Big Data, Tourism, and Data Justice
Power, Equity, and Ethics in a Datafied Travel Industry
Introduction
Rise of big data in tourism
The relevance of big data in tourism has gained significant traction in recent years, encompassing various data types such as mobile location tracking, social media interactions, booking data, and customer reviews. This shift towards data-driven decision-making in an industry traditionally reliant on subjective narratives has fundamentally altered the landscape of tourism marketing and management. As outlined by Istanto et al. (2023), the rise of smart tourism leverages big data to innovate tourism marketing, enhance decision-making, and foster interactions between tourists and service providers. The importance of real-time information, as noted by Peterlin et al. (2021), facilitates a dynamic tourist experience, allowing industry stakeholders to respond adeptly to evolving consumer behaviors.
The increasing integration of various forms of data—from social media insights to location data obtained through mobile applications—has underscored the growing complexity of the tourism ecosystem. For example, the application of advanced forecasting methods, as discussed by Wu et al. (2025), indicates that the accuracy of predictions in tourism can be significantly enhanced by incorporating diverse big data sources and machine learning techniques. This is echoed by Höpken et al. (2021), who emphasize that emerging data sources, including user-generated content and social media, present promising avenues for improving predictions regarding tourist arrivals.
Moreover, the discussion surrounding big data in tourism often contends with its potential for both positive and negative implications. Vaz and Machado (2022) highlight a dichotomy where big data is viewed as a transformative tool for addressing social issues, yet also poses risks to individual privacy and autonomy, drawing comparisons to dystopian scenarios. The effective utilization of big data necessitates a careful balancing act where benefits in operational efficiency and market insight are weighed against ethical considerations surrounding user privacy and data security (Rahmadian et al., 2022).
In the context of sustainable tourism development, Chen (2024) asserts that big data technologies enable real-time market monitoring and decision-making support, ultimately enhancing operational efficiency. Furthermore, the integration of big data extends beyond operational improvements, as evidenced by Vecchio et al. (2018), who argue that it facilitates open innovation processes which can harness social media insights to tailor tourism offerings to meet consumer demands effectively. This aligns with contemporary trends within the tourism industry that prioritize personalized experiences and sustainability, as discussed by Alnawaiseh and Alshawabeh (2023), who assert that big data can reshape marketing strategies and operational practices to foster better customer relations and enhance competitiveness.
The rise of big data in the tourism sector represents a multifaceted shift that influences consumer engagement, operational efficiency, and ethical considerations, ultimately shaping the industry’s capacity for sustainable growth and innovation.
Datafied Tourism
The increasing datafication of tourism is indicative of a transformative shift in how tourism operations are managed and marketed, moving towards a model heavily reliant on predictive analytics, digital platforms, and smart destination management. Central to this phenomenon are multiple dimensions of data utilization, including the analysis of demand forecasting, visitor tracking through digital platforms, and the integration of social media to enhance visitor experiences.
Predictive Analytics for Demand Forecasting: The utilization of big data and predictive analytics has revolutionized how tourism demand is forecasted. Research by Li et al. (2020). highlights that integrating internet-based data sources, such as search engine queries and user reviews, significantly improves forecasting accuracy compared to traditional methods. This supports the claim that big data can enhance the understanding of tourism patterns and better align supply with demand. Predictive analytics allows stakeholders to simulate potential outcomes based on historical data and emerging trends, leading to informed decisions that can optimize marketing strategies and resource allocation. Moreover, the ability to analyze a broad spectrum of data enables tourism businesses to anticipate fluctuations in demand, thus enhancing overall operational efficiency (Rahmadian et al., 2022).
Digital Platforms and Visitor Tracking: Digital platforms play a crucial role in tracking visitor behavior and preferences. Social media, in particular, is an influential tool for gathering real-time data on tourist interactions, preferences, and movements. Research indicates that social media platforms are increasingly utilized by travelers for information gathering, thereby influencing travel decisions (Xiang and Gretzel, 2010). According to Tenkanen et al. (2017), social media data, when combined with official visitor statistics, can provide valuable insights into visitor trends and patterns, which is critical for effective destination management. The capacity to aggregate user-generated content from social media allows businesses to analyze customer satisfaction and engagement levels, thereby shaping service offerings to meet consumer needs more effectively (Runge et al., 2020).
Smart Destination Management: The concept of smart destinations leverages big data technologies to enhance visitor experiences and streamline destination management. By employing advanced analytics, destinations can tailor their services and infrastructure to better accommodate visitor needs. For instance, real-time data collection via mobile applications not only tracks tourist movements but also provides actionable insights that can be used to deliver personalized experiences (Muskananfola and Tawami, 2020). This technological advancement allows tourism managers to anticipate visitor flow, adjust marketing efforts dynamically, and optimize resource allocation (Rahmadian et al., 2022). Furthermore, smart destinations integrate various forms of big data, including transportation, accommodation, and social media data, to create a cohesive and interactive environment for visitors (Li et al., 2020).
The increasing datafication in tourism, characterized by advanced predictive analytics for forecasting demand, comprehensive visitor tracking through digital platforms, and the establishment of smart destination management practices, signifies a paradigm shift in the industry. By embracing these technologies, tourism stakeholders can enhance operational efficiency, enrich visitor experiences, and strategically align their offerings with consumer expectations.
Digital Divide in the Philippines
The tensions and problems related to the digital divide within the Philippine context present a complex landscape, especially in the tourism sector, where disparities between urban and rural areas significantly impact community engagement and economic opportunities. This disparity manifests in various dimensions, including technology access, privacy issues, and the ownership of personal data.
Digital Divide Between Urban and Rural Areas: The digital divide in the Philippines manifests starkly between urban centers such as Metro Manila and rural areas. Research indicates that rural areas often suffer from limited internet connectivity and technological infrastructure, which hampers their ability to engage with digital tourism strategies (Bade, 2024). This digital divide restricts not only access to information and services but also the ability of local communities to participate in the tourism economy. As noted by Abdelsalam et al., the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated these disparities, where access to online platforms became critical for survival (Abdelsalam et al., 2021). The inequities in technological capacity can lead to a pronounced disadvantage for rural communities, limiting their voices in tourism development discussions and decision-making processes (Andulana et al., 2021).
Vulnerability of Local Communities: Local communities in remote areas often exhibit lower technological capacity and representation, leading to increased vulnerability in the face of digital transformation. The lack of skills and resources to effectively harness technology means that these communities may become passive recipients of tourism impacts rather than active participants. This situation has been emphasized in the context of community-based tourism, where local governance structures often fail to empower marginalized voices (Chambwe and Saayman, 2024). Moreover, the ownership of data becomes pivotal; communities often lack control over the data that reflects their cultural and economic realities. This absence of ownership undermines their capacity to influence tourism narratives and practices (Liyanaarachchi et al., 2023).
Privacy, Surveillance, and Data Ownership Issues: Privacy concerns are prevalent regarding big data utilization in tourism, particularly concerning biometric and personal data that may be collected without adequate regulatory frameworks. The Philippine legal landscape struggles to balance technological advancement in tourism with the protection of individual rights. As highlighted by Liyanaarachchi et al. (2023), the management of biometric data poses significant risks; improper handling can lead to surveillance concerns and violate individuals’ privacy rights. The issue of data ownership is particularly pressing, as local communities often do not have concrete regulations protecting their data rights, leaving them exposed to exploitation and misuse from larger tourism corporations that may prioritize profit over ethical considerations (Elmohandes and Marghany, 2024).
Furthermore, legislative measures in the Philippines, such as the Data Privacy Act, require continuous evaluation and reinforcement to address the unique challenges posed by the tourism sector (Velos et al., 2020). While tourism can significantly contribute to the economy, it must not come at the expense of community rights and privacy. Thus, the urgent requirement is to create a regulatory environment that supports tourism development while prioritizing community welfare and ethical data practices.
The tensions arising from the digital divide, community vulnerability, and data governance in the Philippine tourism sector necessitate a multifaceted approach. Enhancing technological access, ensuring the representation of local communities in decision-making processes, and revising data privacy regulations are critical steps toward fostering an equitable and sustainable tourism framework.
Objective
From the white sands of Boracay to the cobbled alleys of Vigan, tourism in the Philippines is more than just motion — it’s mediated. Behind every ticket scan, mobile booking, location ping, or social media post lies a hidden stream of data. As destinations adopt tools that monitor visitors’ paths, map hotspots, recommend itineraries, and tailor experiences, they also transform the way people see and shape places. But who shapes these data flows? Who becomes visible, and who remains invisible? While this digital turn promises efficiency and insight, it also raises deeper questions of justice. In a country where connectivity differs dramatically between Manila and remote islands, where local communities often lack the voice or capacity to engage in tech decisions, the promise of “smart tourism” may widen existing divides.
This paper arranges around three guiding questions. First: How do big-data practices in Philippine tourism reinforce or ease inequalities among stakeholders — local residents, tourists, small businesses, municipal or national authorities, and platform corporations? Second: What ethical, representational, or privacy challenges confront communities in Philippine tourist destinations? Do they consent? Are they profiled? Are their identities misrepresented or erased? And finally: Under what conditions might big data in Philippine tourism become more just — fair, transparent, and inclusive? What governance frameworks, participatory mechanisms, or capacity-building strategies can help ensure that those who host tourism also share in its data rights and voice?
By telling the story of Philippine tourism through the lens of data justice, this paper seeks not just to describe what is, but to envision what ought to be: one in which data is not merely extracted from places and people, but co-owned, respected, and used in ways that empower rather than exclude.
Theoretical Lens: Data Justice / Critical Data Studies
In recent years, scholars have turned a critical lens toward the phenomenon of datafication—the process by which social life is rendered into data. This shift involves not just new tools or techniques, but profound transformations in how power, visibility, and control work in society. Critical Data Studies (CDS) is an academic tradition that sees data, algorithms, and infrastructures not as neutral technologies, but as sites where political, social, and economic power is enacted. As Purdue (n.d.) University’s CDS framework notes, it brings together ideas from data feminism, decolonial theory, and activism to interrogate who is centered or marginalized by data systems.
Within this tradition, Data Justice emerges as a normative orientation: the idea that data practices themselves can and should be evaluated in terms of justice. Rather than asking only “can big data improve tourism efficiency?”, a data justice approach asks: Who benefits? Who is rendered invisible? Whose rights are protected or violated? In this sense, data justice insists that data cannot be separated from social justice. As Dencik and Sanchez-Monedero (2022) argue, “datafication is enabled by particular forms of political and economic organisation that advance a normative vision of how social issues should be understood and resolved”
Applying this lens in the Philippine tourism context gives the theoretical framework sharper stakes:
The Philippines is marked by spatial inequalities (urban vs rural, island vs mainland), which mirror digital divides. Communities in remote islands often have limited connectivity, lower digital infrastructure, and less ability to engage with data systems.
Civil society groups in the Philippines have sometimes reframed data justice as concerns over data protection, privacy, and digital rights. In research by (Mandala, 2022), many Filipino respondents connected data justice to transparency, ownership, and fairness in how data is used, especially in policies and public services.
The Philippine legal regime includes the Data Privacy Act and oversight via the NPC, but enforcement, awareness, and implementation vary widely. Thus, legal protection alone is not sufficient for justice in tourism data systems.
Tourism in the Philippines frequently involves vulnerable communities (e.g. indigenous groups, coastal barangays, small-scale fishers) who may not have equal bargaining power in how data systems are deployed around them.