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The Role of AI in Sustainability in Tourism and Hospitality

The Role of AI in Sustainability in Tourism and Hospitality

 

 

This special issue seeks to provide a comprehensive collection of manuscripts offering new perspectives on traditional paradigms, approaches, and methods, as well as the latest advances in research methodology in artificial intelligence and sustainability in hospitality and tourism. The main objective of this special issue is to bring together research on the impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI) on sustainability in hospitality and tourism in the context of consumers, industry, NGOs, and destinations. In addition, the special issue pays attention to the growing influence of AI in alignment with the transformation of traditional business and destination development and promotion models.

 

The hospitality and tourism sectors continue to be affected by significant technological changes as the industry expands and global travel demand increases (Pillai et al., 2021; Gössling, 2021; Bulchand-Gidumal et al., 2024). The hospitality and tourism sector operates in a highly competitive environment characterized by volatile demand, high customer expectations, and increasing supply chain disruptions, making it difficult to achieve a sustainable competitive advantage, while there is simultaneously substantial concerns over the environmental and socio-cultural impacts of tourism. Nevertheless, technological innovation is generally regarded as crucial for maintaining a differentiated competitive advantage in the long term (Horng et al., 2022), with innovation in sustainability emerged as a key competitive factor, enabling hospitality and tourism companies to improve their performance in a turbulent business environment (Tajeddini et al., 2024).

 

However, there is considerable concern as to how investments in AI translate into operational resilience and long-term sustainability (Christou, 2024; Gössling & Mei, 2025; Hall & Cooper, 2025). The integration of AI into hospitality and tourism enables personalization of the customer experience while optimizing resources, potentially moving the tourism and hospitality industry toward a more responsible business model (Filimonau et al., 2025), although empirical evidence is needed. Some research also argues that AI enhances tourism sustainability by optimizing resources and anticipating demand, e.g., reducing environmental footprints through intelligent energy management, adjusting operations to actual occupancy levels, personalizing experiences to increase customer loyalty, and improving decision-making during crises, thereby contributing to balanced and efficient growth (Balakrishnan et al., 2023).

 

Environmental sustainability is a growing concern for the hospitality and tourism industry due to environmental issues, shifts in consumer preferences, and regulatory pressure. Companies are adopting sustainable practices, as evidence shows that sustainability initiatives can reduce costs. Hospitality and tourism business owners offer incentives to customers to support environmental goals (Alsetoohy et al., 2019; Cain et al., 2019; Prentice et al., 2020). AI technologies potentially provide innovative solutions to minimize environmental impact and promote sustainable practices (Majid et al., 2023). For example, AI-based energy management systems can optimize heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) use to reduce resource waste and utility costs. A lack of resilience in hospital businesses leads to temporary or permanent closures, decreased revenue, reputational damage, and high vulnerability to crises (such as pandemics and natural disasters). The inability to adapt to new consumer demands, coupled with a lack of digitalization or diversification, results in a loss of competitive advantage and slow recovery from unforeseen events (Suder et al., 2025). Consequently, AI potentially offers solutions for improving sustainability in the hospitality and tourism sectors, potentially generating cost savings and positive stakeholder benefits (Majid et al., 2023). As a result, many hospitality and tourism operations are increasingly turning to AI to minimize environmental and social impact, achieve sustainability goals, and strengthen resilience.

 

Despite the literature's frequent emphasis on AI's potential to promote sustainability (Vinuesa et al., 2020; Prasad, 2023), there remains limited empirical research specifically focused on the tourism and hospitality industries (Hall & Cooper, 2025). Much of the current research on AI and sustainability focuses on sectors like manufacturing (Nishant et al., 2020; Majid et al., 2025) or transportation (Law et al., 2024; Guttentag et al., 2025). This leaves a significant knowledge gap regarding how AI technologies can be strategically applied to improve sustainability in tourism and hospitality. This gap highlights the need for research to investigate how AI can enhance operational effectiveness, encourage tourist sustainability practices, reduce resource consumption and emissions, support environmental management practices, and bolster destination and industry adaptation in this unique service-oriented setting.

This special issue will provide an opportunity to advance academic research on the topic by fostering multidisciplinary approaches. It will also encourage debate among international scholars on the impact of AI on sustainability in tourism and hospitality companies, as well as its future prospects.

Proposed topics include but are not limited to:

·      Energy optimization through smart systems in hospitality and tourism operations.

·      Use of AI for water consumption reduction and efficient waste management.

·      Predictive carbon footprint models in tourist destinations.

·      AI applied to tourism and hospitality buildings and infrastructure.

·      Algorithms for optimizing sustainable supply chains in the hospitality and tourism sector.

·      Predictive systems for crisis management (pandemics, natural disasters, political instability).

·      AI for dynamic price management and demand forecasting and management.

·      Intelligent automation as a business continuity strategy.

·      AI for market diversification and adaptive segmentation.

·      AI-powered personalization to encourage sustainable consumer behavior in tourism and hospitality.

·      Chatbots and virtual assistants for environmental education.

·      Recommendation systems for responsible tourism.

·      AI for measuring satisfaction linked to sustainable practices and data governance in smart hospitality and tourism companies.

·      Algorithmic bias and fairness in tourism management.

·      AI and its alignment with the Sustainable Development Goals.

·      Regulatory framework for the adoption of AI in the tourism sector. AI integration in smart destinations.

·      Managing tourist flows through AI computer vision.

·      AI on smart platforms for destination-level sustainability management.

·      Generative AI in sustainable tourism marketing.

·      AI-driven collaborative ecosystems for sustainability.

·      Cost-benefit analyses and the impact of sustainable AI on financial performance in hospitality and tourism

·      The future of adoption and role of IA in sustainability in hospitality and tourism.

Keywords: Sustainability, competitiveness, hospitality, tourism, sustainable practices.