EVALUACIÓN DE LOS ATRIBUTOS DE LOS CHATBOTS QUE SON MÁS EFECTIVOS EN LA INTERACCIÓN CON EL TURISTA: ESTUDIO DE CASO DEL CHATBOT “VICTORIA LA MALAGUEÑA”

Chatbots are transforming tourism communication and have been quickly adopted in the tourism industry. But despite its implementation in the sector, there are no studies that analyze the effectiveness of its use in the organization of trips. For this reason, this study measures the tourists’ perceptions during the use of the chatbot "Victoria la Malagueña" through the attributes: informatividad, empathy, accessibility and interactivity. In data processing, exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis were used. The findings suggest that informatividad and empathy are the chatbot attributes most valued by users.Los chatbots están transformado la comunicación turística y han tenido una rápida adopción en la industria del turismo. Pero a pesar de su implementación en el sector, no hay estudios que analicen la efectividad de su uso en la organización de viajes. Por ello, este estudio mide la percepción del turista durante el uso del chatbot “Victoria la Malagueña” a través de los atributos: informatividad, empatía, accesibilidad e interactividad. En el procesamiento de datos se utilizó el análisis factorial exploratorio y confirmatorio. Los hallazgos sugieren que la informatividad y empatía son los atributos del chatbot más valorado por los usuarios

Análisis de los sistemas de diálogo Chatbot en destinos turísticos inteligentes.

Les aplicacions chatbots estan causant disrupció a la indústria del turisme, especialment a les destinacions intel·ligents. És una tecnologia conversacional basada en algorismes de xarxes neuronals que permet la interacció humà-màquina a través de llenguatge natural de veu o dada. Diversos estudis s'han enfocat en el disseny del sistema, però poques investigacions han identificat la satisfacció de l'usuari amb l'eina, l'impacte en la formació de la imatge de la destinació i les intencions de comportament futur del turista. Aquesta tesi doctoral se centra a avaluar els chatbots utilitzats per les destinacions intel·ligents per a la comunicació amb el turista. Els resultats demostren que la informativitat, l'empatia, l'accessibilitat i la interactivitat són els atributs que mesuren la qualitat dels chabots de destinacions i són factors essencials en la satisfacció de l'usuari, la imatge de la destinació i la intenció de visitar la destinació. Es discuteixen les implicacions teòriques i pràctiques sobre l'adopció d'aquesta tecnologiaLas aplicaciones chatbots están causando disrupción en la industria del turismo, especialmente en los destinos inteligentes. Es una tecnología conversacional basada en algoritmos de redes neuronales que permite la interacción humano-maquina a través de lenguaje natural de voz o dato. Varios estudios se han enfocado en el diseño del sistema, sin embargo, pocas investigaciones han identificado la satisfacción del usuario con la herramienta, el impacto en la formación de la imagen del destino y las intenciones de comportamiento futuro del turista. Esta tesis doctoral se centra en evaluar los chatbots utilizados por los destinos inteligentes para la comunicación con el turista. Los resultados demuestran que la informatividad, empatía, accesibilidad e interactividad son los atributos que miden la calidad de los chabots de destinos y son factores esenciales en la satisfacción del usuario, la formación de imagen del destino y la intención de visita. Se discuten las implicaciones teóricas y prácticas sobre la adopción de esta tecnologíaChatbot apps are disrupting the tourism industry, especially in smart destinations. It is a conversational technology based on neural network algorithms that allow human-machine interaction through the natural language of voice or data. Several studies have focused on the design of the system. However, few investigations have identified user satisfaction with the tool, the impact on the formation of the destination's image, and the intentions of future behavior of the tourist. This doctoral thesis evaluates the chatbots used by smart destinations for communication with tourists. The results show that informativeness, empathy, accessibility, and interactivity are the attributes that measure the quality of destination chatbots and are essential factors in user satisfaction, the image of the destination, and the intention to visit the destination. Theoretical and practical implications of the adoption of this technology are discussed

Leveraging inter-tourists interactions via chatbots to bridge academia, tourism industries and future societies

Purpose – The tourism and hospitality sectors are experiencing radical innovation boosted by the advancements in Information and Communication Technologies. Increasingly sophisticated chatbots are introducing novel approaches, re-shaping the dynamics among tourists and service providers, and fostering a remarkable behavioral change in the overall sector. Therefore, the objective of this paper is two-folded: (1) to highlight the academic and industrial standing points with respect to the current chatbots designed/deployed in the tourism sector and (2) to develop a proof-of-concept embodying the most prominent opportunities in the tourism sector. Design/methodology/approach – This work elaborates on the outcomes of a Systematic Literature Review (SLR) and a Focus Group (FG) composed of experts from the tourism industry. Moreover, it presents a proof-of-concept relying on the outcomes obtained from both SLR and FG. Eventually, the proof-of-concept has been tested with experts and practitioners of the tourism sector. Findings – Among the findings elicited by this paper, we can mention the quick evolution of chatbot-based solutions, the need for continuous investments, upskilling, system innovation to tackle the eTourism challenges and the shift toward new dimensions (i.e. tourist-to-tourist-to-chatbot and personalized multi-stakeholder systems). In particular, we focus on the need for chatbot-based activity and thematic aggregation for next-generation tourists and service providers. Originality/value – Both academic- and industrial-centered findings have been structured and discussed to foster the practitioners' future research. Moreover, the proof-of-concept presented in the paper is the first of its kind, which raised considerable interest from both technical and business-planning perspectives

Chatbot recommender systems in tourism : a systematic review and a benefit-cost analysis

This research is focused on the utilization of artificially intelligent (AI), customer service chatbots in travel, tourism and hospitality. Rigorous criteria were used to search, screen, extract and synthesize articles on conversational, automated systems. The results shed light on the most-cited articles on the use of “chatbots” and “tourism” or “hospitality”. The researchers scrutinize the extracted articles, synthesize the findings and outline the pros and cons of using these interactive technologies. This contribution implies that there is scope for tourism businesses to continue improving their online customer services in terms of their efficiency and responsiveness to consumers and prospects. For the time being, AI chatbots are still not in a position to replace human agents in all service interactions as they cannot resolve complex queries and complaints. However, works are in progress to improve their verbal, vocal and anthropomorphic capabilities to deliver a better consumer experience.peer-reviewe

Information and Communication Technologies in Tourism 2021

This open access book is the proceedings of the International Federation for IT and Travel & Tourism (IFITT)’s 28th Annual International eTourism Conference, which assembles the latest research presented at the ENTER21@yourplace virtual conference January 19–22, 2021. This book advances the current knowledge base of information and communication technologies and tourism in the areas of social media and sharing economy, technology including AI-driven technologies, research related to destination management and innovations, COVID-19 repercussions, and others. Readers will find a wealth of state-of-the-art insights, ideas, and case studies on how information and communication technologies can be applied in travel and tourism as we encounter new opportunities and challenges in an unpredictable world

Information and Communication Technologies in Tourism 2022

This open access book presents the proceedings of the International Federation for IT and Travel & Tourism (IFITT)’s 29th Annual International eTourism Conference, which assembles the latest research presented at the ENTER2022 conference, which will be held on January 11–14, 2022. The book provides an extensive overview of how information and communication technologies can be used to develop tourism and hospitality. It covers the latest research on various topics within the field, including augmented and virtual reality, website development, social media use, e-learning, big data, analytics, and recommendation systems. The readers will gain insights and ideas on how information and communication technologies can be used in tourism and hospitality. Academics working in the eTourism field, as well as students and practitioners, will find up-to-date information on the status of research

Delivering Green Persuasion Strategies with a Conversational Agent: a Pilot Study

Climate change is undeniable. The drastic consequences it may have on our lives make a collective effort crucial. Our research explores how Conversational Agents (CAs) can persuade people into environmentally sustainable behaviors, particularly in domestic spaces where these technologies are becoming increasingly popular. In this research work, we conducted an empirical evaluation (N=29) exploring the effectiveness and stance towards the adoption of different persuasive strategies compared to a CA delivering messages referring to just one persuasion strategy. Furthermore, this contribution reports on a custom dialogue manager's implementation, designed to enable the execution of the experiment. Although study results suggested no significant difference in persuasion effectiveness and usability of the conversational agents, participants reported a significant difference in the perceptions of parasocial interactions and dialogue with the CA, preferring the one delivering multiple persuasive strategies

Possible System Architecture for Travel Recommender

Travel recommender systems have been developed to meet the needs of users in the field of tourism. This system has several versions depending on the characteristics of the country, users and filtering techniques used. The development of recommendation filtering system techniques is very rapid so that the recommendation system has high enough complexity, but it also must have high usability. This paper discusses how the travel recommender system architecture is built by examining data structures, processing procedures and interaction design. The goal is to obtain the best usability in implementing a travel recommendation system. The system is built using the example case of finding the right tourist spot in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. This system applies several filtering techniques such as knowledge-based filtering, content-based filtering, and collaborative filtering. The evaluation results show that the system architecture optimized gets a usability level acceptable