AI Turning Point: From Thinking for Humans to Acting With Humans in Hospitality and Wellbeing

While smart tourism scholarship focuses on the AI-driven “Cognitive Layer,” existing frameworks overlook “Embodied Intelligence” where AI executes physical tasks. Adopting a socio-technical perspective and Service-Dominant Logic, this study addresses this gap by conceptualizing the “Action Layer”—the third evolutionary stage of the smart tourism ecosystem. We introduce a strategic framework comprising a triad of technologies: Autonomous Robotics, Ambient Wellness, and Spatial Computing. This framework illustrates a paradigm shift in technology’s ontological status, transforming AI from a passive “operand resource” for information processing into an autonomous “operant resource” capable of direct physical intervention in unstructured hospitality environments. By synthesizing these pillars, we demonstrate how Physical AI resolves structural labor shortages and provides proactive life-care. Finally, we propose a research agenda centered on human-machine agency, invisible sensing privacy, and spatial territoriality, reorienting smart tourism toward physical operational reality.