The conference theme was ‘Advancing Excellence in Hospitality’, and the winning paper was entitled: Talking Digitalization: The Automation–Augmentation Paradox in the Tourism Industry and was written by Jiaqi Yang, Dual PhD Candidate, School of Hotel and Tourism Management, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, and Surrey Hospitality and Tourism Management, University of Surrey, and Dr Fei Hao, Assistant Professor, School of Hotel and Tourism Management, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. The award was proudly sponsored by the IoH.
The research paper examines what happens when tourism and hospitality firms go digital, should technology take over employees’ tasks, or should it strengthen what employees can do? The award-winning study investigates which of these two logics has guided the sector’s strategic thinking across two decades, and what explains the differences among firms. Rather than relying on surveys or spending data, the authors used large language models to read what executives tell their investors. It analysed more than 1,000 quarterly earnings calls held between 2005 and 2024 by 46 listed travel and hospitality companies, spanning hotels, theme parks, cruise operators and online travel agents. Checked against trained human coders, its judgements agreed with theirs 89 per cent of the time. The results challenge the prevailing replacement narrative. Across all four segments and throughout the twenty-year window, executives devoted far more attention to technology that supports employees than to technology that displaces them. This people-first orientation was strongest in experience-intensive businesses such as theme parks. It has also strengthened since generative AI became widely available, as firms in more concentrated markets increasingly present employee empowerment as a source of differentiation. The study offers operators a compass for matching technology investment to their service model and helps investors and policymakers see where the sector is heading.
To request a copy of the winning paper, please contact the authors: Jiaqi Yang and Dr Fei Hao.
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