The article examines tourism computerization processes. Three main directions were identified: the development of global booking and reservation networks, the emergence of electronic marketing and management as well as the design of virtual tourist trips. The main focus was made on the new direction in the digital transformation of tourism, namely on virtual reality technology introduction. Virtual reality is used mostly in advertising of tourist products as well as in guided tours, for education and recreational purposes and the development of social tourism. The future of virtual tourism depends on the improvement of technical capacity for designing virtual tours, creating content for them etc. The article notes the importance of tourism digital transformation for the purpose of the development of a digital economy. Adverse consequences of virtual reality introduction to the tourism sector are identified. The article indicates that the recognition of potential consequences of virtual tours on a living human and the formation of communication culture in virtual tourism is going encourage the transformation of tourism industry into a people-oriented digital economy