IMPACT OF DIGITAL PLATFORMS ON DEVELOPMENT OF THE TOURISM INDUSTRY

The paper presents analysis of the leading digital travel platforms (Booking Holdings, Expedia Group, Airbnb Inc. and Trip.com Group Limited) and their impact on the development of the tourism industry. The author proposes a comprehensive approach to the study of tourism digital platforms, which includes consideration of their main users and competitors, their ways to generate income, their cost structure as well as their promotion and pricing strategies. The study suggests that platforms give their users the opportunity to expand their network of contacts, to reduce transaction costs, to protect themselves against opportunistic behavior and to increase their negotiating power. It is shown that before the COVID-19 pandemic, tourism digital platforms spent most money on sales, marketing and advertising, whereas during the pandemic the cost of developing new products (online services) came to the fore. The author explains that in order to promote their services, travel platforms use network effects, offer their key values for free, and also invest a lot of money in advertising. The paper identifies the main threats to digital tourism platforms: their dependence on Google, competition from search engines, blockchain technologies, hotel sites and traditional travel agencies. It is shown that despite obvious advantages of tourism platforms for the economy resulting from an increase in income from the influx of tourists, many platforms also have a negative impact on the economy due to manipulation of information, price discrimination and a deterioration in the quality of life of local residents.

tourism industry, digital platforms, transaction costs, opportunistic behaviour, agency fee model, intermediary fee model, advertising expense, network effects, key values, blockchain technologies

Ustyuzhanin V. L. Impact of digital platforms on development of the tourism industry. Business. Education. Law, 2022, no. 4, pp. 26—34. DOI: 10.25683/VOLBI.2022.61.409.