How AI Shapes the Cultural Tourism Visitor Experience: A Scoping Review with a Personalisation Lens
Authors: Tomczyk, A., Ferraris, C., Splendido, D.
Conference: ENTER26, Advancing Tourism Technology for a Better Future
Dates: 27/01/2026
Publication Date: 02/04/2026
Abstract:This scoping review maps how artificial intelligence, particularly large lan-guage models (LLMs) and adjacent modalities, influence the cultural tour-ism visitor experience through personalisation. Following Arksey and O’Malley’s PRISMA-ScR reporting guidelines, searches were conducted in Scopus and Google Scholar (2015-2024), yielding 610 records, of which 18 studies were retained after screening. The analysis identifies a layered “per-sonalisation stack” comprising conversational guidance (LLM pilots), knowledge-graph storytelling, behaviour-aware recommenders, telemetry-informed orchestration, and immersive/assistive media. Reported benefits cluster around engagement, perceived relevance, comfort in VR, and pro-gress towards accessibility. However, value is contingent on governance, au-tonomy calibration, spatial/crowding effects, and explainability. Evidence gaps include longitudinal evaluation, multimodal LLM integration with knowledge graphs and sensor streams, accuracy/bias auditing, privacy-by-design, and performance reporting for real-time operation. The paper also synthesises theoretical, managerial, and policy implications and outlines a practice checklist for deployable components today. These findings clarify how AI currently shapes the cultural visitor experience and outline the safe-guards required to deliver equitable value at scale.
Source: Manual