The Impact of AI Chatbot on Sustainable Tourism Destination Brand Image and Authenticity: Exploring the Moderating Role of Nature Connectedness and Personal Innovativeness

Abstract

Nowadays, customers’ perceptions of destinations during the pre-visit phase are shaped by the increasing implementation of artificial technologies. Our research targets to uncover how two dimensions of AI chatbots recommended sustainable tourism destinations, which are information-related elements (quality, quantity, diagnosticity, relevance, and value-added) and interaction elements (perceived enjoyment, perceived accountability, and anthropomorphism), shape the sustainable destination brand’s image and authenticity. These factors then influence tourists’ visit intention and their readiness to pay extra for sustainable travel experiences. Additionally, we also test users’ characteristics such as nature connectedness and personal innovativeness as moderators on the relationship between the destination brand’s attributes and their behavior. Data collected from 508 valid respondents via a questionnaire survey was analyzed using PLS-SEM. The results reveal that diagnosticity and relevance contribute to shaping the sustainable destination brand’s image, while authenticity is influenced by quality and relevance as well. Further, our finding shows that interaction factors strongly impact the brand’s image, whereas its authenticity is affected solely by perceived anthropomorphism. In addition, the brand’s image and authenticity are demonstrated to significantly influence users’ behavior. In addition, personal innovativeness is the only factor that strengthens the connection between the brand’s image of sustainable destination and users’ acceptance of higher pricing. Our research provides a novel perspective on leveraging AI chatbots for sustainable destination recommendations, and offering valuable insights for sustainable tourism development in general and destination branding in particular