Editorial: Tourism of the future- opportunities and challenges of smart technologies and digitalization

In recent years, the tourism sector has undergone a significant transformation, driven by the rise of technology and digitalization. Whereas travel was once seen as an escape from everyday life, it is now augmented and enriched by a wide range of digital tools that shape every stage of the traveler's experience (Ahmad et al., 2023). From this point of view, the pandemic has acted as a driving force behind this digitalization, both in terms of services offered by tourism actors and the openness of tourists toward digital tools, smart apps, and immersive experiences. Digitalisation has also served as a catalyst for numerous strategies aimed at enhancing the territorial resilience of the European Union in response to this unforeseen shock (Entin & Galushko, 2021).