The study tested a cognitive-affective-behavioral sequence in AI-enabled smart urban destinations. Perceived AI transparency strongly related to digital reflexivity, which connected to place reinterpretation and AI-enabled co-creation. Co-creation related more strongly to ethical travel citizenship than reinterpretation, while ethical citizenship predicted post-travel AI engagement. Necessary Condition Analysis treated each construct as a prerequisite at some level, but these are modeled associations rather than experimental behavior change.
Key findings
- Transparency predicted reflexivity; reflexivity linked to reinterpretation and co-creation; co-creation had a stronger effect on ethical citizenship; citizenship predicted post-travel engagement; and NCA classified all constructs as necessary conditions.
Why this matters globally
The results support tourism AI that explains data, reasoning and limitations and enables co-creation rather than optimizing sales alone. This may matter for cities managing overtourism, cultural impacts and environmental pressure.
Thai researcher contribution
Pipatpong Fakfare, Maneenate Worrachananun and Bongkosh Rittichainuwat of Bangkok and Siam universities contribute a framework connecting smart-city AI, ethics and tourist behavior.
Limitations to consider
The abstract omits sample size, country, sampling, response rate and measures, preventing assessment of representativeness and common-method bias. Structural ‘prediction’ is not causation, NCA depends on ceiling lines and thresholds, and outcomes may be self-reported rather than observed behavior.