How AI-driven sustainable empowerment strategies enhance sustainable tourism development

Purpose The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into tourism offers transformative potential for advancing sustainable tourism development (STD). Despite growing interest in AI applications in tourism, existing literature lacks a theoretically grounded and empirically validated framework that links AI with sustainable empowerment strategies and tourist engagement (TE) as pathways to STD. To address this gap, the study aims to draw on the Value-Attitude-Behaviour (VAB) and Empowerment theories to conceptualise and validate a structural model to explain the relational dynamics between AI and STD. Design/methodology/approach Primary data were collected from 303 domestic and international tourists in the Hail region of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia using a two-wave time-lagged survey. Quantitative methodology was used to analyse the hypothesised relationships. Findings Findings reveal that AI significantly enhances sustainable psychological, social and political empowerment, which in turn positively influences TE. Furthermore, TE serves as a strong predictor of STD, highlighting the crucial role of empowerment and engagement in translating AI capabilities into sustainable outcomes. Originality/value The study contributes to tourism literature by offering a novel theory-driven framework that explicates the mechanism through which AI drives STD.