Analysing how destinations reach sustainability through digitalisation: a semi-qualitative approach

Abstract

The connection between digitization of destinations and their sustainability is a topic that has been gaining interest in the tourism literature. This study focuses on the European Union (EU) and examines how digitization influences the social, economic and environmental dimensions of sustainability based on The Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI). For this purpose, a semi-qualitative analysis was conducted with data from 2022. The results show that the digitization of destinations affects tourism sustainability in a changing way, highlighting its positive impact on the economic dimension, which is undoubtedly the one that benefits most from the effects of increased digitization. This work represents an advance in the literature on the subject, exploring the relationship between digitization and sustainability in its three dimensions. It concludes with a series of practical recommendations that favour sustainability, such as the creation of digital services for tourists or the correct education of them.