[AISWorld] Reminder - Call for Papers: Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Robotics in Travel, Tourism and Leisure

Wed Jan 15 12:13:16 EST 2020

--- Apologies for cross-postings---

Electronic Markets - The International Journal on Networked Business

Call for Papers: Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Robotics in Travel,
Tourism and Leisure

Guest Editors

Zheng Xiang, Virginia Tech, USA,  <mailto:philxz at vt.edu> philxz at vt.edu 

Ulrike Gretzel, University of Southern California, USA,
<mailto:gretzel at usc.edu> gretzel at usc.edu 

Marianna Sigala, University of South Australia, Australia,
<mailto:Marianna.Sigala at unisa.edu.au> Marianna.Sigala at unisa.edu.au

Chulmo Koo, Kyung Hee University, South Korea,   <mailto:helmetgu at khu.ac.kr>
helmetgu at khu.ac.kr 

Theme

Artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics have become critical topics in our
social discourse and essential enablers in our everyday life (e.g., Devlin,
2018; Tegmark, 2017). Indeed, activities in the travel, tourism and leisure
domain are increasingly reliant upon technologies that can understand,
anticipate and act upon human needs in order to improve the personal
experience and wellbeing and firm performance (Gretzel, 2011). In travel and
tourism, Internet-based tools such as recommender systems and chatbots have
been developed to provide personalized, location-based, context-aware
information services and customer support (Ricci, 2002; Fesenmaier et al.,
2006). These tools are becoming increasingly pervasive in commercial
applications due to the diffusion of the smartphone and social media, the
emergence of big data, and the advancement of machine learning techniques.

Equipped with AI-based technology, voice-activated tools such as Alexa and
Google Home have been introduced into our homes to assist our everyday life
and leisure activities and increasingly penetrate hospitality and
transportation spaces to facilitate experience (co-)creation and customer
service delivery during travel. A variety of robotic tools have been adopted
by hospitality operators, museums, theme parks and the transportation sector
to provide novel experiences, enhance service quality, and improve business
processes and productivity (Tung & Au, 2018). 

Research on AI and robotics in travel, tourism and leisure is not
necessarily new (e.g., in the case of recommender systems). While these
technologies vary a great deal in terms of the level of sophistication,
intelligence, automation and sociability, they have grown to permeate many
aspects of travel, tourism and leisure. Importantly, smart tourism
development efforts around the world enable AI and robotics to be connected
to physical infrastructure and other intelligent objects (Gretzel et al.,
2015), giving agency and, importantly, autonomy and market power to
intelligent machines (Verhoef et al., 2017). As a result, AI and robotics
are rapidly transforming the way businesses operate and engage with their
customers, while they also present many opportunities and challenges in
value creation, industry structure and operations within the travel, tourism
and leisure context (Ivanov et al., 2017; Murphy et al., 2017). 

Central issues and themes

The goal of this special issue is to create a platform for multidisciplinary
research on AI and robotics within the travel, tourism and leisure context.

Specifically, we invite papers that evolve around the following (but not
limited to) topics:

*         Conceptual and theoretical foundations for AI and robotics
research in travel, tourism and leisure

*         AI/robotics-enabled travel, tourism and leisure-related e-commerce
and e-markets

*         Virtual/AI-influencers and the future of travel, tourism and
leisure marketing

*         Human-machine interactions in travel, tourism and leisure contexts

*         AI-facilitated smart tourism and electronic solutions for
travelers and destinations

*         Methodological opportunities and issues in AI and robotics
research for travel, tourism and leisure

*         Innovative business models for AI and robotics in the travel,
tourism and leisure industry

*         Impacts of AI and robotics on labor and human resources in the
travel, tourism and leisure industry

*         Legal and ethical issues in AI and robotics for travel, tourism
and leisure

*         Global perspectives on AI and robotics applications and practices
in travel, tourism and leisure

Electronic Markets covers diverse aspects of networked businesses and
welcomes research from technological, organizational, societal, and/or
political perspectives. We encourage contributions with a broad range of
methodological approaches; hence conceptual and theory-development papers,
empirical hypothesis testing, and case-based studies are all welcome. All
papers should fit the scope of the Electronic Markets journal (for more
information see

 <http://www.electronicmarkets.org/about-em/scope/>
http://www.electronicmarkets.org/about-em/scope/) and will undergo a double
blind, peer review process. If you would like to discuss any aspect of this
special issue, please contact the guest editors.

Submission

Electronic Markets is a Social Science Citation Index (SSCI)-listed journal
(IF 3.818 in 2017) and requires that submitted papers are not under review
elsewhere. Submissions must be made via the journal's submission system at
<http://elma.edmgr.com> http://elma.edmgr.com and comply with the journal's
formatting standards (see instructions and templates at
<http://www.electronicmarkets.org/authors>
http://www.electronicmarkets.org/authors). The preferred average article
length is approximately 8,000 words, excluding references.

Important deadlines

*       February 15, 2020:  Manuscript due

References / Suggested Readings:

[1] Devlin, K. (2018). Turned On: Science, Sex and Robots. Bloomsbury
Publishing.

[2] Fesenmaier, D. R.et al (Eds.). (2006). Destination recommendation
systems: Behavioral foundations and applications. Cabi.

[3] Gretzel, U. (2011). Intelligent systems in tourism: A social science
perspective. Annals of tourism research, 38(3), 757-779.

[4] Gretzel, U. et al. (2015). Smart tourism: foundations and developments.

Electronic Markets, 25(3), 179-188.

[5] Ivanov, S. H. et al. (2017). Adoption of robots and service automation
by tourism and hospitality companies.

[6] Murphy, J. et al. (2017). Dawning of the age of robots in hospitality
and tourism: challenges for teaching and research. European Journal of
Tourism Research, 15, 104-111.

[7] Ricci, F. (2002). Travel recommender systems. IEEE Intelligent Systems,
17(6), 55-57.

[8] Tegmark, M. (2017). Life 3.0: Being human in the age of artificial
intelligence. Knopf.

[9] Tung, V. W. S., & Au, N. (2018). Exploring customer experiences with
robotics in hospitality. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality
Management, 30(7), 2680-2697.

[10] Verhoef, P. C. et al. (2017). Consumer connectivity in a complex,
technology-enabled, and mobile-oriented world with smart products. Journal
of Interactive Marketing, 40, 1-8.

Best regards,

Rainer Alt, Hans-Dieter Zimmermann

Editors-in-Chief

====================================================================

Electronic Markets - The International Journal on Networked Business 

====================================================================

Editors-in-Chief: Rainer Alt, Leipzig University and Hans-Dieter Zimmermann,
FHS St.Gallen, University of Applied Sciences 

Executive Editors: Samiha Al-Qusaimi, Dorothee Ulrich, Leipzig University

Editorial Office:

c/o Information Systems Institute

Leipzig University 

04109 Leipzig, Germany

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