A digital humanism view on e-tourism

Informatics, its artefacts and methods, change our society and world, from the individual personal level up to the current geo-political powerplay. Today, Information Technology (IT) serves as the operating system of our society. From an ontological point of view Informatics influences also how we perceive the world and how we think about it. This change has happened during the short span of last half century. At the same time, despite of this enormous success, this development has serious shortcomings. I discuss some of them, and describe a positive answer: Digital Humanism. I will use this human centered approach to IT to critically review developments in e-tourism; and, one of the main lessons is: do not get lost in small things, have a look at the big picture, also aim for a better future and society. Two disclaimers: (a) This contribution is an opinion piece, not a scientific paper in the strict sense. I hope it provokes a lively, and probably also controversial discussion; and, (b) Some arguments regarding Digital Humanism are already partly expressed in other publications such as (Werthner, Electron Mark 32:145-151, 2022a) and (Werthner et al. Hoepken (eds) Handbook of e-tourism, Springer, Berlin, 2022b).

Automated summary

Informatics and Information Technology have had a profound impact on society, changing the way we perceive and think about the world. While successful, these developments also have shortcomings. Digital Humanism offers a human-centered approach to address these issues and strive for a better future.