Hospitality and tourism industry as a primary beneficiary of artificial intelligence: A conditional optimistic scenario

Artificial intelligence (AI) has become a disruptive force reshaping the entire economy through automation, productivity gains, and changing labor dynamics. Under supportive labor policies, AI may drive substantial productivity gains across many sectors and generate a “leisure dividend” through increased leisure time and disposable income, driving greater demand for experience-based services central to the hospitality and tourism (HT) industry. This study develops a conditional optimistic scenario in which the HT industry may emerge as a primary beneficiary of this AI-driven shift, with AI serving not as a threat but as a conditional catalyst for the industry’s growth and the elevation of human roles. Drawing on socio-technical systems theory and the experience economy framework, a conceptual framework is proposed wherein, under certain conditions, AI may generate a positive cyclical relationship among AI-integration, HT industry expansion, employee wellbeing, and guest satisfaction. The implications of AI-driven transformation in the HT industry are discussed.