There is a fourth industrial revolution: the digital revolution

Purpose This paper aims to identify potential issues for the travel and tourism industry, regarding technology in the digital era. Design/methodology/approach Travelport has defined five major themes in this area: big data, hybrid cloud, mobile, artificial intelligence and internet of things. Findings Issues such as personal data privacy, choice of solutions that preserve environmental sustainability, impact of the industry's environmental footprint and growing number of conflict areas around the world mean that ethics comes before business as a benchmark. Originality/value This paper presents the perspective of a global distribution system operator regarding trends and opportunities affecting the travel industry.