This book explores the rapid growth of the sharing economy, specifically
of Airbnb, in recent years and how it has challenged traditional
economies in many countries around the globe. With almost 5 million
listings in more than 190 countries, many consider Airbnb as one of the
most disruptive developments in tourism over the past decade.
While this is a book about Western Australia as a case in point, the
issues addressed in this book speak to the broader development of the
sharing economy and its effects experienced nationally and indeed
internationally. Thus, through the adoption of a case-specific analysis
of the growth and impact of Airbnb, the book significantly contributes
to closing existing knowledge gaps on the Airbnb phenomenon by exploring
not only stakeholder perceptions of the sharing economy and Airbnb, the
extent of Airbnb supply and demand, and how this differs from
conventional accommodation demand, but also what policy responses have
been employed in other tourism destinations worldwide. Western Australia
in this regard serves as an exemplar case to shed light on the Airbnb
phenomenon.
This book presents a comprehensive global study that has investigated
the Airbnb phenomenon from a supply, demand, stakeholder, and government
response perspective and thus offers new empirical insights, which are
of interest to government agencies and the tourism sector and are a
valuable source of data to inform current policy debate.
