Unlocking the Future of Tourism in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA): The Synergy of Commercialization Activities and Sustainable Digital Transformation for Sustainable Industry Growth
Main Article Content
Abstract
In the recent decade, tourism has become a dominant global industry. However, sustainability in industry growth is one of the significant challenges in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). This study proposed that the integration between the open innovation process and sustainable tourism digitalization can overcome the challenge of sustainable industry growth in the tourism industry. Therefore, this study examines the synergy of open innovation and sustainable digital transformation for sustainable industry growth. A survey questionnaire was prepared to collect data from the tourism industry employees. Three hundred questionnaires were analysed by using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). It is observed that the synergy of open innovation and sustainable digital transformation is most critical to promoting sustainable industry growth. The combination of external knowledge and internal innovation leads to the development of new ideas for commercialization. Promoting commercialization can enhance sustainable tourism digitalization causes to promote sustainable growth. This study suggested that tourism industry management of KSA to introduce open innovation practices and digital tourism to enhance industry growth.
Downloads
Article Details
Issue
Section

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
How to Cite
References
Alford, P., & Jones, R. (2020). The lone digital tourism entrepreneur: Knowledge acquisition and collaborative transfer. Tourism Management, 81, 104139. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2020.104139
Amora, J. T. (2021). Convergent validity assessment in PLS-SEM: A loadings-driven approach. Data Analysis Perspectives Journal, 2(3), 1-6. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/351984581
Anis, L., Perez, G., Benzies, K. M., Ewashen, C., Hart, M., & Letourneau, N. (2020). Convergent validity of three measures of reflective function: Parent development interview, parental reflective function questionnaire, and reflective function questionnaire. Frontiers in Psychology, 11, 574719. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.574719
Arcese, G., Valeri, M., Poponi, S., & Elmo, G. C. (2021). Innovative drivers for family business models in tourism. Journal of Family Business Management, 11(4), 402-422. https://doi.org/10.1108/JFBM-05-2020-0043
Bortolotto, C. (2021). Commercialization without over-commercialization: normative conundrums across heritage rationalities. International Journal of Heritage Studies, 27(9), 857-868. https://doi.org/10.1080/13527258.2020.1858441
Carvalho, P., & Alves, H. (2023). Customer value co-creation in the hospitality and tourism industry: a systematic literature review. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 35(1), 250-273. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhtm.2020.11.011
Cavalheiro, M. B., Joia, L. A., & Cavalheiro, G. M. d. C. (2020). Towards a smart tourism destination development model: Promoting environmental, economic, socio-cultural and political values. Tourism Planning & Development, 17(3), 237-259. https://doi.org/10.1080/21568316.2019.1597763
Cheng, X., Xue, T., Yang, B., & Ma, B. (2023). A digital transformation approach in hospitality and tourism research. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 35(8), 2944-2967. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJCHM-06-2022-0679
Cheung, G. W., Cooper-Thomas, H. D., Lau, R. S., & Wang, L. C. (2024). Reporting reliability, convergent and discriminant validity with structural equation modeling: A review and best-practice recommendations. Asia Pacific Journal of Management, 41(2), 745-783. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10490-023-09871-y
Costa, J., & Matias, J. C. O. (2020). Open innovation 4.0 as an enhancer of sustainable innovation ecosystems. Sustainability, 12(19), 8112. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12198112
Cuomo, M. T., Tortora, D., Foroudi, P., Giordano, A., Festa, G., & Metallo, G. (2021). Digital transformation and tourist experience co-design: Big social data for planning cultural tourism. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 162, 120345. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2020.120345
Dolnicar, S. (2020). Designing for more environmentally friendly tourism. Annals of Tourism Research, 84, 102933. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annals.2020.102933
Entina, T., Karabulatova, I., Kormishova, A., Ekaterinovskaya, M., & Troyanskaya, M. (2021). Tourism industry management in the global transformation: Meeting the needs of generation Z. Polish Journal of Management Studies, 23(2), 130-148. https://doi.org/10.17512/pjms.2021.23.2.08
Fauzi, M. A. (2022). A bibliometric review on knowledge management in tourism and hospitality: past, present and future trends. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 35(6), 2178-2201. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJCHM-03-2022-0381
Fraj, E., Matute, J., & Melero, I. (2015). Environmental strategies and organizational competitiveness in the hotel industry: The role of learning and innovation as determinants of environmental success. Tourism Management, 46, 30-42. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2014.05.009
Giotis, G., & Papadionysiou, E. (2022). The role of managerial and technological innovations in the tourism industry: a review of the empirical literature. Sustainability, 14(9), 5182. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14095182
Go, H., & Kang, M. (2023). Metaverse tourism for sustainable tourism development: Tourism agenda 2030. Tourism Review, 78(2), 381-394. https://doi.org/10.1108/TR-02-2022-0102
Gomez-Trujillo, A. M., & Gonzalez-Perez, M. A. (2022). Digital transformation as a strategy to reach sustainability. Smart and Sustainable Built Environment, 11(4), 1137-1162. https://doi.org/10.1108/SASBE-01-2021-0011
Gordon, R., Wadim, S., & Elena, K. (2021). Sustainable tourism in the digital age: Institutional and economic implications. Terra Economicus, 19(4), 141-159. https://doi.org/10.18522/2073-6606-2021-19-4-141-159
Gusakov, A. A., ul Haque, A., & Jogia, A. V. (2020). Mechanisms to support open innovation in smart tourism destinations: Managerial perspective and implications. Polish Journal of Management Studies, 21(2), 142-161. https://doi.org/10.17512/pjms.2020.21.2.11
Hakimi, M., Fazil, A. W., Hakimi, F. M., Najieb, K., & Hakimi, S. (2024). Exploring the Influences of Cutting-Edge Technologies on Operational Efficiency, Productivity, and Financial Profitability in Afghanistan's Tourism Sector. Journal of Multidisciplinary Research and Technological Innovation, 2(1), 168-183. https://doi.org/10.59653/jimat.v2i01.417
Hameed, W. U., Nisar, Q. A., & Wu, H.-C. (2021). Relationships between external knowledge, internal innovation, firms’ open innovation performance, service innovation and business performance in the Pakistani hotel industry. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 92, 102745. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhm.2020.102745
Iannucci, G., Martellozzo, F., & Randelli, F. (2022). Sustainable development of rural areas: a dynamic model in between tourism exploitation and landscape decline. Journal of Evolutionary Economics, 32(3), 991-1016. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00191-022-00785-4
Izquierdo-Gascón, M., & Rubio-Gil, Á. (2023). Theoretical approach to Api-tourism routes as a paradigm of sustainable and regenerative rural development. Journal of Apicultural Research, 62(4), 751-766. https://doi.org/10.1080/00218839.2022.2079285
Jones, P., Hillier, D., & Comfort, D. (2014). Sustainability in the global hotel industry. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 26(1), 5-17. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJCHM-10-2012-0180
Kumar, S., Kumar, V., Kumari Bhatt, I., Kumar, S., & Attri, K. (2024). Digital transformation in tourism sector: trends and future perspectives from a bibliometric-content analysis. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Insights, 7(3), 1553-1576. https://doi.org/10.1108/JHTI-10-2022-0472
Kuzior, A., Lyulyov, O., Pimonenko, T., Kwilinski, A., & Krawczyk, D. (2021). Post-industrial tourism as a driver of sustainable development. Sustainability, 13(15), 8145. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13158145
Liu, Y.-j., & Tang, J.-x. (2022). Spatio-temporal evolution characteristics and influencing mechanism of green development efficiency of tourism industry in China. Journal of Natural Resources, 37(3), 681-700. https://doi.org/10.31497/zrzyxb.20220309
Loehr, J., & Becken, S. (2021). The tourism climate change knowledge system. Annals of Tourism Research, 86, 103073. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annals.2020.103073
Lopes, J. M., Oliveira, M., Lopes, J., & Zaman, U. (2021). Networks, innovation and knowledge transfer in tourism industry: An empirical study of SMEs in Portugal. Social Sciences, 10(5), 159. https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci10050159
Loureiro, S. M. C., & Nascimento, J. (2021). Shaping a view on the influence of technologies on sustainable tourism. Sustainability, 13(22), 12691. https://doi.org/10.3390/su132212691
Madanaguli, A., Kaur, P., Mazzoleni, A., & Dhir, A. (2022). The innovation ecosystem in rural tourism and hospitality–a systematic review of innovation in rural tourism. Journal of Knowledge Management, 26(7), 1732-1762. https://doi.org/10.1108/JKM-01-2021-0050
Mejjad, N., Rossi, A., & Pavel, A. B. (2022). The coastal tourism industry in the Mediterranean: A critical review of the socio-economic and environmental pressures & impacts. Tourism Management Perspectives, 44, 101007. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tmp.2022.101007
Moyle, C.-l., Moyle, B., & Burgers, H. (2020). Entrepreneurial strategies and tourism industry growth. Tourism Management Perspectives, 35, 100708. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tmp.2020.100708
Nguyen, V. K., Natoli, R., & Divisekera, S. (2021). Innovation and productivity in tourism small and medium enterprises: A longitudinal study. Tourism Management Perspectives, 38, 100804. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tmp.2021.100804
Ogutu, H., Adol, G. F. C., Bujdosó, Z., Andrea, B., Fekete-Farkas, M., & Dávid, L. D. (2023). Theoretical nexus of knowledge management and tourism business enterprise competitiveness: An integrated overview. Sustainability, 15(3), 1948. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15031948
Pencarelli, T. (2020). The digital revolution in the travel and tourism industry. Information Technology & Tourism, 22(3), 455-476. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40558-019-00160-3
Pramanti, A. (2020). The Social and Environmental Risk of Commercialization Cultural Tourism Using Instagram In Indonesia. Indonesian Journal of Digital Society, 1(1), 14-20. https://journal.unas.ac.id/sosiologi-ijds/article/view/785
Romero, I., & Tejada, P. (2020). Tourism intermediaries and innovation in the hotel industry. Current Issues in Tourism, 23(5), 641-653. https://doi.org/10.1080/13683500.2019.1572717
Sajib, S. S. a. (2022). Nicknaming tourism as development: commercialization of culture and nature in CHT, Bangladesh. Journal of Tourism and Cultural Change, 20(1-2), 273-285. https://doi.org/10.1080/14766825.2021.1966022
Shah, C., Trupp, A., & Stephenson, M. L. (2022). Deciphering tourism and the acquisition of knowledge: Advancing a new typology of ‘Research-related Tourism (RrT)’. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management, 50, 21-30. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhtm.2021.12.003
Shang, Y., Zhu, L., Qian, F., & Xie, Y. (2023). Role of green finance in renewable energy development in the tourism sector. Renewable Energy, 206, 890-896. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2023.02.124
Sharma, R. (2021). Tourism and Community Perception: Quest of Sustainability from Happiness Paradigm. Journal of Tourism & Adventure, 4(1), 1-23. https://doi.org/10.3126/jota.v4i1.40635
Sharpley, R. (2020). Tourism, sustainable development and the theoretical divide: 20 years on. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 28(11), 1932-1946. https://doi.org/10.1080/09669582.2020.1779732
Streimikiene, D., Svagzdiene, B., Jasinskas, E., & Simanavicius, A. (2021). Sustainable tourism development and competitiveness: The systematic literature review. Sustainable Development, 29(1), 259-271. https://doi.org/10.1002/sd.2133
Sun, Y., Duru, O. A., Razzaq, A., & Dinca, M. S. (2021). The asymmetric effect eco-innovation and tourism towards carbon neutrality target in Turkey. Journal of Environmental Management, 299, 113653. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2021.113653
Sürücü, L., & Maslakci, A. (2020). Validity and reliability in quantitative research. Business & Management Studies: An International Journal, 8(3), 2694-2726. https://doi.org/10.15295/bmij.v8i3.1540
Syefriani, S., Rasyiddin, A., Kusnadi, I. H., & Hendra, H. (2024). Exploration Analysis of The Impact of Local Cultural Empowerment on Commercialization and Promotion of Tourism Objects. Innovative: Journal Of Social Science Research, 4(3), 7352-7360. https://doi.org/10.31004/innovative.v4i3.11282
Talwar, S., Kaur, P., Nunkoo, R., & Dhir, A. (2023). Digitalization and sustainability: virtual reality tourism in a post pandemic world. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 31(11), 2564-2591. https://doi.org/10.1080/09669582.2022.2029870
Thao, V. T., von Arx, W., & Frölicher, J. (2020). Swiss cooperation in the travel and tourism sector: long-term relationships and superior performance. Journal of Travel Research, 59(6), 1044-1060. https://doi.org/10.1177/0047287519871105
Tiago, F., Gil, A., Stemberger, S., & Borges-Tiago, T. (2021). Digital sustainability communication in tourism. Journal of Innovation & Knowledge, 6(1), 27-34. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jik.2019.12.002
Traskevich, A., & Fontanari, M. (2023). Tourism potentials in post-COVID19: The concept of destination resilience for advanced sustainable management in tourism. Tourism Planning & Development, 20(1), 12-36. https://doi.org/10.1080/21568316.2021.1894599
Wu, A. (2020). Improving tourism innovation performance: linking perspectives of asset specificity, intellectual capital, and absorptive capacity. Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research, 44(6), 908-930. https://doi.org/10.1177/1096348020927453
Zakariya, Y. F. (2022). Cronbach’s alpha in mathematics education research: Its appropriateness, overuse, and alternatives in estimating scale reliability. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 1074430. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1074430
Zhang, T., Yin, P., & Peng, Y. (2021). Effect of commercialization on tourists’ perceived authenticity and satisfaction in the cultural heritage tourism context: Case study of Langzhong ancient city. Sustainability, 13(12), 6847. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13126847
Zhao, X., Xie, C., Huang, L., Wang, Y., & Han, T. (2023). How digitalization promotes the sustainable integration of culture and tourism for economic recovery. Economic Analysis and Policy, 77, 988-1000. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eap.2023.01.005