AI-powered smartphones and phygital tourism experiences: implications and future research directions

Uglješa Stankov (), Ulrike Gretzel () and Miroslav D. Vujičić ()
Additional contact information
Uglješa Stankov: University of Novi Sad, Faculty of Sciences, Department of Geography, Tourism and Hotel Management
Ulrike Gretzel: University of Southern California, Annenberg School of Communication & Journalism, USC Center for Public Relations
Miroslav D. Vujičić: University of Novi Sad, Faculty of Sciences, Department of Geography, Tourism and Hotel Management

Information Technology & Tourism, 2025, vol. 27, issue 2, No 1, 307-316

Abstract: Abstract The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into smartphones represents a transformative shift in mobile technology, enabling smartphones to seamlessly blend physical and digital realms and thereby enhance phygital tourism experiences. This viewpoint explores the implications of AI-powered smartphones for phygital tourism experiences by focusing on new ways of interaction with smart tourism destinations based on pervasiveness, agile integrations, and capabilities for hyper-customization. It also presents the potential impacts of these interactions, including the supporting, enhancing, and transforming impacts of AI-powered smartphones in phygital tourism experiences. In addition, it explores new research directions, such as perceptions of and interactions with smart destinations, deeper integration with extended reality technologies, the humanizing aspects of AI, well-being effects, and the ethical considerations of responsible AI. The article is conceptual, synthesizing insights from smart tourism, artificial intelligence, phygital marketing, and related fields. A primary goal is to identify new avenues for enhancing phygital tourism experiences and to provide some insights into AI in this evolving field.

Keywords: Artificial intelligence; Generative artificial intelligence; Smart tourism; Phygital marketing; Phygital tourism experiences (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s40558-025-00317-3 Abstract (text/html)
Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:spr:infott:v:27:y:2025:i:2:d:10.1007_s40558-025-00317-3

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.springer. ... ystems/journal/40558

DOI: 10.1007/s40558-025-00317-3

Access Statistics for this article

Information Technology & Tourism is currently edited by Zheng Xiang

More articles in Information Technology & Tourism from Springer
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().