The linguistic feedback of tourism robots significantly influences visitors’ ecotourism behaviors

With the extensive application of artificial intelligence technology in the tourism industry, robot-assisted tourism has become a vital strategy for enhancing tourist experiences and promoting sustainable tourism practices. This study aims to explore the impact of language feedback from tourism robots on tourists' ecotourism behavior and analyze potential mediating and moderating mechanisms. Through three experimental studies, we found that robot guides with language feedback capabilities significantly improve tourists' ecotourism behavior. Specifically, environmental responsibility acts as a moderator between the robot's language feedback and tourists' ecotourism behavior, indicating that the robot's language feedback is more effective when tourists have a higher sense of environmental responsibility. Furthermore, the robot's language feedback enhances tourists' environmental awareness and responsibility by increasing cognitive trust and feedback propensity. The findings have practical implications for tourism destinations and operators in designing and implementing intelligent tourism services to promote tourists' ecological engagement.