While the emergence of new technology continues to propel the evolution of the tourism industry, Chinese tourists as a dominating market have won increasing attention across worldwide destinations. On one hand, the vast advancement of technology has fundamentally shifted the way Chinese tourists travel. On the other hand, the arrival of technologically savvy Chinese tourists has provoked tourism providers and destinations to adopt innovative technology (e.g., mobile payment). Standing on the edge of the third decade of the twenty-first century, the tourism industry and scholarly community are facing unprecedented challenges amidst exciting opportunities. Particularly, this line of research is perhaps timelier than ever, with the pandemic physically distancing people whilst augmenting technology's function in mediating social interactions and connecting lives beyond geographic boundaries.
New Technology and Mediated Chinese Tourists will be a great resource for researchers and students of Tourism and Hospitality including those interested to understand how innovation and technology is embedded in the tourism industry. This book was originally published as a special issue of the Journal of China Tourism Research.
Han Shen is Professor of Tourism at Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
Alei Fan is Assistant Professor in White Lodging-J.W. Marriott, Jr. School of Hospitality and Tourism Management at Purdue University, USA.
Laurie Wu is Associate Professor & Arthur F. McGonigle Research Fellow in the Department of Tourism and Hospitality Management at Temple University, USA.