Advancing Agritourism Through Hospitality 4.0: Lessons from Werfenweng for the Western Balkans

Aim: This study explores stakeholder perceptions of readiness for Hospitality 4.0 across five Western Balkan countries – Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia, and Albania – through a cross-national, comparative research design. Grounded in the hypothesis that the integration of Hospitality 4.0 technologies drives sustainable and competitive rural tourism, the study aims to assess current digital capabilities, identify structural drivers of transformation, and support informed policymaking. The central research question asks how prepared rural tourism stakeholders are to adopt Hospitality 4.0 technologies and how benchmarking can guide sustainable, innovative, and competitive development. Material and methods: Using exploratory factor analysis and structural equation modelling (SEM), the research identifies key dimensions of digital transformation in rural tourism. Benchmarking is conducted using the example of Werfenweng, Austria – a model destination for sustainable tourism and soft mobility – to generate context-sensitive recommendations for the Western Balkans. Results: The research identifies three key dimensions: Invisible Innovation, Digital Readiness, and Empowered Transition. These dimensions are shown to be interrelated and collectively enhance sustainability, innovation capacity, and long-term competitiveness in the region’s agritourism sector. The study tests several sub-hypotheses related to stakeholder empowerment and digital maturity. Conclusions: The study concludes that tailored Hospitality 4.0 integration can support sustainable rural development. Context-sensitive strategies, inspired by best practices, should focus on infrastructure, education, and local empowerment to ensure that digitalization in agritourism is inclusive, effective, and future-oriented.