to stays and activity options.

Professor Anna Mattila, co-author of a study from Pennsylvania State University, admits that “robots can be designed or programmed to have human-like characteristics, such as names, voices, and physical forms,” but the study detected reservations among customers and gaps in the results offered, especially based on the gender of the representative.

However, Xabi Zabala has noted that the biggest gap in receptiveness to the incorporation of digital tools, such as virtual assistants, is generational. “Younger generations have a more natural relationship with technology and a greater ease in having a positive experience,” he emphasizes.

He has also observed differences in receptivity based on the type of voice, rather than the gender. “Some specific voices generate a higher level of trust and result in a more satisfying experience for users, but this occurs with both male and female voices,” he explains.

He also admits that the programming of services can show “different types of biases.” “That’s why, when we implement these types of technologies, we apply strict criteria for oversight and validation of the messages shared with users,” he details.

Despite shortcomings in some experiences, as happened with banking, digitalization appears unstoppable and has a future that Kiyoshi Kiyokawa from the Nara Institute of Science and Technology (NAIST) summarizes: “Our goal is to develop what we call personalized reality: systems capable of creating dynamic experiences tailored to each individual.”

Kiyokawa, in collaboration with the technology company NTT Docomo, is researching how to blend experiences from virtual environments and real ones to maximize mixed reality experiences and ensure complete user immersion. This technology is designed for different fields, but in the tourism sector, it specifically aims to provide “travelers” the ability to “virtually cross a door to destinations worldwide.”

Zabala acknowledges the “enormous potential” of augmented reality and immersive technologies. He sees them as “tools for inspiring and promoting destinations or for helping travelers choose specific hotels or rooms before confirming their bookings.” “But we don’t believe they will replace physical travel experiences; in most cases, they will enhance them,” he asserts.

Despite this caution, he acknowledges that this type of technology “opens an interesting dimension: the democratization of access to destinations.” “Not everyone can physically visit all the places they would like, and these tools will allow for virtual exploration of areas that would otherwise be out of reach. It’s a new form of tourism that is not fully developed yet, but it is very promising.”

“From our perspective, just as in the last few decades, television, the internet, or social media have helped promote destinations and encouraged physical travel, virtual reality will be a new way to discover places before being able to visit them in person,” he concludes.