Multimodality in tourism and hospitality: A critical and narrative review

Although multimodal data offers valuable insights for tourism and hospitality research and practice, it also poses significant theoretical and methodological challenges. Through a narrative and critical literature review, this research develops the multimodal data analytics methodological framework as a novel guiding principle to theoretically engage with multimodal data. The research identifies a number of critical issues to consider when approaching multimodal data, particularly multimodal fusion and analytical validity. It also highlights how multimodal data can be used to test, extend and develop theories in tourism, providing a roadmap for future research in pushing the boundaries of multimodal data in tourism and hospitality.