Abstract
The rapid advancement of digital technology has transformed tourists’ behavior throughout the travel journey. This study explores how tourists use digital technology across travel stages, identifies the platforms employed, and examines their roles in supporting travel experiences. A descriptive qualitative approach involved eight Indonesian domestic tourists aged 18–40 who had independently or semi-independently undertaken leisure travel within Indonesia during the previous year using at least three digital platforms. Sample adequacy was guided by information power, with interviews continuing until no new codes emerged. Semi-structured interviews followed a five-stage digital tourist journey framework: dreaming, planning, booking, experiencing, and sharing. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis. Findings show that tourists continuously integrate social media, online travel agencies, navigation applications, digital payments, communication platforms, and generative artificial intelligence across their journeys. The analysis identifies key behavioral mechanisms, including uncertainty reduction and trust-building through peer-generated content, cross-platform verification and switching, reliance on algorithmic curation, and emerging digital dependency. Digital technology enhanced convenience, efficiency, and decision-making confidence, while information overload, misleading reviews, technical failures, and privacy concerns remained challenges. Generative AI use by all participants is treated as an exploratory observation rather than a generalizable pattern. The findings extend understanding of digital tourist behavior and offer practical insights for destination management organizations, tourism businesses, and platform developers seeking more integrated, user-centered digital tourism services.