The potential impact of the Millennium Bug on tourism

Abstract The Millennium Bug, or Year 2000 Problem (Y2K), is a computer programming malfunction where dates are presented in a two digit format. On January 1, 2000, the date will appear as 00 and will cause many computers and software packages to read the date as 1900. Affected systems and electronic equipment may shut down, not start, produce erroneous information or produce inaccurate calculations. This paper discusses the potential effects of Y2K on tourism. It highlights two significant issues that place the tourism industry especially at risk from Y2K: the complex, networked nature of tourism that may cause many systems to crash in 2000, and the fickle nature of tourist behaviour that will prompt many people to modify or cancel their travel plans for fear that tourism will be unsafe at the start of the new Millennium.