How AI-Driven Hyper-Personalization Shapes Tourist Loyalty: The Mediating Roles of Tourist Engagement and Memorable Tourism Experiences
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Abstract
Artificial intelligence (AI) has become increasingly integrated into tourism services, enabling organizations to deliver highly personalized and adaptive experiences throughout the tourist journey. Despite growing interest in AI applications in tourism, limited research has examined how AI-driven hyper-personalization contributes to tourist loyalty through experiential and evaluative mechanisms. This study investigates the relationships among AI-driven hyper-personalization, tourist engagement, memorable tourism experiences, tourist satisfaction, and tourist loyalty. Drawing upon the Stimulus–Organism–Response (SOR) framework, a conceptual model comprising five constructs and nine hypotheses was developed and tested. A quantitative research approach was employed, using a cross-sectional survey of 380 tourists who had used AI-enabled tourism services within the previous 12 months. Data were analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). The findings reveal that AI-driven hyper-personalization positively influences tourist engagement, memorable tourism experiences, and tourist satisfaction. Tourist engagement significantly enhances memorable tourism experiences and satisfaction, and memorable experiences positively affect both satisfaction and loyalty. Tourist satisfaction also demonstrates a significant positive effect on tourist loyalty. However, the direct relationship between AI-driven hyper-personalization and tourist loyalty was not supported. The results indicate that AI-enabled personalization contributes to loyalty primarily through experiential and psychological mechanisms rather than through direct effects alone. The study extends the tourism marketing literature by positioning AI-driven hyper-personalization as a key antecedent of tourist engagement and memorable tourism experiences. Furthermore, the findings provide empirical support for the applicability of the SOR framework within AI-enabled tourism environments. Practical implications suggest that tourism organizations should focus on leveraging AI technologies to create meaningful, memorable, and satisfying experiences rather than emphasizing technological sophistication alone.
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