Neuroscience-based methods and techniques in hospitality and tourism: significant outcomes and future directions

Purpose This study aims to comprehensively address the current state, application areas, methodological opportunities and limitations of neuroscience-based methods and techniques in hospitality and tourism research. Accordingly, the contribution of neuroscientific approaches to the field's theoretical and methodological transformation, their role in understanding consumers' cognitive, emotional and experiential processes, and the fundamental dynamics shaping the future of neurotourism research are discussed. Design/methodology/approach This study adopts a thematic synthesis approach. The 14 articles included in this special issue have been systematically examined in the context of the defined research questions and analyzed across six themes. The articles encompass different research approaches such as conceptual evaluation, systematic review, bibliometric analysis, qualitative research and empirical designs based on the Q methodology. Findings The findings indicate that neuroscience-based methods are transforming hospitality and tourism research by shifting from traditional self-report approaches toward process-oriented and real-time measurements. These tools contribute to understanding attention, emotion, multisensory interaction and unconscious processes in areas such as gastronomy, destination experience, tourism advertising and restaurant atmosphere. However, technical expertise requirements, high research costs, ecological validity concerns, methodological inconsistencies and ethical governance issues continue to limit the field's development. Future research is expected to focus on artificial intelligence-supported analysis systems, wearable neurotechnologies, sustainability-oriented neurotourism and interdisciplinary multi-method research designs. Originality/value This study is an original concluding article that comprehensively addresses the theoretical, methodological and applied dimensions of neuroscience-based methods and techniques in hospitality and tourism research using a thematic synthesis approach. It provides a broad perspective, ranging from the conceptual foundations of neurotourism research to future areas of transformation, thus creating a comprehensive reference framework for the field.