In recent years, the number of fake news stories has significantly increased in the world of media, especially with the widespread use of social media. It has impacted several industries, including tourism. From a tourism point of view, the spread of fake news can contribute to the reduction of the popularity of a destination. It may influence travel decisions by discouraging tourists from visiting certain places and thus damage the reputation of the destination, contributing to economic loss. After a literature review on the communication aspect of fake news and a general introduction of fake news in the tourism and hospitality industry, we conducted a systematic literature review (SLR), a research methodology to collect, identify, and analyse available research studies through a systematic procedure. The current SLR is based on the Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar databases of existing literature on the topic of fake news in the tourism and hospitality industry. The study identifies, lists, and examines existing papers and conference proceedings from a vast array of disciplines, in order to give a well-rounded view on the issue of fake news in the tourism and hospitality industry. After selecting a total of 54 previous studies from more than 20 thousand results for the keywords ‘fake news’ and ‘tourism,’ we have analysed 39 papers in total. The SLR aimed to highlight existing gaps in the literature and areas that may require further exploration in future primary research. We have found that there is relatively limited academic literature available on the subject of fake news affecting tourism destinations, compared to studies focused on hospitality services.

In recent years, the number of fake news stories significantly increased in the world, especially with the widespread use of social media. It has impacted several industries, including the events industry and events tourism. The spread of fake news can contribute to the reduction of attendance, visitor numbers and even damage the reputation of an event, contributing to economic loss. This research explores how misinformation shape public perception, how fake news appear in the events sector, and how it affects visitor trust and future attendance in the events industry, including concerts, festivals, sporting events, conferences. First, in a literature review, previous academic resources on fake news and its impact on visitors is collected and analyzed, to give a well-rounded view on the issue. It is followed by content analysis, which uses case studies and media coverage to identify patterns in the spread of fake news stories in the events industry. Initial findings suggest that fake news stories may lead to lower attendance rates, public safety concerns and may also lead to the damaged reputation of events and host destinations, which also contributes to economic loss. The study highlights the need for misinformation management by event organizers and the media.