coordinated by Francesc González and Soledad MoralesISSUE 7 (MAY 2017)
A conceptual study of the relationship between the sharing economy and tourism
Tourism is one of the main areas where the sharing economy is expanding. The increasing number of press and journal articles on the topic highlights the relevance – on various levels – of platforms such as Airbnb, Uber or BlaBlaCar. This paper will tackle different aspects of this subject. First, the notion of the sharing economy or collaborative consumption will be defined, examining both its initial definitions that addressed the possibility of a new economic paradigm and more recent descriptions looking at the commercial aspects and the particularities introduced by the use of major technological platforms. The focus then moves on to three aspects that shed light on convergences between sharing economy and tourism: the use of information and communication technologies, the role of references or qualifications, and the disruption of preexisting models. Finally, the conclusions from the study are drawn.
ODS
Degree in Economic and Business Science from the University of Malaga in two specialties: Public Economics and Regional and Urban Economics. Doctorate in Economic and Business Science from the University of Malaga. Thesis – with Spanish Tourism grant 2002 – on online tourist destinations. Publications in the form of articles and book chapters on the subject of tourism and technology, among others. Professor of Economic and Business Studies at the UOC in the field of tourism at undergraduate and postgraduate levels.