In today's world, the theory of the "global village", as described by MCLuhan (1964), has taken on a concrete form with the increased access provided by the Internet and digitalisation. The global village refers to a world in which people in different parts of the world can communicate and exchange information instantly thanks to digital technologies. This concept has taken on an important dimension, particularly in relation to the collection, analysis and use of big data. Big data, collected simultaneously from different sources thanks to digitalisation, allows companies to make strategic decisions and increase the efficiency of their business processes.

Tourism is a sector where customer expectations are at a high level, and customer expectations shape the market. In an increasingly competitive environment, the ability to understand complex customer expectations and offer customised solutions to customers has become a success factor in terms of destination or facility preference. At this point, big data is becoming an essential tool for tourism companies to analyse their customers, enabling them to act market-oriented and gain competitive advantage. In this part of the book, the use and applications of Big Data in the tourism sector will be examined and the role of Big Data in creating competitive advantage will be discussed through current examples.