In recent years, the tourism industry has undergone a transition toward a sustainable management paradigm emphasizing environmental protection, social inclusion, and transparent governance, with ESG management emerging as a core framework for this shi...
In recent years, the tourism industry has undergone a transition toward a sustainable management paradigm emphasizing environmental protection, social inclusion, and transparent governance, with ESG management emerging as a core framework for this shift. Concurrently, there is increasing academic, industrial, and societal demand for research on digital technologies that can effectively support the implementation of ESG management in tourism. Accordingly, this study aims to systematically identify key ESG management issues in the tourism industry and to propose the roles and contribution structures of digital technologies to address these challenges.
Methodologically, 4,181 article abstracts collected from the Web of Science and Scopus databases were analyzed using BERTopic-based topic modeling combined with semantic analysis, through which seven core themes were identified. Representative topic labels were derived by considering semantic relationships and underlying thematic structures beyond simple keyword frequency, followed by a refined interpretation of the key issues within each topic. Based on these findings, the applicability of digital technologies across the environmental (E), social (S), and governance (G) dimensions was examined, and the causal mechanisms through which technologies such as artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, big data analytics, blockchain, GIS, and digital twins contribute to addressing ESG challenges were articulated.
This study offers practical value by providing a data-driven and structured analysis of complex ESG issues in the tourism industry and by presenting actionable, technology-enabled solutions applicable to industry practice. Furthermore, by proposing a causal framework linking ESG issues, digital technology applications, and ESG performance outcomes through topic modeling, the study contributes to advancing academic knowledge in tourism studies and sustainable management.