Evaluation of top tourism destinations according to their AI development with the entropy-TOPSIS-integrated method

AbstractPurpose – This study aims to determine and evaluate the artificial intelligence (AI) development andcompetitiveness of the top 20 countries that receive the highest number of tourists with the entropy techniquefor order of preference by similarity to the ideal solution (TOPSIS)-integrated method.Design/methodology/approach – This study is based on Global AI Index data published by TortoiseMedia. Based on this index, according to the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) report, the top 20destinations that will host the highest number of tourists in 2022 were evaluated in seven different subpillars,which are talent, infrastructure, operating environment, research, development, government strategy andcommercial. These seven subpillars of the index were considered as criteria, and the top 20 tourist destinationswere included in the research as decision alternatives.Findings – The analysis results show that the three most important AI criteria are operating environment,infrastructure and government strategy. Furthermore, the first three countries with the best AI performanceaccording to the weighted criteria were the USA, China and the UK, respectively.Practical implications – Considering that AI technologies will direct tourist behavior in a world wheretechnology is rapidly developing, it is recommended that the countries that receive the highest number oftourists improve their AI performance.Originality/value – When the relevant literature is examined, there is a limited number of studies examiningthe AI development and competitiveness of the top tourist destinations and weighting the Global AI Indexvalues. Therefore, this study contributes to the gap in the relevant literature.Keywords Artificial intelligence, Entropy, TOPSIS, Tourism destinationsPaper type Research paper