The New Tourism Reality: How AI changes the game?
(A2026-133028)

AUTHORS

Borislava Toleva, Sofia University 'St. Kliment Ohridski', Faculty of Economics and Business Administration; Svetlana BIALKOVA, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Sofia University, Bulgaria

ABSTRACT

Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly becoming a core driver of transformation in tourism industry, extending from destination planning and visitor engagement to business operations and service delivery. This new tourism reality calls for remediation of existing frameworks to adequately explain how knowledge from diverse areas like computer science, business, marketing and psychology converge within tourism. In response, current paper proposes the Tourism AI Multiverse (TAIM), a new taxonomy that illustrates the impact of AI on multiple layers of the tourism ecosystem. TAIM highlights the fundamental needs of tourism stakeholders for solutions that shift the industry from a single, linear model to a multidimensional, interconnected system. The study reveals the growing dependence of tourism on AI and explores how this reliance will shape future trends. By offering a comprehensive, tourism-oriented framework, TAIM equips researchers and industry professionals with clearer insight into how AI can be strategically leveraged to advance the future of travel and hospitality.