Zheng "Phil" Xiang joined Virginia Tech’s “Curious Conversations” to talk about the intersection of technology and tourism. He shares the significant technological shifts in the tourism industry over the past decade, including the influence of social media and artificial intelligence on trip research and the experience itself. 

About Xiang

Xiang is a professor and the department head of the Howard Feiertag Department of Hospitality and Tourism Management. His research interests include travel information search, social media marketing, and business analytics for the tourism and hospitality industries.

Three takeaways

  • The tourism industry has hinged on getting people the right information at the right time. Advances in technology have increased access to that information as well as access to provide information as a traveler. 

  • One significant way artificial intelligence is impacting the industry is by being able to curate the massive amount of available information in meaningful ways for individual travelers.  

  • Technology is enhancing the travel experience itself. These range from digital touch points for customer interactions to enhanced experience through virtual and augmented reality. 

Learn more

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About the podcast

"Curious Conversations" is a series of free-flowing conversations with Virginia Tech researchers that take place at the intersection of world-class research and everyday life. Produced and hosted by Virginia Tech writer and editor Travis Williams, university researchers share their expertise and motivations as well as the practical applications of their work in a format that more closely resembles chats at a cookout than classroom lectures. New episodes are shared each Tuesday.

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