Artificial intelligence in tourism: insights and future research agenda

Purpose This paper aims to systematically review the application of artificial intelligence (AI) in the tourism industry. By integrating human–computer interaction, machine learning, big data and other relevant technologies, the study establishes a comprehensive research framework that explores the systematic connections between AI and various facets of tourism. Design/methodology/approach This paper conducts a keyword co-occurrence analysis of 4,048 articles related to AI in tourism. The analysis identifies and classifies dominant topics, which are further refined through thematic literature review and manual coding for detailed discussion. Findings The analysis reveals five main topics: AI’s impact on tourist experience, AI in tourism marketing and prediction, AI in destination management, AI’s role in tourism enterprises and AI integration in strategic and regulatory framework. Each topic is reviewed to construct an integrated discussion that maps the current landscape and suggests directions for future research. Originality/value This paper transcends the fragmented discourse commonly found in the literature by establishing a unified framework that not only enhances understanding of the existing methodologies, theories and applications of AI in tourism but also identifies critical areas for breakthroughs, aiming to inspire a more humane and sustainable integration of AI in the tourism industry.