Artificial Intelligence-Driven Smart Food Tourism: Investigating the Influence of Digital Gastronomic Experiences, Cultural Authenticity, and Tourist Engagement on Sustainable Destination Competitiveness

Abstract

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is transforming the tourism industry by enabling intelligent decision-making, personalized travel planning, predictive analytics, and immersive digital experiences. Within this transformation, smart food tourism has emerged as an innovative paradigm that integrates AI-driven technologies with gastronomic heritage to enhance tourist experiences and strengthen destination competitiveness. This study investigates the influence of digital gastronomic experiences, cultural authenticity, and tourist engagement on sustainable destination competitiveness through an Artificial Intelligence-driven framework. The proposed model examines how AI-enabled recommendation systems, virtual culinary platforms, intelligent travel assistants, and personalized digital services enhance tourists’ engagement with authentic culinary experiences while promoting sustainable tourism practices. Furthermore, the study evaluates the mediating role of tourist engagement in translating AI-enabled gastronomic experiences and cultural authenticity into long-term destination competitiveness. A quantitative research framework employing structured questionnaires and Structural Equation Modeling is proposed to examine the relationships among the study constructs. The findings are expected to contribute to smart tourism literature by integrating Artificial Intelligence, digital gastronomy, and sustainable destination management into a unified framework while providing strategic guidance for tourism authorities, hospitality organizations, technology developers, and policymakers seeking to develop intelligent, culturally authentic, and globally competitive tourism destinations.