Artificial Intelligence in Smart Tourism: A Bibliometric Analysis

Abstract

Artificial intelligence technologies have the potential to create a significant transformation in the
tourism sector. In recent years, with the development of these technologies, smart tourism applications
have rapidly become widespread, contributing to the digitalization of tourism activities. AI-supported
systems are used in many areas such as travel planning, customer relations, service personalization,
data analysis, and destination management, increasing efficiency in the sector. The main objective of
this study is to examine the effects of artificial intelligence technologies on smart tourism and their
future trends. For this purpose, systematic literature review and bibliometric analysis methods were
used. English-language articles published in the ‘Web of Science’, ‘Scopus’, and ‘ScienceDirect’
databases, within the scope of SSCI and SCIE, were included in the analysis. The collected data were
evaluated using VOSviewer analysis software. The findings show that academic interest in artificial
intelligence has increased significantly after 2017, and that this technology plays a central role in the
development of smart tourism. It can be said that the use of artificial intelligence in the tourism sector
has now moved beyond being merely an operational tool and has become an innovative element
determining the sector's competitiveness. This study makes a significant contribution by evaluating the
existing literature from a holistic perspective and revealing the conceptual development of artificial
intelligence applications in smart tourism. Furthermore, the results indicate that predictive analytics,
robotic services, personalized experience design, and autonomous travel technologies will gain more
importance in future research, providing guiding clues for the literature. In this context, the research
offers a comprehensive framework on both the current state and future potential of artificial intelligence
in the development of smart tourism, thus making a meaningful contribution to the literature.